Dream Sharks and Crab Sharks and Man Sharks, Oh My!
Director Mark Polonia and his crazy cast of characters keep the cinematic waters flowing with sharks, sharks, and more sharks thanks to his latest film, COCAINE SHARK, a feeding frenzy of hilarious lo-budget B-movie camp.
Capitalizing on the success of 2023’s “Cocaine Bear” with the film’s title, although there is no “regular” cocaine involved here and sharks aren’t quite as cute as bears, there are plenty of illegal substances, including a highly addictive stimulant HT25 made from sharks, scientific experiments, low-level Mafioso drug-running, and madcap madness, all feeding into the ridiculous fun of the COCAINE SHARK frenzy.
An interesting approach to this lo-budget/no-budget B-movie camp comes courtesy of scribe Bruno Glutz who does a structural mash-up of a film noir gumshoe mystery (complete with an effective “Joe Friday” voiceover by our hero Nick played by Titus Himmelberger) melded with director Polonia’s patented horror-comedy camp that often revolves around sharks, secret experiments gone wrong, and misguided humans. With a simple story setup, we quickly learn that drug lord Gaurisco and his secret research team have developed the highly addictive HT25 and are selling it on the streets. What Gaurisco doesn’t tell anyone is that the drug is derived from sharks and that it has “monstrous” side effects. When an explosion destroys the lab, sharks and shark-like monstrosities are released into the sea, hungry for blood and flesh. This sets the stage for an assortment of bizarre creature creations and VFX moments.
Stealing from Polonia’s Jurassic Shark 3: Seavenge, plot devices include a return to the mysterious Cat Island, some bumbling drug lord henchmen, a motorboat heist, and some rather unique creature creations all composed of various selachimorphic elements, among others. Of course, expect quite a few tasty non sequitur shark bites that just add to the ridiculous fun.
Visual effects are, as to be expected, a lo-budget hoot and a holler with some rather creative shark creature hybrids in the mix. But disappointingly, the film could use quite a few more actual sharks than what we see.
One thing I have come to appreciate with Polonia is his use of contained interior environs while opening up the exteriors and always delivering nice underwater work be it via effects or in-water filming.
Titus Himmelberger leads the way as undercover detective Nick with Natalie Himmelberger as the seductive siren Persephone. Ken Van Sant adds a creep factor as sleazy drug lord Gaurisco with Ryan Dalton serving as right-hand man Fuentes. Joining the fun are Polonia regulars Kyle Rappaport and Jeff Kirkendall with Mark Polonia himself swimming in for a bit.
Obviously quick and nimble in his ability to pull together a film from script to shoot to edit to distribution and release, Mark Polonia wasted no time jumping on the “Cocaine Bear” bandwagon to have COCAINE SHARK available for July release. (I screened the completed film in May.) This is one of the great things about lo-budget/no-budget B-movie camp films that we all love. Filmmakers throw caution to the wind, have fun, and just “go for it” with whatever they can find to pull the film together. Mark Polonia is one of those filmmakers. He knows his audience, the genre, the style, and how to feed our frenzy for more.
I fully expect (and want) a sequel to COCAINE SHARK. Possibly “Shark Man Meets Sharkenstein”? Here’s hoping.
Directed by Mark Polonia
Written by Bruno Glutz
Cast: Titus Himmelberger, Natalie Himmelberger, Ken Van Sant, Ryan Dalton, Kyle Rappaport and Jeff Kirkendall
by debbie elias, 05/23/2023
