Great White Review

I’m always down to see a creature feature, and while some may argue that this doesn’t count, I argue that it does because we are facing off against mother nature. The movie “Great White” is simple, to the point, and draws you in immediately. The Australian horror movie was released earlier in 2021 and is now available through Shudder as it is an exclusive. We are going to dive into this one, and see whether or not it’s worth your time, especially as we are awash with Christmas horror on the streaming platforms. Could this be worthy of better than other shark movies? Is it going to be as good as Jaws? Let’s take a look at “Great White”, now streaming. 

The first thing that you’re going to notice is that the film’s cinematography is good. It’s an Australian horror movie and it has a decent visual budget to it. The natural splendor is shot nicely, and you really are treated to the wild, giving you a decent sense of adventure overall. If you have an HD tv, of course this is going to show. This seems like a straight to DVD movie, but the cinematography lends itself well to something a bit higher than that bar. 

The plot of the movie is simple, a group of tourists and their guides get stuck when their plane is attacked by a shark. The crew ventures out after they see a dead body wash ashore, which is why their plane is out in the waters to begin with. After the initial search shows up another dead body, the plane sinking, and the characters trying to get away, we are in full throttle survival mode. This becomes a full creature survival horror movie, and the scares are definitely put in with the shark’s motions and biting. 

The movie is slowly paced, has a good deal of horror moments, and is isolated in the way the presentation goes. If you’re a fan of shark movies, then you’ll know what to expect here, and you won’t be surprised by how the filmmakers handle the shark, the attacks, and whether there are survivors or note. It’s not too gorey, it’s not going to trump “Jaws” but “Great White” has a little something to offer most audiences, with a tense score, a tight script, and good overall acting. I didn’t hate it, and feel it’s a welcome addition to creature features, shark movies, and of course horror as a genre. 

“Great White” is now streaming as a Shudder release, at least at the time of this review. 

The Loved Ones Review

A good revenge flick needs a hook. “The Loved Ones” did not have that initial hook, but it certainly carried itself away in the revenge horror category, albeit with a twist. The plot of the movie is simple, and ramps up heavy with gore, and more. The story simply puts you in a “what if” world, that is kind of scary to say the least, and then drives the point home. 

The plot of the film features a simple premise. A young woman asks a young man to the dance, and he declines. She gets mad, and instead of just blowing it off, she decides to seek out revenge by kidnapping him and forcing him into a somewhat deadly twist of events. 

This is an Australian horror movie, and it is fast paced. It starts swift, and continues to throw you through the revenge plot and fight to get out. You don’t have a lot of time to breathe, especially once our main hero is trapped and being held against his will. By the time you get through the first two acts, you are treated with a twist that definitely didn’t get broadcasted at first. I won’t reveal it, but it’s definitely something that I liked and thought was clever to say the least. 

The movie is shot well, it has some good overall direction, acting, and hits all the right buttons for a horror movie. The drawback may be the accents for some, but other than that, you’ll find that there are some cliché moments overall. “The Loved Ones” brings about a good sense of dread, revenge plot, and even feels like a grindhouse picture at times. You root for the hero, you jeer the villain, and you hope for the best, until you get more dread than you bargained for overall. In the end, this is a horror flick you want to check out, and possibly add it to your collection.