Shark Spotlight: Bad CGI Sharks (2019)
by Emily Nagle
Happy Shark Week, movie lovers! To celebrate, Don’t Tell will be posting a special series this week called Shark Spotlight, where each day we’ll highlight a different shark-themed movie in the Invincible catalog. Today we’re kicking off this exciting new series by taking a look at “Bad CGI Sharks“.
This movie puts a meta twist on the sharksploitation movie genre, as it’s a movie about two brothers creating a movie within a movie! Pretty creative. “Bad CGI Sharks” tells the story of Jason (Jason Ellsworth), and Matthew (Matthew Ellsworth), two estranged brothers who reconnect to finish the script for a shark movie they began in their childhood. However, things get dangerous when a poorly rendered CGI shark starts wreaking havoc in their neighborhood! The brothers’ bond is put to the test as they must figure out how to put an end to the madness and their movie.
We start off meeting Bernardo (Matteo Molinari), this kooky movie guy who uses a magical clapboard to bring the story of Jason and Matthew to life. Bernardo is kind of like the god of the in-movie universe, which adds to the meta aspect. At the most random moments, the story cuts to him sitting in his weird movie room commenting on the story, and eventually teleports into the movie, much to Jason and Matthew’s confusion. He even creates physical bullet points that hang in the air to explains how shark movies typically play out, so that they can avoid a similar fate.
Bernardo then introduces us to Jason, whose mother unexpectedly sends his free-spirited brother Matthew to live with him. The latter tries to convince Jason to finish Sharks Outta Water, a shark film they started as kids. Jason initially resists, but eventually caves, as having gotten fired recently, he’s got nothing else going for him. Sounds easy enough…until they find themselves running from a poorly rendered CGI shark!
The best part of “Bad CGI Sharks”, as well as the quality that sets it apart from all the other sharksploitation movies out there, is how self-aware it is. Every part of it is intentionally bad to poke fun at the genre. Like, the shark is poorly animated because pretty much every shark in the history of shark movies looks like that. “Bad CGI Sharks” definitely falls into the “so bad it’s good” category – it’s bad with a purpose.
It’s clear everyone involved in this movie had a blast working on it. The credits feature a silly original rap made just for the movie (which is actually quite a banger), and features funny side comments. If you’re looking for a cinematic masterpiece, then this isn’t for you. However, if you just wanna invite your friends over and crack open a cold one on a Friday night, “Bad CGI Sharks” is the perfect movie to just have fun with!
“Bad CGI Sharks” is available to watch for free on Galxy. Tune into Don’t Tell Netflix tomorrow for another installment of Shark Spotlight!