RATING: A-

Wild Eye Releasing presents a Stratosphere Entertainment production. Written, lensed and directed by Curtis Everitt and Robbie Lopez. Produced and story by Donald Farmer. Editing by Curtis Everitt, Robbie Lopez, Donald Farmer, and Tim Ritter.

Clay Lewis, Cristal Sterling, Joe Cumberland, Jade LaFont, Shealynn Sinclair, Derrick McCard, Ana Xaden, Mel Heflin, Kimberly Cole Zemke, and Leo Zemke. 

A young man finds himself afflicted with a different brand of lycanthropy, only instead of a wolf, he becomes a new kind of beast in this indie horror film produced by Indie World Cinema Hall of Famer Donald Farmer!

At a local beach, Nico has been skittish about working for his uncle. His uncle has been involved in some shady dealings and Nico is to meet a man on the beach to head to a meeting with an associate of his uncle’s. While he waits, he meets Shellie, a young woman who has had it rough herself. Her boss constantly berates her and on top of that, three of her supposed friends think she is a joke. Nico feels bad and the two bond over their grievances. However, something bad is about to happen.

While in the water at the beach, Nico finds himself facing a shark. He stabs the shark repeatedly but not before getting bit in the leg. Wandering back to the shore, he finds the man he was supposed to meet. When Nico tells the man he was bit by a shark, he learns the bitemark has disappeared. After getting mocked, Nico becomes a “wereshark” and kills the man. Soon enough, an inner voice tells Nico that he must become the wereshark and feed on his victims to live and he knows exactly who to go after, but soon regrets it and must find a way to stop before it’s too late. 

We have had, of course, werewolves. We’ve had werecats (Michael Jackson’s Thriller video and Cat People), werebears (the 2017 Russian superhero film Guardians), and a wereparrot (Paul Dale’s 2024 indie horror film Murdaritaville). Now, we have a “wereshark”! The duo of Curtis Everitt and Robbie Lopez wrote a script based on a story from Indie World Cinema Hall of Famer Donald Farmer, and one particular idea is perhaps inspired by the Marvel character Venom, not just with the inner voice but going after bad guys, in this case, bullies. 

Clay Lewis plays the conflicted Nico, who already has enough problems as it is until he becomes the titular Wereshark. Now, he has even bigger problems. With an inner voice telling him that the only way he can survive is to feed on the flesh of victims. However, on the bright side, Nico determines the ones who deserve to die are the ones he can go after to appease that voice in his head. Cristal Sterling’s Shellie connects to Nico as she also has her own problems, which Nico plans to solve in his Wereshark form.

While we have the typical bumbling police investigating the deaths, what we do know is that Shellie had three ladies who she thought were her friends until she overheard them making fun of her at a pool party. The three “mean girls” are played by three of today’s finest in microbudget horror, and they also appear in the recent Darbie’s Scream House. Ana Xaden plays the very outspoken Mary Beth. Mel Heflin plays the prim, prissy, and promiscuous Brittany. As for the “Regina George” of the group, that honor goes to Ashley, Kimberly Cole Zemke’s bikini-sporting ringleader. There is a funny scene where we see Nico, in Wereshark form, going through a bar by bitch-slapping the patrons that is so laughable it has to be seen.

Wereshark is campy fun, and it is meant to be that way!  The Vemon-riff works and the kills are what you expect: a mix of CGI splatter with practical splatter. The Wereshark is funny to look at too, complete with a rubber mask and fake hands with claws. If you’re in the mood for a popcorn flick like no other, then this is your film!