'Shark Bait' Review: It's 'Open Water' Meets 'Jaws' in this Spring Break Creature Feature

Director James Nunn’s (One Shot) new film Shark Bait hits theaters, Digital and On Demand on Friday the 13th! The film was written by Nick Salters, and stars Holly Earl (‘Humans’), Jack Truman (‘The Conversation’), Catherine Hannah (‘Doctors’), Malachi Pullar-Latchman (‘Hounded’) and Thomas Flynn (‘Bridgerton’).

Shark Bait follows a group of college friends spending their last Spring Break on the beaches of Mexico. Not wanting the fun to end the group convinces Nat (Earl), the normally reserved one, to keep the party going into the next day. In the morning Tom (Truman) and Tyler (Pullar-Latchman) get the bright idea of breaking into a jet ski rental office and stealing a couple of them. Still hesitant Nat is peer pressured into heading out into the ocean on the “borrowed” jet skis. The group sets out on their joy ride into the ocean when a game of chicken ends in a head on collision.

The group is now all injured, to some extent, with Greg (Flynn) suffering a severely broken leg and bleeding out into the ocean water. One of the jet skis is completely wrecked and begins to sink, while the other won’t start at all. Injured and bloodied the group is desperate for a solution. Tyler decides to attempt to swim to a boat they passed on the way for help. On the way he encounters a giant shark and then the fun begins.

Slowly the remaining group is hunted by the shark and must stick together to survive. Nat finds herself having to be the leader of the group as her boyfriend Tom is completely void of the necessary means to survive. They are in a race against the clock as not only is the shark aware of their presence, but the heat and lack of water begins to take its toll on the friends. The gloves begin to come off and secrets revealed as the desperation of each person begins to take shape. Can they stick together long enough to survive and not become Shark Bait?

I think one of the great things about this film is the simplicity of the story. There’s no far fetched gimmicks to advance the plot. It really is a story that could seemingly happen to anyone not careful in the ocean. The transition of Nat is one of someone that appears to be a pushover and not a risk taker, to a completely in charge hero that rises to the occasion more than once.

Nat possesses many of the same qualities as the traditional horror film “Final Girl” with her toughness and unwavering determination only solidifying that. Her actions speak to those of the “quiet type” however are ready in an emergency with a cool head and logical thinking.

Shark Bait was filmed in Malta just after the pandemic lockdown was lifted to allow for filming. So you may need to forgive the almost barren Spring Break beaches in the film. The CGI is not the greatest in this film, but it’s not Sy-Fy Original Movie level bad for sure! And you may definitely question why Nat is friends with some of these characters in the first place.

But, what the film does well is create that suspenseful isolation that you can only find in films where the open ocean is another character working against them fans of films like Open Water or Deep Blue Sea will enjoy this movie. All in all Shark Bait is a suspenseful joyride of a creature feature. 3/5

★★★