Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, someone has built a waterslide. And then filled it with sharks. Because apparently, the ocean simply isn’t dangerous enough anymore.
‘Water Park Shark’, the gloriously ridiculous new creature feature from Anthony C. Ferrante, the director behind all six ‘Sharknado’ films, is making its UK television debut this Halloween on GREAT! action. And if you’ve ever wondered what happens when mutant great whites invade a water park, this is apparently the film you’ve been waiting for.
The 91-minute horror-comedy takes place at Wicked Waves, a water park in Cape Cod, where opening day takes a rather unfortunate turn when man-eating sharks begin appearing in the swimming pools and, somehow, on the waterslides. It’s probably not the sort of thing covered in the lifeguard training manual.
Former football star Austin Dillard (Matthew Dame) has recently taken a job as a lifeguard at the park, but quickly finds himself dealing with considerably more than the occasional child running around the pool. He joins forces with his ex-girlfriend, police chief Peyton Ivy (Chelsea Gilson, Hawaii Five-0), and a ragtag collection of park employees and law enforcement officers to discover why the local shark population has developed such an enthusiastic interest in leisure facilities.
Also along for the ride is David Chokachi (Baywatch) as Coach, bringing some genuine 90s lifeguard credentials to proceedings.
As it turns out, the sharks’ unusual behaviour might have something to do with a dodgy underground crypto-mining operation that’s leaking chemicals into the sea. Yes, apparently cryptocurrency is now responsible for mutant killer sharks. There’s probably a metaphor in there somewhere.
However, not every shark is out for blood. Enter Gums, a surprisingly friendly, toothless shark who quickly becomes one of the film’s unlikely stars. His distinctly un-shark-like behaviour provides a clue that something very strange is happening to his more bitey relatives.
Naturally, the film has attracted some wonderfully divided reactions online, particularly on Letterboxd, where viewers seem torn between declaring it absolute rubbish and demanding more immediately.
One reviewer, Taylor, delivered perhaps the perfect assessment of this sort of B-movie entertainment: “Horrible. I want 5 sequels.”
Another viewer, Angela Viveen, raised an entirely reasonable logistical concern: “How did those sharks ever climb the stairs to the water slides?”
Frankly, that’s the sort of question best left unanswered.
Ferrante, who directed the entire ‘Sharknado’ franchise between 2013 and 2018, clearly knows his way around an outrageously silly shark movie. The original ‘Sharknado’ became an unexpected pop culture phenomenon, spawning five sequels and proving there was a surprisingly enthusiastic audience for films featuring increasingly improbable shark-related disasters.
With ‘Water Park Shark’, he’s swapped flying sharks for watersliding ones, but the same affection for outrageous scenarios, over-the-top action and tongue-in-cheek humour appears to be very much intact.
Great TV’s marketing director, Kate Gartland, certainly isn’t pretending this is a subtle piece of arthouse cinema.
“Water Park Shark has sharks on water slides, a crypto scam, a 90s Baywatch star, and a toothless shark you can’t help but root for – it’s completely insane. Perfect creature feature Halloween entertainment.”
And really, what more could you want from a Halloween creature feature? You’ve got sharks, gore, questionable science, a ‘Baywatch’ veteran, cryptocurrency-related environmental disasters and an adorable toothless predator. It sounds like exactly the sort of magnificently daft film best enjoyed with your brain switched firmly into standby mode.
‘Water Park Shark’ premieres Saturday, 31st October 2026 at 8pm on GREAT! action (Freeview channel 42), and will also be available to stream on GREAT! Player.
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