Let’s Talk About 5 Headed Shark Attack (dir by Nico De Leon)


From our friends at the Asylum, here comes a movie about … well, it’s right there in the title.

This is a movie about a 5-Headed Shark.  Now, I have to admit that, when this film premiered on SyFy last Sunday, my friends and I were a little confused as we watched.  While it was true that the shark had multiple heads, we only counted four heads.  That certainly made it superior to a mere 3-headed shark but still, we felt somewhat cheated.  We were promised five heads!

Well, we should never have doubted the Asylum.  Regardless of whether you get the Asylum’s sense of humor or not (and I happen to love it), this is a studio that always delivers exactly what it promises.  The title promised us five heads and eventually, that fifth head did pop up.  The reason why it took us a while to notice the fifth head was because it was actually on the back of the shark.  That’s right.  The shark had four heads in front and one head in back.  For those of us watching, that fifth head quickly became something of a folk hero.  We not only felt sorry for that head but we worried about whether it was getting enough to eat.  It seemed like the front four heads were gobbling up all the divers while the fifth head had to settle for scraps.

Myself, I’m just wondering what’s going to happen when the inevitable 7-headed Shark Attack is released?  Eventually, things are going to start to get a bit crowded on that shark.

Obviously, it takes a lot to feed a 5 Headed Shark.  Fortunately, the island of Puerto Rico is always full of scientists, tourists, and people who just felt like wearing a bikini for the day.  (Perhaps that’s why, along with a 5 headed shark, Puerto Rico also had to deal with a toxic shark this year.  And who knows what’s going to happen when the latest Sharknado hits?)  The 5 Headed Shark is constantly popping out of the ocean and eating anyone stupid or silly enough to get in the way.  It even manages to take out a helicopter.  It’s not an Asylum film unless at least one helicopter is blown up.

Some people, of course, aren’t happy about having a 5 headed shark eating everyone.  Two police officers — apparently, the only two in Puerto Rico — get on a boat and search the ocean for it.  And then there’s the staff of a nearby aquarium.  The head of the aquarium would love to add a 5 headed shark to the collection so, of course, he and a scientist and a group of interns set sail for adventure and carnage.  Helping them out is Red (Chris Bruno), who hunts all sorts of things and who just happens to have enough weapons lying around that he could probably invade a nearby island and set himself up as a dictator.  Red owns a boat but you know what?

HE’S GOING TO NEED A BIGGER BOAT!

Yes, that’s a Jaws reference.  5 Headed Shark Attack was full of them, as all Asylum shark movies are.  That’s one reason why these movies are so much fun to watch.  It’s a bit of a challenge, trying to catch all the references and shout outs.  Asylum films, like this one, are always wonderfully meta.  All of the characters in 5 Headed Shark Attack appear to be aware that they’re characters in a B-movie and they all accept their assigned roles and fate with proper enthusiasm.  It’s pure entertainment and, as a result, a lot of fun to watch.  It’s movie that encourages you to worry about nothing more than having a good time and maybe a few laughs.

In short, this is a movie that delivers exactly what it promises.  The movie says it’s going to give you a 5 Headed Shark and that’s what you get.

Lisa Cleans Out Her DVR: Sinister Minister (dir by Jose Montesinos)


(Lisa is currently in the process of cleaning out her DVR.  She’d probably be done already if she wasn’t trying to review every single movie that she watches.  Sometimes, it takes longer to write the review than to watch the movie.  Boo hoo.  Anyway, she recorded Sinister Minister off of Lifetime on May 28th.)

“Oh hell yeah!”

That’s what I shouted when Sinister Minister began and I saw the following: “The Asylum Presents…”

I’ve explained in the past why I love Asylum films but I will be more than happy to explain again.  After all, it’s possible that you may not have read my previous reviews and, anyway, I’ve got a word count to meet.  I love those three words — “The Asylum Presents” — because the Asylum specializes in making films that are pure entertainment.  There’s no pretension when it comes to the Asylum.  There’s no attempt to try to fool the audience into thinking that they’re seeing something more than they actually are.  There’s none of the silly BS that makes so many other films so tedious.  No.  The Asylum promises to entertain you and, usually, they keep that promise.

Take Sinister Minister for example.  First off, there’s the title.  Sinister Minister has got to be one of the most brilliant titles that I’ve ever seen.  You read that title and you know exactly what you’re getting.  It’s going to be a film about minister and he’s going to be sinister.  The only question is whether or not he’s going to be a man of God or if he’s going to be an official in some dreary socialist country in Europe.

In this case, he’s pretending to be a man of God.  DJ (Ryan Patrick Shanahan) is a charismatic dynamo on the pulpit, giving fiery sermons and encouraging people to read their bibles.  (I didn’t catch his denomination.  I’m going to assume that he a part of that all-purpose, nameless denomination that all television and movie protestants seem to be a part of.)  When we first meet DJ, he’s married but his wife promptly dies in an auto “accident.”  That frees him up to marry his mistress.

However, no sooner has DJ gotten remarried then he meets the recently divorced Trish (Nikki Howard).  DJ likes Trish and Trish likes DJ.  Less impressed is Trish’s teenage daughter, Siena (Angelica Briones).  Of course, it doesn’t matter because DJ’s married, right?  Well, that can be taken care of…

So, is it possible that DJ is just murdering one wife after another and now he’s planning on marrying Trish?  And, in order to do that, is he going to have to target everyone who might have reason to be suspicious of his intentions, including Siena?  Well, he wouldn’t be a sinister minister otherwise!

Anyway, Sinister Minister is one of those totally over the top melodramas that has just enough self-awareness to also be a lot of fun.  (It’s based on a true story but don’t let that scare you off.)  Ryan Patrick Shanahan brings the right mix of bad boy charisma and mustache twirling villainy to the role.  As always, The Asylum promises and enjoyable movie and it delivered.