Thrash Review: Netflix's New Shark Disaster Flick Is Exactly What You Want It To Be

Where would we be without the killer shark movie? Steven Spielberg's "Jaws," which was so good it taught audiences how to watch movies, is an untouchable masterpiece, but in its wake it spawned a school of schlocky B-movies about killer fish. These films will never, ever approach the majesty of Spielberg's blockbuster, but gosh, they're a lot of fun to watch (well, sometimes). "Thrash" is the latest killer shark flick to swim our way, sent straight to Netflix, which is probably exactly where it belongs. Is it original? Not really. Is it particularly well-made? No. Is it a lot of fun to watch? Yes, yes it is. It's pretty much exactly what you want from a direct-to-Netflix shark movie.

In "Thrash," a hurricane is about to make landfall, and it's such a bad storm that we're told that it should really be classified as a Category 6 (the category system currently only goes up to 5). In case that wasn't enough to convince you how deadly and dangerous this storm is, we also overhear a newscaster on TV telling those who haven't evacuated yet that they should write their name on their arms in "permanent marker so they'll be able to ID your body!"

We then learn that a school of bull sharks are making their way up the coast to escape the storm (the film helpfully informs us that while great whites, the most famous of movie sharks, hunt alone, bull sharks hunt in groups). You can see where this is going: the hurricane will cause a flood, and the sharks will swim into the flooded streets looking to feast. This scenario is very, very similar to Alexandre Aja's "Crawl," with sharks in place of that film's alligators. "Crawl" was also a much better movie, but beggars can't be choosers.

After it's no frills set-up, "Thrash" sets about introducing us to a scattered group of characters who may or may not become shark food. There's Dakota (Whitney Peak), a young woman suffering from agoraphobia after the death of her mother. Dakota's uncle and guardian Dale (Djimon Hounsou) is a shark expert getting ready to head home from tagging wild sharks before the storm hits. Lisa (Phoebe Dynevor) is a pregnant woman being forced to drive into work despite the weather ... and despite the fact that she seems only seconds away from giving birth. And then there are the young Olsen siblings, Dee (Alyla Browne), Ron (Stacy Clausen), and Will (Dante Ubaldi), a trio of Dickensian orphans who live with cruel, gun-loving foster parents who force them to eat boring white bread while they dine on steak and collect a fat government check from that sucker Uncle Sam.

Writer-director Tommy Wirkola wastes no time giving us exactly what we want to see: sharks swimming through flooded streets, chomping on people's limbs. The storm hits, the people are trapped, and the sharks are hungry! And just to sweeten the deal, we see a meat processing plant tanker truck crash and leak gallons of blood into the floodwaters (to attract the sharks, you see). Dakota gets trapped in her house, Lisa gets trapped in her car, the Olsen siblings get trapped in their house, and Dale and some friends try to go rescue everyone in a boat.

All of these characters are pretty paper thin (Dakota and her grief-induced agoraphobia are about the extent of film's attempts at character development), but the cast is likable enough that we don't really want to see (most) of them end up in the jaws of a shark. Thankfully, "Thrash" also gives us plenty of less-important supporting players who we know will turn into chum before the end credits roll.

I suppose I should ask for a little bit more from a movie like this. The sharks have almost no real presence, and that's a big problem. Sure, we get to see them bite the top of people's heads off, but they never feel like actual physical creatures. And while the film establishes another separate shark, the pregnant great white Nellie, and gives her a big moment to shine, this moment doesn't really feel earned. "Thrash" is essentially manufacturing these beats without putting any real thought into them.

And yet ... I really had fun watching this. I can't help it, maybe I'm easy bait for shark movies (lord knows there are a plethora of them). The effects are fairly solid, the shark attacks are bloody, and there's a very, very funny needle drop involving a hit Vanessa Carlton tune (you know the one). While no one will ever accuse "Thrash" of being a classic, and there are far better killer shark movies (or killer animal disaster movies, like the above-mentioned "Crawl"), it is very much a film that understands the assignment. 

Sometimes you want to see a fine-tuned work of precision pop art like "Jaws," and sometimes you just want to watch a CGI shark bite a guy on the ass. We, as movie-watchers, contain multitudes.

/Film Rating: 6 out of 10

"Thrash" is streaming on Netflix April 10, 2026.