Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009)

Mega Shark films
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Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus See alternate titles Directed by Jack Perez Producer(s) David Michael Latt, David Rimawi (executive) Written by Jack Perez Music by Chris Ridenhour Distributor The Asylum Rating R Running time 88 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes) Aspect ratio 1.78:1 Rate this film! 2.00 (12 votes)

“	Winner... Eats... All!	„
	— 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.

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 shark (Otodus megalodon). They meet with Shimada and watch a tape from MacNeil's voyage which reveals that the Giant Octopus had escaped alongside the megalodon shark. 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 use pheromones to attract the monsters. However, both attempts fail 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 fight. 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 Mega Shark Giant Octopus

Weapons, vehicles, and races Aquanaut 3 U.S. Lead Destroyer (portrayed by the USS Missouri) F-18 Hornet / F-15 Eagle / F-22 Raptor (single plane inconsistently depicted) João Coutinho-class corvette Japanese submarine Typhoon U.S. submarines

Development

The concept of a kaiju-sized duel between a shark and an octopus was suggested by the Japanese film distributor Albatross.

Production

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus was filmed in California over the course of 12 days in January 2009.

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. It was also the eighth most-viewed trailer on Yahoo! Movies in 2009.

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. 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

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus trailer

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.

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]

Comments

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