Netflix fans get shark fever as two action-thrillers chomp up the charts

It’s now been 51 years since Jaws terrified a generation of cinemagoers with its tale of a murderous great white.

But despite the unsettling premise, some people’s obsession with watching blood-thirsty sharks target humans is still going strong.

This week Netflix added two movies focusing on the creatures – a brand-new release and a sequel to an old favourite.

The first is Thrash – a survival thriller starring Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor.

Directed by Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Silent Night), the film’s premise teases that a hurricane ‘is only the beginning for a South Carolina coastal town’.

‘Soon a shiver of bull sharks is swimming down Main Street, and some desperate townspeople find themselves trapped in an aquatic nightmare.’

Phoebe plays Lisa Fields, a pregnant woman trapped in her car as the storm hits, while Whitney Peaks plays Dakota Edwards, an agoraphobic young woman who doesn’t leave town in time to avoid the storm. Meanwhile Djimon Hounsou is Dale Edwards – Dakota’s marine researcher uncle who’s trying to make his way back to her.

Thrash filmed in the Australian city of Melbourne and while the premise initially seemed far-fetched, the director said things took a turn once cameras started rolling.

‘What changed was that [global] warming accelerated,’ producer Adam McKay told Netflix’s Tudum. ‘What seemed like a heightened premise when Tommy pitched it to us has now become much more of a reality. Down in Australia, they had torrential, historic, climate-fueled floods. Bull sharks love dirty water to hunt. So, they had four shark attacks in a 48-hour period.’

Although it only holds a 41% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics and viewers have still said they enjoyed watching the guilty pleasure thriller.

‘Nothing in Thrash is going to wow Steven Spielberg, and its adherence to plot logic is elastic to say the least. But as bloody, dumb shark thrillers go, it stays afloat,’ The Hollywood Reporter wrote in its review.

‘This is a Netflix and Chomp movie, just 80 minutes long (if you don’t count the closing credits), and the compact run time does more than keep Thrash from wearing out its welcome,’ Variety shared.

‘If you like shark movies, Thrash is a solid survival thriller with a talented cast and visuals that had me locked in. Wirkola’s ability to balance horror, action, and comedy remains a praise-worthy feat. Dive into it,’ Mashable added.

Meanwhile a fan called it ‘five-star ridiculousness’.

The other shark movie that dropped this week on Netflix is The Meg 2: The Trench, a 2023 film that was a sequel to the 2018 film.

The science fiction action film saw Jason Statham, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, and Cliff Curtis reprise their roles. It again followed a group of scientists who must outrun and outswim megalodons when a mining operation ‘threatens their mission and forces them into a high stakes battle for survival’.

Although it was largely slammed by critics, it was a massive box office success – grossing $397.8million (£292million) worldwide.

While the film holds a 27% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score ranked far higher at 72%. The consensus for the latter sums up the film as ‘delivering most of what viewers are looking for in a creature feature’.

‘If your hook is the promise of seeing Jason Statham go mano a mano with prehistoric sea behemoths, then leaning into the ludicrous is the only way to go,’ Slant Magazine wrote in its review.

‘The Meg 2 is a really solid action flick that understands its audience and delivers accordingly. The pacing is strong, keeping the movie moving without dragging, and the action sequences are consistently entertaining. It never overstays its welcome, which goes a long way for a film built around spectacle,’ fan Richard posted.

‘There’s also a surprising amount of character depth for this type of movie. Jason Statham does what he does best, but the film gives him and the supporting cast enough personality and motivation to keep things grounded amid the absurdity. All in all, The Meg 2 is a fun, well-made sequel and an enjoyable watch from start to finish.’

Since dropping on the streaming platform, both have flown up the charts – with Thrash currently the most-watched film on Netflix UK, followed by The Meg 2 in the second spot.

Thrash and The Meg 2: The Trench are streaming on Netflix.

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