If you’ve already seen the trailer for ‘Bait’, then you know what you're in for. If you haven’t seen the trailer for ‘Bait’ then... I’m just going to stop typing while you go watch it...
Are we all caught up? Yes? Good. So, lets keep this simple because let's face it, this is hardly a Lars Von Trier film we’re talking about here - it’s a movie about a tsunami that traps several people in a supermarket along with a 12-foot great white shark. Oh, the movie practically writes itself!
When the filmmakers set out to make this “Merchant Ivory Production” - no doubt inspired by the success of 2010’s ‘Piranha 3D’ which has since spawned a charming sequel, ‘Piranha 3DD’ - they had the killer (pun intended) concept, and all they needed was a hot young cast. Filling the screen is the who’s who of up-and-coming young Aussie actors who have just cracked the U.S. market. We’ve got Xavier Samuel (‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’), Sharni Vinson ('Step Up 3D'), Alex Russell ('Chronicle') and Phoebe Tonkin (‘The Secret Circle’), along with familiar faces such as Julian McMahon and Martin Sacks. Given the mixed bag of experience and current career and living statuses, half the cast play Americans (reason unknown) that eventually slip back into their natural Australian accents while the other half use Australian accents with American twangs and rounded R's. The notable exception is McMahon who, after 20 years of living and working in the U.S. now genuinely has an American accent which he slips back into halfway through the movie. Clear as mud, right?
BAIT - TRAILER
As far as a story goes, well, it’s about a shark in a supermarket - insert here: 90 minutes worth of pained distant looks, near misses and an impressive body count, as well as some good old-fashioned 3D hijinx. Sharks (of course), birds, fish, water, blood and anything else the filmmakers can literally throw at your face, they do. I’ll tell you one thing - ‘Bait’ takes it’s place in the 3D monster movie genre seriously, both with fun and flare.
‘Bait’ is what it is. It is in no way meant to be taken seriously despite the subject matter and performances on screen. It’s stupid and gory and I’ll be damned if it’s not kinda entertaining once you sit back and realise it's under no obligation to deliver an award-winning film. It’s here to entertain you, and that it does - with sharks in a supermarket no less.