Sea Beast DVD Review
When you see the cover art on the Sea Beast DVD box, you immediately think: Gawd, I hope Roger Kastel is getting some money for this. When you read the back cover plot description, you think: Oh, man… this had better be better than a Sci-Fi Channel original. And when you start watching the movie, you think: (wait for it) Wow, I'm hooked.
Sea Beast may not be as catchy a title as Frankenfish, but it does live up to its name: There's a Sea Beast and it's not friendly. Low-budget but sincere, the direct-to-disc flick shamelessly steals from Predator, Humanoids From the Deep, Aliens, Piranha II, and so many more. Even its cast are blatant lookalikes for other actors. There is nothing new under the sea — but fortunately writer/director Paul Ziller knows how to create tidal waves out of whirlpools when it comes to delivering the monster movie goods.
In the very beginning, we meet Will McKenna (Corin Nemec) — a fisherman caught in a rain-lashing storm with his crew. A man goes overboard, but that doesn't mean the vessel returns without the exact same number of warm bodies. The stowaway is a venomous, semi-transparent and very toothy humanoid with an appetite for blood. Easily flitting from sea-foam to terra firma, the creature pounces on its prey and kills with shocking ferocity. Here is where Sea Beast struts its stuff: there's not only notable suspense leading up to the death scenes, but big, wet, painful payoffs. And there's some pretty kickass payback from Will's teenage daughter Carly (Miriam McDonald), too.
The practical effects, the gooey gunk, and the wicked ways of dispatch are all top-notch, in your face fun. The GCI, creature's cheesy POV, and the ho-hum score… not so much.
If you're not expecting all awful lot but you do have standards, then Sea Beast should more than float your boat: definitely worth the price of a rental, or a bargain bin snag.
There are no extras on the DVD.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson