Hammerhead (2005)

If you read my review of SyFy's "Dinoshark", you know that I can appreciate the low-budget schlock that these made-for-television movies can provide. They're stupid...they're silly...but they're still pretty fun in a "so bad, it's good" kind of way. So, still smacking with guilt for liking (and recommending) the undeniably hokey "Dinoshark", I sat down to watch "Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy", a SyFy Original Movie about a half-man, half-hammerhead monster terrorizing people on an island. With the SyFy Channel's sure-fire recipe for creating B-movie creature features and a cast that includes William Forsythe and Hunter Tylo, how could it possibly go wrong? Well, to my surprise, it actually misses the mark...not by much, but enough to make me not recommend it. Why? Well, first of all, its titular monster, the dreaded hammerhead-human hybrid, takes a backseat to a bunch of faux-military thugs who really become the movie's primary villain. Though the hammerhead does rack up the body count, he (or it or whatever you call the thing) only arrives just before someone is going to be munched upon and leaves directly after. The rest of the movie is filler, pitting our heroes against the aforementioned soldiers. That, to me, is just not as compelling as watching a walking hammerhead eat people! Please Read The Full Review On My Blog: www.horrormoviejournal.blogspot.com

Jeffrey Combs is an insane scientist whose stem cell research has morphed into a diabolical scheme to create a hybrid hammerhead shark humanoid life form, hoping to breed a brand new species using Hunter Tylo's womb. It won't be easy for Tylo is a tough broad and her boyfriend, William Forsythe, isn't about to give her up without a fight.You see Tylo and Forsythe are two of business executive Arthur Roberts' employees, brilliant minds who meet Combs(..a scientist who once worked for Roberts, and whose vacated position went to Tylo)at his island fortress where he conducts his research and experiments. This island affords him the opportunity to recruit fresh victims for his work and "son". They think it's a professional affair in regards to a breakthrough in stem cell research which could lead to cures for a variety of diseases. Combs' son was dying of kidney cancer when he decided to perform his mad science on him, creating this blood-thirsty, flesh-eating creature which can both swim and walk on dry land(..although, at first the hammerhead could only remain outside for short time periods). Tylo was dating Combs' son, hence the connection besides the two having worked for Roberts, who brings along his trophy wife, Mariya Ignatova. Also accompanying Tylo and Forsythe, Roberts and Ignatova, are their colleagues, Elise Muller and GR Johnson. Combs traps them in a conference room, but they are able to escape onto the island as he sends after them his well paid mercenaries and hammerhead shark son.Like similar sci-fi channel creature features of it's type, Hammerhead:Shark Frenzy has some rather unappealing computer generated effects and the attacks(..where the shark rips apart limbs)are shot in a quick-edit, frenzied camera format where you have a hard time ever seeing any of the ensuing gory carnage. You have this vague notion that a person is being eaten(..ripped to shreds), but the attacks themselves are shot in a very erratic fashion which, truth be told, is rather infuriating. The monster itself is never seen in it's entirety, just momentary glimpses of an eye or a body part being gnawed on as the victim screams out in horror. One thing's for certain, you do see teeth. We do get cgi shots of the hammerhead shark swimming toward the screen, all menacing, ready to feast on flesh. A constant is while(..and after)victims are attacked, we see a great deal of blood and bits of flesh bubbling to the water's surface(..this is really director Michael Oblowitz's main cue as to inform the viewer that those being torn apart are goners).Combs doesn't break new ground as the scientist, but he's always had an ability to convey a quiet madness under this cold-blooded resolve. It's fun seeing Forsythe in a rare clean-cut hero role, very against type as an electronics wiz(..to his credit, he actually pulls it off)who must assume a leadership position when the group faces unprecedented peril. Tylo is also in a very different kind of role, a scientist who can defend herself quite well. Roberts can play the millionaire businessman roles in his sleep, and it's kind of neat seeing him firing off a machine gun at Combs' soldiers(..although, his fate is not pleasant). Mentioning that, it was also really entertaining watching Forythe and Tylo downing Combs' hired goons with confiscated automatic machine guns. As expected, the screenplay allows those who created the murderous fiend to put themselves in unnecessary danger just so that they can pay for their sins..I mean, seriously, would these people knowingly leave themselves so vulnerable to attack after seeing just what damage to the human anatomy it could do? Beautiful exotic setting is quite a nice backdrop.

This is about a mad scientist who creates a half shark - half man type critter on an uncharted island, then calls up all his old business and academic buddies to come and see his creation (evil laugh) but actually he wants his sharkman to kill them! Lots of bad GCI, goofy plot elements, and babes sweating in tight T-shirts follow.These monster movies all follow a similar formula, but this one spices things up with a bit of humor (I guarantee the folks who made this had tongues firmly planted in cheek), not to mention the sexy babes. But let's mention those sexy babes - several hot babes, in tight T-shirts, sweating profusely. One's in her undies at the beginning, another at the end. Thank you, thank you, makers of bad movies! The plot is full of goofy stuff, a guy drives up in a jeep, slams it right into a tree, then offers to fly everyone off the island in a helicopter. Yeah, um, well, how 'bout we think about that for a while; we'll get back to you. The sharkman is hilarious - either awful CGI or an equally comedic guy in a rubber suit. The mad scientist gives a pretty good performance; he's evil, that's his motivation, he makes no apologies.Overall, if you want a stupid, FUN B-movie, this one should do the job.

First thing comes to mind with this movie was that this idea was done and executed before with Peter Benchley's Creature, but this is the first time the viewer gets to see it done in a way that they would be thinking, "Oh. My. God., their trying to breed this with a human." You see a plot happen before with Deep Blue Sea when they introduce human DNA into a shark, now they introduce a shark DNA into a human. The results of this become something rather nasty. Jeffory Combs in this one plays a role that made him famous by Stuart Gordon, that being a mad scientist. This takes the mad scientist movie and gives it an even more sinister dimension. Keep in mind this isn't Herbert West, but a doctor who is a little more twisted. So this takes the Benchly idea and makes it a tad meaner and a lot more violent. You actually get to see the creature eat his victims. I could crack in there with a joke when someone sees this beast, "Uh oh -- someone is about to become dinner." The plot is this. The doctor gets even with his former colleagues by luring them into a fortress with a promising all paid expenses vacation, innocent enough but when they get there he drops a big "F--K YOU" to them by saying they will be on his son's menu. This is what happens when man plays God and f--ks with nature, nature gets even ten times over. It is tough what to tag this movie in the sense of it being a Science Fiction film or a horror film in itself because it has elements of both in there. This movie in itself is a nasty horror film in its own right; but I will say it is trying to pick up more on what they did with Creature except in that one the shark had to breed with Great White. The idea with the creature breeding with a human made me go "EEEWWW." I will go to say this one takes the idea with Benchley's Creature and makes it a little more frighting but this was done before with Benchley's story. Do I recommend this film -- yes if it ever comes to DVD. Watch Creature first so you can compare notes between the two; this one has one thing that makes it a little creepier than Creature -- even the plants are just as nasty as the shark is.Moral of the story, don't go laughing at a psycho who has a sick idea of making a new species and planning to breed them. The infants in this one are just as freakish as the actual creature is. Even if Sci-Fi channel movies tend to be something viewers like to heckle the crap out of -- I will say they did okay with this one. I will say Jeffery Combs is a type-casted actor now since he did Re-Aminator; he's well known in the genres of horror and Science Fiction. Still a good actor though for the genres he is best known in. The deaths are gruesome though in this -- the shark just doesn't use his teeth for them either.