Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: YEAR OF THE SHARK [Fantastic Fest 2022 - Austin,Texas]

One of the programmers before the screening of “Year Of The Shark” at Fantastic Fest said they look year after year for a shark movie for the festival. The issue with any such movie is that it will always be compared to “Jaws”. The reasoning is that a killer shark on the prowl will always cause damage and likely do it in a certain way. The main issue with “Year Of The Shark” which is a French film is that the actual plot and story beats are so close to “Jaws” (just changing the gender and certain elements of the characters in peril) that it is basically the same movie in certain ways but with a different level of execution. “Jaws” was a game changer in its day, nearly 50 years ago which (other than make it bigger like “Deep Blue Sea” or “MEG”) is just going to be more or less a facsimile.

The aspect here is a Coast Guard captain on the edge of retirement who doesn't think she did anything with her career and can't engage with the thought of the boredom of retirement. She has two awkward and slightly inept colleagues which in certain ways the plot won't treat well. The tone also shifts too radically from wanting to be slapstick to be a thriller/horror movie. The film is not a parody...it is simply a retelling in a way with different settings, more updated technology and a European approach with some cultural differences mixed in. It is not an ineffective movie, it is just what it is and of course derivative of a classic. While that has been done in other genres before, there really wasn't a necessity in this retelling (which might have been fueled by the former blockbuster's anniversary). “Year Of The Shark” tells the story of a killer shark but unfortunately one that has been told more effectively and often before. C

By Tim Wassberg