She Gods of Shark Reef (1958)

As soon as I saw "Directed by Roger Corman," I knew I was in for a rough ride. Though it clocks in at just 63 minutes, SHE-GODS OF SHARK REEF seemed longer than FANNY AND Alexander. (Yes, I do watch good movies on occasion.)Filmed in Hawaii, it follows brothers Chris (Bill Cord) and Lee (Don Durant). Lee is on the run from the law after killing a security guard in a failed heist. Chris, being a loyal sibling (and not overly sensible), aids and abets his brother's escape by boat. They encounter a storm and are shipwrecked on an island inhabited by mostly nubile Polynesian lasses, who spend their time diving for pearls and engaging in odd rituals. Chris becomes romantically entangled with Mahia (Lisa Montell), who just happens to be the next sacrifice to the shark god the island women worship. Needless to say, our man Chris ain't about to let that happen to the girl he loves! Meanwhile, Lee gets it into his head to steal the women's cache of pearls. When all is said and done, Lee is eaten by what must be the smallest killer shark in history, while Chris and Mahia leave the island together.The film is in color—rare for '50s-era Corman. For some reason, though, the production process never allowed for more than three color tones at a time. Other items that caught my attention: during the scenes on the reef, the ocean's roar damned near drowns out the dialogue; a dead shark will never seem alive, no matter how hard you push it through the water; one of the shark scenes is repeated later in the film; I think the stock footage of lightning used here also turned up in the opening of "Gilligan's Island"; and for fans of 1950s beefcake, the two male leads spend the entire film bare- chested.To Corman's credit, he drew passable performances from his cast of unknowns. And the footage of the Hawaiian Archipelago is quite lovely, despite the color limitations noted above. SHE-GODS OF SHARK REEF is not bad enough to be entertaining, nor is it good enough to be watchable. But at least it didn't bring out the visceral hate that Corman's NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST aroused in me.

We have two buff guys who are brothers: one is a murderer and the other an okay dude. They go to sea after the one brother murders a man, a storm comes up and leaves them stranded on an island. This island is full of only women - and only one or two of them are cute to look at. The women dive for pearls for a company that comes to them once in awhile to pick up the pearls. It'll be a few days before that boat arrives to the island and the men have plenty of time to show off their muscles to the girls. The "good" brother falls in-love with one of the woman. These two men, along with the women, must watch out for the shark island god's anger! Basically just two guys showing off their muscles. Not a great film, in-fact it's terrible. What was Roger Corman thinking? Maybe he just needed to fill a quota so he quickly cranked this one out.2/10

A film with this title should at least offer something, however, I have learned from experience that some of the worst films out there have some of the best titles. This is no exception.There is precious little to recommend really. There isn't really any She Gods, nor for that matter any sharks (unless you count the unfortunate dead two foot creature that they feature in this one). The basic plot involves two blokes who end up on a tropical island populated by a tribe of women. You don't really need to know much more than that because there is not much more than that to know. This is a very uneventful movie that seems endless despite being just over an hour long (it's one saving grace). Actually, there's one other good thing about this - the most obvious visible boom-mic shot I have ever seen; seriously, it almost takes someone's head off.If you absolutely must watch a trashy women-on-a-tropical-island movie then try The Wild Women of Wongo. It's a far more entertaining experience than this.

A simple, one-lined description of this movie would sound a little like: two guys wash ashore a tropical island exclusively inhabited by women that dive for pearls all day and worship ocean Gods… Terrific! Sounds like a movie many (male) exploitation fans would want to see. Or better yet, where can we go to book our very own holiday to this island? In reality, however, "She Gods of Shark Reef" is nothing but a good-looking package with absolutely no content. Roger Corman is one of the greatest and most important directors in (B-) movie history, but many of his obscure mini-budget productions of the late 50's really aren't worth bothering for. Movies like "Creature from the Haunted Sea", "Attack of the Crab Monsters" or this "She Gods of Shark Reef" were shot in a period of only a few days and without a real script, merely because Corman had a handful of extra dollars to spend and/or wanted to make more out of a certain filming location. The events take place in Hawaii and the beautiful images of this wonderful place are the ONLY reason to give this movie a glimpse. It's one of Corman's first movies shot in color and the place does look enchanting even though nothing really is happening there. The two male leads are supposed to be running from the law and the female leader of the island doesn't want them there, especially not since one of them is after her slave girls. The other guy is more interested in the shiny pearls, so needless to say he's not going to make it out alive. Or is he? You better not be expecting any vicious shark-attacks or virgin sacrifices, because you WILL feel cheated. The closest we come to an action sequence is when a native girl encourages the handsome blond guy to dance with her. Despite the gorgeous setting and promising (but misleading) title, this is one of the most boring films I ever watched. 63 minutes never lasted this long. Sorry, Roger