BAIT

Sometimes it is just nice to switch your brain off, sit back and watch an entertaining movie.  This was my plan when watching the new Australian horror film, “Bait”, the latest in a long line of shark attack movies.  I knew little about “Bait” a few months ago but after seeing the trailer for the film, it didn’t look half bad.  Back in 2000, director Kimble Rendall made the very embarrassing supernatural slasher “Cut”, which was initially meant to be the first of a trilogy.  Due to the disappointment “Cut” turned out to be, the trilogy never happened and the series died, so too Kimble Rendall’s career it appeared, as since “Cut” he has only been credited with eight episodes of a television series, that is until “Bait”.  While the film isn’t award worthy in the slightest, I think it is safe to assume that Rendall’s career has been given the boost it needed by “Bait”.

The story of “Bait” is a simple, but effective one, as we follow the survivors of a tsunami that hits a local beach-side town, who are trapped in the wreckage of a supermarket where most worked or shopped at.  At first, the ten or so survivors consider themselves lucky to be alive, until they realize that they are trapped in a submerged environment along with a hungry great white shark.  Knowing that there is sure to be aftershocks and a chance of the supermarket’s complete collapse, the group try to escape to what is left outside, all the while trying not to become this shark’s latest dinner.

Make no mistakes about it, “Bait” is not in the slightest a good film, in fact for the most part, it is actually quite a bad film but even with all of its faults (and there are a lot), it surprisingly is very entertaining.  One of the major problems with the film is its terrible script which was written by John Kim and Russell Mulcahy (who originally planned to direct the film himself).  The dialogue and situations presented are bottom of the barrel type garbage which is sadly becoming the norm in horror films these days.  It is such a weak script that I am surprised that it garnered any interest from actors at all and that they would be willing to spout such drivel.  

That said the actors that they did end up securing for the film are terrible.  The levels of the performances in “Bait” are just deplorable.  With the exception of Xavier Samuels as our main hero, Josh, and Phoebe Tonkin as kleptomaniac Jaimie, the rest of the cast give some of the worst performances I have seen for a long, long time.  The worst culprit though has to be Cariba Heine’s work as Heather, she is just shocking.  The biggest problem though is her attempt at an American accent, in fact it is a problem with the majority of the cast especially the female members.  “Bait” was shot in Australia (in Coolangatta, Queensland) and I always assumed that it was set there too because no indication of the contrary is ever shown, but for some reason everyone seems to be putting on terribly unconvincing American accents that really become very distracting and take you out of the film.  On the male side of things, Julian McMahon is just a train-wreck.  It doesn’t help that the script does him no favours, as he is part of a ridiculous side-plot involving a robbery that goes nowhere, but again, his performance is cringe worthy.

Where the film does excel at though is its terrific shark attack sequences.  Rendall actually builds up some real suspense during these scenes and the pay offs are usually well done.  I am also happy to report that animatronic sharks are used prominently in these scenes which really contribute to the authentic atmosphere.  While it is true that there are moments where a CGI shark is used, and these scenes are much less effective, it is just good to finally have something real that you can sense is in the scene with the actors.  As usual in a horror movie, “Bait” finds its characters doing stupid things which increases the chances that they might come in contact with the shark, but again, Rendall creates a great sense of realism (even during the absurd) and suspense in these scenes, that you find yourself going along for the ride.  A prime example of this is when a guy creates a “shark proof” body suit for himself which he wears while he goes underwater to turn off the electrical mains so everyone does not get electrocuted.  The situation created is ridiculous but you actually find yourself caring about what is about to happen and you start to feel the tension.  

Due to the fact that I am not a huge fan of 3-D , I chose to see “Bait” in its 2-D incarnation, so I am unable to talk about how effective the film is in this format, but just from my viewing it appeared that it wouldn’t have added much more to the experience.  Thankfully it appears that Rendall stayed away from hokey “in your face” type 3-D effects which in my opinion only cheapen the gimmick, however I must admit that I wasn’t particularly paying attention or looking out for them.  While I assume the tsunami may have benefitted from the 3-D, sadly this potentially brilliant scene was let down by poor CGI special effects, which if I had to guess was the result of a low budget.

Even when I was in the moment watching “Bait”, I was under no illusions that the film was any good, and yet due to Kimble Rendall’s assured direction during the suspense and action scenes, I found myself thoroughly entertained during the majority of the film.  Rendall’s decision to pace the film slowly at the beginning pays off because it creates anticipation however this strong start is almost destroyed by the terrible hold-up subplot.  Once we are introduced to our cardboard cut-out survivors the film lags in the middle but picks up significantly towards the end due to the shark carnage, thanks largely to the practical effects used.  “Bait” has some of the worst acting I have seen in a very long time, but I am almost embarrassed to say that I had a good time with it.  Just switch off your brain and enjoy, you could do a lot worse.

2.5 Stars.