Losman's Lair of Horror: 2026

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Mako: The Jaws of Death

Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976)

A man who lives his life swimming with sharks faces some challenges when he mistakenly puts his trust in a local scientist and an exotic dancer. Released a full year after the success of Jaws, Mako is quite different from what you expect in a typical shark movie. Mako is far more sympathetic toward sharks, and the protagonist is a man who is tired of society and seems more at home with sea creatures. In some ways, this movie is more like Billy Jack than Jaws, and the protagonist's bohemian lifestyle makes him more sympathetic to viewers. The movie features excellent footage of sharks in their native habitats, and the filmmakers did most of their work without shark cages to give the sharks room to swim more naturally. Mako: The Jaws of Death wasn't gonna break the box office and isn't for most viewers, but its sympathetic message about sharks shows the filmmakers understood the damage Jaws did by making sharks into villains rather than misunderstood predators.

Monday, July 6, 2026

Night of the Sharks (1988)

David Ziegler (Treat Williams) lives a life of leisure in a Mexican coastal village until his brother draws him into a criminal scheme involving stolen diamonds and a CD containing records of the illegal activities. When the criminals arrive in his village looking for the loot and evidence, David uses his skills as a shark hunter to evade them while trying to avoid the jaws of an aggressive shark. Night of the Sharks is a 1988 crime thriller directed by Tonino Ricci and starring Treat Williams. Night of the Sharks has the look and feel of a Miami Vice episode, but it lacks the action and budget. The story is decent, and Treat Williams is a charming enough guy to carry the film, but the lack of budget relegates the shark attacks to stock footage. The rest of the cast is pretty much made up of locals cast for bar fights and beach scenes, with Starsky and Hutch favorite Antonio Fargas providing comic relief.

Sunday, July 5, 2026

Monster Shark (1984)

Monster Shark (1984) aka Devil Fish

After a series of savage attacks, the sheriff of a coastal town turns to a marine biologist for answers. After recruiting a dolphin trainer and a scientist, the team discovers multiple threats, including a hybrid sea predator and dark-money groups looking to profit from this creature. Like so many Italian films, this movie was released under several titles, including the original title Shark - Rosso nell'oceano. Directed by Lamberto Bava, Monster Shark has the look and feel of a low-budget Giallo with most of the budget spent on the location. The cast includes a few very attractive women who were staples of 70s and 80s Italian cinema, including Valentina Monnier, Iris Peynado, Cinzia de Ponti, and Dagmar Lassander. The creature effects are weird and fake-looking, but thankfully, you only get to see them fully in the end scenes. Monster Shark does feature a few shark scenes, but the truth is, the hybrid monster is more octopus than shark, and more Dunkleosteus than octopus.

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Jaws 3D (1983)

Jaws 3 (1983)

Dennis Quaid is an oceanographer at a SeaWorld-like park who discovers a new shark making quick work of the local surfers. This prompts the town's fishermen to go out and capture a live Great White. The park's officials feel the baby shark will bring in the crowds, little realizing that the mother is nearby. This rather lackluster sequel arrived at our shores in 3-D along with some forgettable titles that used this old gimmick. Not much to report other than a few notable cameos by Lea Thompson.

Friday, July 3, 2026

Dark Tide (2012)

A woman who declares herself a Shark Whisperer faces harsh reality when a close friend is lost to a shark on an expedition. A year later, she is convinced by her ex to take a millionaire and his son out to swim with the sharks and has to confront her own demons as well as a rich jerk who wants to get his money's worth. Dark Tide is a 2012 thriller directed by John Stockwell and starring Oscar winner Halle Berry. Dark Tide is a shark thriller that centers on a shark expert, portrayed by Ms. Berry, who returns to her trade when her bills pile up, and she risks losing her boat. Her portrayal of Kate is convincing, and how she manages her crew and annoying client carries the story, which, for most of the film, is surprisingly low on shark activity. The film does amp up the intensity with a storm and an accident, both filmed quite effectively. Dark Tide features some truly magnificent shark footage, and the undersea photography is pretty good. While the film spends far too little time on shark attacks, the final scenes are pretty intense, making this film a worthy watch.

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Thrash (2026)

A South Carolina coastal town is hit by a massive hurricane that destroys the levees and floods the small community of stragglers who didn't leave and now face hungry sharks. The survivors include a pregnant woman, an agoraphobic teen, and a family of foster kids with awful step-parents. They all face rising flood waters and a pack of hungry Bull Sharks that look to feast on the trapped survivors. Thrash is a 2026 creature-feature survival film directed by Tommy Wirkola, best known for the Dead Snow movies. Thrash stars Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou. Thrash is a popcorn film that relies on the usual shark tropes and a trapped location all too common in these movies. The effects are decent, but the film has sharks attacking in some over-the-top ways. Djimon Hounsou is the best-known cast member, but he is underutilized and appears to be in the movie to attach his name. Phoebe Dynevor and Whitney Peak are pretty good together as the main characters, while the foster kids and their awful stepdad added a bit of humor. While not a bad film, Thrash is pretty much following in the footsteps of better creature-feature movies such as Crawl and Bait.

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Dangerous Animals (2025)

A young free-spirited lady who lives a nomadic life, looking for beaches to surf, fights to survive after being kidnapped by a serial killer who enjoys feeding his victims to the sharks. Despite being held against her will, she defies her captor and plots to escape and defeat this predator. Dangerous Animals is a 2025 Aussie horror directed by Sean Byrne and starring Hassie Harrison, Josh Heuston and Jai Courtney. In a fresh twist on the Shark attack genre, we see the Great White not as the villain, but as a creature doing what it's supposed to do. Sean Byrne, best known for directing The Loved Ones and The Devil's Candy, builds suspense and focuses on the scarier monster portrayed by Jai Courtney. Hassie Harrison turns in a great role as the independent surfer girl who turns out to be a hell of a fighter. Unlike most shark-attack films, Dangerous Animals is a film about human predators and how one fights back. Easily one of the best shark movies released in recent years, and unlike so many other poorly made films, the shark is not the villain and instead shows that humans are the scarier animal.