Critic Reviews
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Tom Huddlestone, Time Out
How could one hate a film where a giant shark jumps out of the sea and brings down a plane?
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Mike Edwards, What Culture
Mega Swindle vs Giant Rip-Off
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Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique
If ever there was a film that seemed designed with Mystery Science Theater 3000 in mind, this is it.
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Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
a goofy if not entertaining piece of filmmaking
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Philip French, Observer [UK]
The risible special effects and the clumsy acting recall not Roger Corman productions but the ineptitude of Ed Wood, though the result is far less endearing.
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Peter Whittle, Sunday Times (UK)
How this ever got released is a mystery. Unwatchable, almost unreviewable, this stupid monster movie makes the Bela Lugosi swan song Plan 9 from Outer Space look like a masterpiece.
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David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
Like a feud between Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole, you don't care who wins, but it's fun to watch. Alas, the preceding 80 minutes aren't. Great title, lousy film.
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Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
Daft, plain daft. With a few daft but spectacular stunts.
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Jon Fortgang, Film4
Perez's film ought to be an hour-and-a-half of beery, dumb-ass fun. Instead it has the weary air of a genuinely disastrous disaster movie. Size, it seems, matters after all.
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Wendy Ide, Times [UK]
This film is bad on every level. In fact, it's bad on levels hitherto unexplored by mainstream cinema.
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Catherine Shoard, Guardian [UK]
What a drag. This grabby-titled disaster flick - splashing across the pond on a tidal wave of chuckly publicity - is a damp squib.
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Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
They fight, and look rubbish, and one eats an aircraft. Is bad the new good? I wish. Sometimes bad is just tacky.
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Adam Woodward, Little White Lies
For those of you familiar with the trailer, you may as well stop here because you've already seen the best bits, pretty much in their entirety.
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Rob Daniel, Sky Movies
Shonky script, shonky FX, shonky acting, and less money than Michael Bay gets out of bed for make this a disappointment after the chuckles generated from that hilarious promo on YouTube.
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Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
The acting is terrible (and not in a good way), the script is boring and if you've seen the trailer you've already seen all the effects shots.
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Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
So simplistically done that it makes you feel like you could make a better movie than this on your home computer
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Robbie Collin, News of the World
So bad, it's gone past good, hung a left at awful, went screaming down hackwork highway for 50 miles and ended up somewhere in the vicinity of terrible- but-actually-quite-good-fun.
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James O'Ehley, Sci-Fi Movie Page
Better than Transformers 2!
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Steve "Uncle Creepy" Barton, Dread Central
With a bigger special effects budget Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus would be a guaranteed cult classic in the making.
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Bill Gibron, PopMatters
Schlock may be an acquired taste, like caviar, foie gras, and Arby's, but it's hard to see how anyone wouldn't enjoy this extremely tacky dish.
Read all 20 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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This was one of the funniest movies ive seen in a long time. Wonderful for its hilarity . . what its not suppose to be funny?I guess 3 1/2 might be too much . .
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It's hard to believe that a movie with a concept this good, could fail to be entertaining on every conceivable level, but somehow this does.
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They say this is the best asylum movie. I ask how?
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Not the best or the worst of the Asylum's output. But you do get to see Debbie Gibson fight a giant shark and a giant octopus, so it's not a total waste.
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Jack Perez goes ultimate B movie with <i>Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus</i> and it ends up ultimately terrible.<p>The title is the only thing this film has going for it. Sure, the plot sounds great, but everything that transpires throughout this so-called brief 80+… More
Jack Perez goes ultimate B movie with <i>Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus</i> and it ends up ultimately terrible.<p>The title is the only thing this film has going for it. Sure, the plot sounds great, but everything that transpires throughout this so-called brief 80+ minute production is absolutely forgettable. There is too much time spent watching uninteresting characters do unimpressive things, all the while spitting out crummy dialogue. To some level this picture is laughable, but not because it's funny. The laughter is directed at how can this film be so poor.</p><p>The CG is cheesy, and while this isn't surprising, it still disappoints. What's more of a disappointment is that the screen time of the mega shark and giant octopus aren't as enormous as their names. The CG is obviously bad. There is no need to hide this flaw. Go ahead and unleash the beasts.</p><p>The acting isn't award winning and neither are the characters. That's all there is to say about that.</p><p><i>Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus</i> had potential, if only some, but in the end it is just atrocious. It's as simple as that.</p>
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There are plenty of other non-modern B movies than wasting your time with this. This is the sort of film you watch on tv after you lost your job. Horrible. Special Effects are better with my eyes closed. Just go to youtube and watch it first.
