Following the enormous critical and financial success in the local theaters, the release of “The Meg” in Chinese cinemas started a wave of similarly-produced creature features and animal-attack films to capitalize on the film's release. That has led to a steady stream of cheap, goofy creature features that remains popular churning out titles to this day which includes this effort from 2021 that takes its influence from the Australian film “Bait” from 2012.
Watch Escape of Shark on iQIYI
Trying to get past a personal tragedy, Wang Lei (Yu Berlin) attempts to use his position as a waiter in a Thai resort to help pay back his boss Su (Wang Xiaolong) for what happened to his intended marriage to his niece. When the area throws a party for entrepreneur Sang Ni (Yag Yubin) who's looking to merge the property into his company, the attempts to keep guests Lisa (Zhang Xinyuan), Xiao Lin (Xu Dongdong), and Lei Wang (Yu Bolin) safe during the festivities goes haywire when an Earthquake strikes and a resulting flood traps everyone inside the facility without any power or ways of contacting the outside world. Realizing the situation is further compounded by a swarm of man-eating sharks loose inside the hotel, they have to race to get everyone to safety before the sharks can kill everyone.
Among the more favorable aspects found here is a fun series of setups that constitute the main human drama on display. While nothing from writer/director Jiang is outwardly original or clever, there's enough going on to provide some fun characters along the way. With the main storyline for Wang Lei being a former swimming champion now working for the father of his deceased wife after being killed in a shark attack, the possibility for him to earn a heroic redemption angle comes off rather well. Likewise, the other guests include a self-centered billionaire in Sang Ni who usually throws his money or his vicious bodyguard at others to get what he wants without much repercussions there to scout the hotel for a possible merger, a nagging wife and her put-upon husband enjoying a vacation, or the other hotel stragglers that were staying there when disaster struck. In that fashion, we get a fine cross-section of individuals staying there who get caught up with the sharks.
As a result of this, when the action hits, “Escape of Shark” really comes into its own. The opening disaster of the earthquake strike followed by the large-scale tsunami striking the facility is a spectacular high-energy affair that looks far better than what it should for films on this scale. The aftermath of it all results in the survivors trying to move through the flooding hallways and corridors of the resort that play far more like scenes from a disaster film than a creature feature. However, that allows for some great action to keep things moving while the sharks swarm around and strike at the most opportune moments. These are usually kept to brief stalking scenes where the creatures appear to launch a vicious attack in churning, blood-soaked water. None of these are really impressive but the ferocity and consistency of the attacks throughout make for a generally fun time as the cheesy effects make for a lot to like.
Outside of these factors, there are some aspects of “Escape of Shark” that bring it down. One of the main issues to be had is the constant need to fall into reliably present clichés in the genre that prove this to be another effort in the genre without much deviation. The use of a troubled hero in Wang Lei who needs to be redeemed for an act that wasn't his fault as he's now fallen on hard times makes his arc telegraphed the second he appears on-screen. Likewise, his budding romantic relationship serves as no surprise with how they're going to end up which is also the case with the fate of each of the various members when they get introduced. That carries over into the action scenes which feature the same sense of familiarity for the way the deaths are doled out, as there's little surprise about who gets killed when. Alongside the sometimes cheesy special effects for the CGI shark when it's shown on-screen, these manage to bring the film down somewhat.
A wholly serviceable cheesy killer shark film with quite a lot going for it, “Escape of Shark” is really only let down by factors that are expected of it, leaving it more fun than expected for fans of the genre. Viewers who appreciate this kind of cheesy creature feature fare or don't mind the drawbacks being levied against it will be the most receptive to it.
