Bait [2012]

September 29, 2012

Now, I can officially say that I have some sort of shark movie fetish. No matter how low the budget, how painfully bad and terrible they are, I have to check them out. I guess it all started with the movie Jaws which left a pretty big impression on me. After all, I did see it for the first time as a small kid. Ahhh, the joys of the eighties. Bait AKA Bait 3D is an entertaining shark movie despite its rather bizarre premise. What bizarre premise you might be asking at this point. Well, let’s just say they could’ve titled this movie Sharks in the Supermarket and they wouldn’t be wrong.

Do not be afraid that this is one of those cheap and over-the-top shark movies that are flooding the market right now. Bait is a movie that continues the long tradition of B action horror movies in the best possible way. The production values are good and the special effects believable. On top of that, the script isn’t too shabby either although the characters are rather generic. As you might’ve noticed the 3D in the alternate title of this movie, Bait 3D, refers to this new 3D kajigger. Just two years earlier Piranha 3D smashed the box offices around the world offering a new kind of aquatic terror.

Shark Night 3D tried cornering the market and failed miserably in 2011 so the path was clear for the next contender. And just to be perfectly clear, despite not making “enough” money in Australia, Bait absolutely smashed the Chinese market making over $24 million in its initial theatrical run. As it is customary in these sorts of movies, nudity is a factor. However, the crew of Bait decided to treat us just with a few bikini shots at the beginning of the movie, and the rest is just action and suspense. Throughout the movie, I applauded the director and writer as I kept remembering that they are fighting sharks in a fucking supermarket.

And then I realized that one of the writers is none other than Russel Mulcahy. If you’re not familiar with his body of work, he actually started his career with a natural horror movie Razorback about a giant killer pig. His most successful movies include Highlander, Ricochet, and The Shadow. The supermarket is such an iconic place that a lot of movies chose it as its main location. The Mist or Dawn of the Dead are the perfect examples although we also have Cashback offering a bit of a different atmosphere.

Tina and Rory are living their best lives right now. They’re in love and they work together as lifeguards on the same beach as Tina’s brother. However, after a horrific accident, everything changes forever. One year later and we find Rory working in the local supermarket, far away from the beach. And just when he thought that he got away from that dreaded place, it was going to come back to haunt him. And not just that, it’s going to come back to fucking eat him!

The cast of the movie Bait did a serviceable job. Nobody stood out with particularly good or particularly bad acting. Actually, if they just leaned a bit into this familiar B movie formula, this could’ve been both a hilarious and entertaining shark movie. The above-mentioned Piranha 3D did that with great success. Nonetheless, Bait is a highly entertaining and above all original movie. The creativity was simply oozing from most of the scenes, including the ones with the diving suit and the shotgun one.

To find out more about them, you’ll have to check out this excellent movie. If you’re looking for more of the same, check our Subversive Rabbit selection of Shark Movies. Finally, I do want to add that this was the perfect opportunity to use some of the smaller sharks. They always go for the Great White leaving out, for example, the Shortfin Mako shark. This highly aggressive and powerful shark is responsible for a lot of attacks on humans. However, we should all remember that shark attacks are extremely rare and that sharks are actually an endangered species. Including the above-mentioned Shortfin Mako.