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Intentionally campy or not, you can't fake sheer incompetence. It was fantastic seeing this immediately after Inglourious Basterds because seriously, what better teaching tool is there to learn about good directing than seeing utterly awful directing? Quentin Tarantino probably… More
Intentionally campy or not, you can't fake sheer incompetence. It was fantastic seeing this immediately after Inglourious Basterds because seriously, what better teaching tool is there to learn about good directing than seeing utterly awful directing? Quentin Tarantino probably eats people like Jack Perez to sustain his life force. Anyway, I had a really hard time reading whether this movie was taking itself seriously or not, which is something I consider myself pretty good at. It was just...mind-numbingly bad. Even by Sci-Fi (SyFy for you dumb motherfuckers) standards. I caught the first half hour of Spring Break Shark Attack after this was over and found myself thinking "wow, this isn't that bad," which I think was the result of cognitive dissonance. Or maybe my brain is just rotting.
I really can't tell you what to expect from this if you're not familiar with the art form. The CGI is repulsive, and the acting is the kind that causes you vicarious embarrassment. Debbie Gibson is probably crying into her scotch right now. Also, anyone who can become a director of a project with at least some cash bankrolled must know a thing or two about even simple stuff like pacing, blocking, set construction, lighting...or apparently not. The film looks and plays like absolute shit. The camp quotient is nice and consistent but, sad as it is to say, the production values are so distracting that it actually makes the affair difficult to sit through. Alcohol may be necessary for this one. Be warned!
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This motherfucker is going to rock more than any film has ever rocked in the history of rocking. It will rock so hard that it will coin the phrase "Stuck between a rock and Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus". People will have candlelit vigils to celebrate it's coming.
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One doesn't go into a movie called Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus expecting a masterpiece out of it. This movie is a huge disappointment with a misleading title.
Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus is the California coast is terrorized by two enormous prehistoric sea creatures as they… More
One doesn't go into a movie called Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus expecting a masterpiece out of it. This movie is a huge disappointment with a misleading title.
Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus is the California coast is terrorized by two enormous prehistoric sea creatures as they battle each other for supremacy of the sea. Well that's what my DVD box told me, but it's actually about scientists trying to killed these two giant sea creatures and it's boring beyond words. I knew I was immediately in trouble when the opening title said "The Asylum Presents", which is the same company that made the incredibly stupid Mega Piranha. One thing I notice upon viewing is that there was barely any footage of Mega Shark and the Giant Octopus which I found disappointing. How could anyone not be entertain seeing a giant shark jumping from the ocean and taking down an airplane or seeing that same shark taking a bite of the Golden Gate Bridge. Other than those two moments the movie has nothing to offer. If you want to see it just for the battle you'll be extremely disappointed since it last 20 seconds, and halve of it is stock footage from different angles. All that happens is the shark struggling when the octopus grabs and the shark rips off a tentacle of the octopus and he even rip offs the same tentacle in the stock footage. This movie was a huge letdown and offers nothing for those who enjoy watching bad movies for the comedic values.
The acting is not even worth mentioning since no one clearly cared about what they were doing. I can't blame them, when you have to deliver lines like "Those guys have been frozen in ice for millions of years. Wouldn't you be a little horny?". This movie can cause seizures since it's constantly using white flashes to transit from scenes to scenes. The special effects aren't really special and it's pathetic how bad it is. What's more shocking is that this movie actually had a theatrical release which makes this movie are the more pathetic and demonstrates the filmmakers lack of talent to make a good, let alone watchable movie.
Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus is simply a bad movie that rarely entertainments. Even if you enjoy watching bad movies this is one worth skipping.
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Ah, only an absolute atrocity in cinematic history deserves to be awarded the infamous zero star rating. So, I'll give it the next best thing.
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus is so abysmally awful that it is actually painful to watch, even though it comes off as an unintentional… More
Ah, only an absolute atrocity in cinematic history deserves to be awarded the infamous zero star rating. So, I'll give it the next best thing.
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus is so abysmally awful that it is actually painful to watch, even though it comes off as an unintentional comedy.
The story is outlandish and unbelievable, the acting is horrifyingly bad, the writing is amazingly and awfully cheesy, the movie appears to have been directed and edited (more than twice you will see the same exact shot used) by a 12-year-old boy, and the special effects are laughable every single time they appear on the screen. This movie is an absolute embarrassment.
You have to wonder if the people involved with this movie actually took their jobs seriously.
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"Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus" is the most ineptly made film I have ever had the sheer displeasure of encountering. Even as an intentionally bad motion picture, this one sucks.
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Seriously, what would you expect to go right in a movie titled <i>Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus</i>? As terrible as it sounds, and if that's a draw for you, then you won't be disappointed. Some laughable lines ("Don't love the ocean too much. It will… More
Seriously, what would you expect to go right in a movie titled <i>Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus</i>? As terrible as it sounds, and if that's a draw for you, then you won't be disappointed. Some laughable lines ("Don't love the ocean too much. It will never love you back.") and eye-popping awful effects that look rendered from 1996 videogame software combine for a soggy good bad time. Deborah Gibson fits nicely as the spunky marine biologist, Sean Lawlor earns hammy points as her ex-hippie Irish professor, and Vic Chao is the nerdiest trying-to-play-it-straight scientist since the astronaut waxing poetic about "the good and the beautiful" in MST3K's <i>The Phantom Planet.</i> But the real life of the party is Lorenzo Lamas as the knee-jerking army general...uh, navy seal...no, marine captain...well who the hell knows WHAT he does other than wear the cloak of the bad government guy in charge who likes to interrupt conversations with variations of the opening phrase, "When you're done with your love fest..."
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Like The Terminator, A New Hope and Metropolis, you get the feel that those behind this are trying to realise a vision far beyond their budget. It's also played straight, when it would have been easy to hire that Wayans guy and chuck in some dick jokes.
That taken into account,… More
Like The Terminator, A New Hope and Metropolis, you get the feel that those behind this are trying to realise a vision far beyond their budget. It's also played straight, when it would have been easy to hire that Wayans guy and chuck in some dick jokes.
That taken into account, it's still crap.
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STOCK FOOTAGE: The Movie!
This could have been an hour and half of just Debbie Gibson and I would have been ok with that, but to my pleasant surprise this film also features Lorenzo Lamas, and that other guy from that one show. Not only does Director Jack Perez ice his delectable… More
STOCK FOOTAGE: The Movie!
This could have been an hour and half of just Debbie Gibson and I would have been ok with that, but to my pleasant surprise this film also features Lorenzo Lamas, and that other guy from that one show. Not only does Director Jack Perez ice his delectable cake with a layer of awesome actors, he sprinkles on top some of the most awesome sea battles human eyes have witnessed since the Spanish Armada vs. Mecha Godzilla; hell yeah the title creatures go at it hardcore. A coalition of nuclear submarines also go at it too. And then there's this one scene where the sub driver has a nervous breakdown and pulls a gun on the captain and everyone starts yelling at each other and then Debbie Gibson punches him in the face.
The only thing I didn't like about this movie was the sex scene. I mean, there was a perfectly good "doing science" scene taking place and all of sudden her and the asian man just start going at it. Next time I stalk Debbie Gibson at a book signing I'll be sure to bring a couple lab coats and a beaker with me, since it's clear she's turned on by science...and sea monsters.
Read all 15 featured audience ratings
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