**Bait isn't groundbreaking or particularly impressive but slightly edges out typical low-budget shark flicks with a creative setting.**
Bait's concept and setting bear similarities to 2019's alligator thriller Crawl. A tsunami traps a small band of survivors in a flooded underground supermarket with hungry man-eating great whites. The quality doesn't rise to the level of The Shallows or Crawl, but it's pretty solid for a non-Hollywood 3D low-budget film. I was expecting a goofy shark film with dreadful performances (which I love) and was surprised by something a little better. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a gold standard for anything, but in a subgenre built on low-budget cheesiness, Bait shows a little more effort than most.
Next time you hear that your local supermarket is having a snap sale - think twice! These folks found themselves shopping for eggs one minute, then they are trapped by an enormous tsunami wave where the aisles have swapped their wayward trolleys for an hungry great white shark. Fortunately, one of their number stuck atop the shelves is "Josh" (Xavier Samuel) who used to be a lifeguard. Now he works in the shop too, so has even more extra specialist knowledge. Not so luckily, he has baggage and his ex-girlfriend, her new boyfriend and some some other unsavoury types who all need preserving from "Jaws" little cousin to deal with too. What follows is straight out of the "Janet and John" book of apex predator stories. You know somebody will get eaten, somebody will get mauled and of course, hopefully, the hunky hero will save the day before... The production is what really let's this down. Not that the acting will ever be troubling an Oscars jury, but the dialogue is banal and the visual effects frequently look like some CGI from an ordinary bath tub. The sharks deserve every meal they can get - but to be fair I'd have fed them those behind the camera before the "bait" they are actually presented with. It's typical sci-fi channel fayre. By no means the worst of the genre, but still pretty chewy.
