Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009)
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Winner... Eats... All!
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— Tagline |
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus is an American giant monster film produced by The Asylum, and the first entry in the studio's Mega Shark series. It was released on DVD in the United States on May 19, 2009.
Contents
Plot
While piloting a stolen Aquanaut 3 mini-submarine off the coast of Alaska, oceanographer Emma MacNeil discovers a pod of whales before a top secret military experiment disturbs them and releases two prehistoric creatures from the ice. At her job in California, she finds an odd fragment of organic material while examining a whale carcass, contradicting the standing hypothesis that it had been injured by a ship's propeller. However, before she can investigate any further, she is fired for stealing the submarine. Shortly after, a Giant Octopus attacks a Japanese oil rig, leaving only one survivor, who is interviewed by the Japanese oceanographer Seiji Shimada. Elsewhere, Mega Shark leaps from the ocean and eats an plane passing overhead. After sneaking into the site where the whale carcass was being held, Emma extracts the fragment and contacts her former professor, Lamar Sanders. Together they come to the conclusion that it is the tooth of a Megalodon. They meet with Shimada and watch a tape from MacNeil's voyage which reveals that the Giant Octopus had escaped alongside the Megalodon. That night, they are press-ganged into helping the U.S. military eliminate the beasts.
The scientists managed to convince the military to try to capture the monsters alive, and are put to work to try to find ways to lure them into the shallows of Tokyo Bay and San Francisco Bay. While working together, MacNeil and Shimada discuss their deep-seated relationship to the ocean, which leads to them having sex and determining that they should utilize pheromones to attract the monsters. However, both attempts failed miserably, and lead to Mega Shark taking a bite out of the Golden Gate Bridge. The two creatures then flee into the Pacific Ocean, and the scientists decide to allow the monsters to fight one another to the death. They use the pheromone trick again near where the beasts were first unleashed. Leading Mega Shark through a deep sea trench, they narrowly escape unharmed. After destroying many ships and submarines, the monsters begin to grapple. The Giant Octopus loses the tips of two of his tentacles before finally grappling Mega Shark and constricting it until they both sink to the bottom of the sea, motionless.
Happily reunited, Emma and Seiji sit on the beach thinking of their future together. However, they are approached by Lamar with a file folder. They joke about the once-in-a-lifetime experience of tracking down a gigantic shark before Lamar reveals that his folder contains what he calls "another lifetime." The team runs off to pursue it.
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Jack Perez
- Written by Jack Perez
- Produced by David Michael Latt
- Executive producing by David Rimawi
- Music by Chris Ridenhour
- Cinematography by Alexander Yellen
- Edited by Marq Morrison
- Production design by Nino Zagaroli
- Assistant directing by Xavier S. Puslowski
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Deborah Gibson as Dr. Emma MacNeil
- Lorenzo Lamas as Allan Baxter
- Vic Chao as Dr. Seiji Shimada
- Jonathan Nation as Vince
- Mark Hengst as Dick Ritchie
- Michael The as Takeo
- Chris Haley as Kenji
- Sean Lawlor as Lamar Sanders
- Dustin Harnish as Helmsman
- Dean Kreyling as U.S. Sub Captain
- Stephen Blackehart as U.S. Sub Sonar Chief
- Dana Dimatteo as Marine Biologist
- Myles Cranford as Deputy
- Dana Healey as Naval Officer
- John Bolen as Weapons Officer
- Larry Parrish as Japanese Typhoon Captain
- Aki Hiro as Typhoon Navigator
- Russ Kingston as Admiral Scott
- Stefanie Gernhauser as Sub Commander
- Cooper Harris as Sonar Tech
- Matt Lagan as Destroyer Captain
- Douglas N. Hachiya as Destroyer Sonar Tech
- Hunter Ives, John Gilligan as Destroyer Sonar Men
- Michael Allendorf, Colin Broussard as Radiomen
- Mikos Zavros as Navigator
- Elijah Flores, Daniel Schachtel as FBI Agents
- David Meador as Blackbird Pilot
- Jay Beyers as Pilot, Deck Officers
- Michael L. Parisi, Michael Drummond, Molly Drummond, Emily Lavigna, Michelle Hodnett, Silje Gruner, Joey Ruggles, Knayi Clement as Passengers
- Brandon Plemons as Sailor
- Conrad Lihilihi, Rebecca Helm, Chan Park, Chuck Willis, Craig Childress, Jay Cynik, Andre H. Bassett, Artem Shatokhin, Jason Covington, Alan Woods, Angela Guerrero, James Rolls, Julia Torchine, Sharon Stockbridge as Background
Appearances
Monsters |
Weapons, vehicles, and races
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Development
The concept of a kaiju-sized duel between a shark and an octopus was suggested by the Japanese film distributor Albatross.[1]
Production
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus was filmed in California over the course of 12 days in January 2009.[2]
Marketing
The trailer for Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus became an unexpected viral hit on MTV.com and YouTube, garnering over two million views between the two sites in the several weeks before the film's release.[3] It was also the eighth most-viewed trailer on Yahoo! Movies in 2009.[4]
Gallery
- Main article: Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus/Gallery.
Alternate titles
- Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus (American DVD and end credits)
- Deadly Jaws Against Giant Tentacles (Smrtonosne čeljusti protiv ogromnih pipaka / Смртоносне чељусти против огромних пипака; Serbia)
- Two Million Years Later
- Два миллиона лет спустя; Russia
- Два мільйони років потому; Ukraine
Reception
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus was panned by critics. It has a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews.[5] The site's Critical Consensus reads, "With shoddy FX, acting and directing. This isn't so bad it's good. It's just so bad it's terrible."
Video releases
Asylum Home Entertainment DVD (2009)
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (5.1 Surround Sound and 2.0 Stereo)
- Subtitles: None
- Special Features: Making-of featurette (8 minutes), blooper reel (3 minutes), trailers for other Asylum films
Echo Bridge Blu-ray (2010)
- Region: None
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0)
- Subtitles: None
- Special Features: None
Sequels
- Main articles: Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus, Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark, Mega Shark vs. Kolossus.
Videos
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Trivia
- When Emma is handling a vial of pheromones in the mini-sub, she remarks that the manipulator arm is made of chrome steel. Like the chrome steel chains which held King Kong in his debut film and its 2005 remake, the arm soon breaks.
- Jack Perez named Dr. Seiji Shimada after Takashi Shimura's character in Seven Samurai.[2]
References
This is a list of references for Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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