Bait (2012) – Review

Where to watch Bait

3 Stars

Josh and his friends have a sweet gig as life guards on an Australian beach. It only takes a moment though for the job to turn into a nightmare. A large great white goes on a feeding frenzy and Josh loses his best friend. A year later he’s still wallowing in his loss, which has now also cost him his girlfriend, and has taken a job as a stock boy in a local supermarket. His girlfriend Tina has just returned from Singapore with a new boyfriend and the supermarket is being robbed. Luckily a cop is in the store because his rebelling teen daughter has shoplifted. Unluckily for them all a freak tsunami hits the city and floods the underground market and parking garage. A lot of sea life has been brought along with the wave, including two enormous great white sharks. One by one the trapped people are picked off. Who will make it out alive?

Right from the get go Bait let’s the audience know exactly what kind of horror ride they’re in for. Cheesy special effects with just enough blood to make it gory, but not too much to be unsettling. There are two types of killer shark movies out there. The first plays into the Jaws suspense building where you don’t see much of the monster, and then there’s those that are the exact opposite. Bait is the latter, unashamed of showing its meager budget compared to Hollywood flicks. The CGI sharks are incredibly fake, but there are moments when the effects are very real. These moments are typically when the sharks aren’t in full view or attacking someone.

This is a straight ‘stuck in a box’ horror film in which several people with different colorful pasts are forced to work together in order to escape a horrible death. Most of the attempts at escape are silly and far-fetched, but that’s the type of thing that adds charm to these kinds of B pictures. If you have a decent imagination and allow for suspension of disbelief, Bait is an enjoyable hour and a half.

You may notice a few familiar faces, namely Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck and Fantastic 4) and Phoebe Tonkin (Secret Circle). The acting is fine, although the actors aren’t giving much to chew on. All in all Bait is a fun shark attack movie that meets expectations with ease. I would recommend this to horror fans who like cheesy SyFy movie of the week type flicks.

Director: Kimble Rendall
Stars: Xavier Samuel, Sharni Vinson, Julian McMahon