Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Shark in Venice'

Written by Scott 'Sharky' Edwards

The need to search for treasure is so great in some folks that they will devote their lives to finding it at all costs. While I am sure that everything that is buried on dry land will eventually be found, it is the treasures that are hidden under the sea or in sea side caves that may never be fully recovered. Having to plan for the tides when checking out the caves and dealing with ever changing currents when diving on a shipwreck, there is also something to be said about the marine biology that may be swimming around.  While sharks may not be the only thing swimming around these fallen giants, they are the fiercest and do not like when someone goes messing with their territory.
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After getting word that his father and his diving crew have met an untimely demise, Professor David Franks and his fiancé Laura drop everything and make their way to Venice to identify the bodies. Not seeing his father on either of the slabs, David does notice something strange about the bodies and with the official report saying propeller attack, he knows better. Claiming that these men fell victim to a shark attack, David is put in front of the Venice Police Captain and told to keep that opinion to himself to avoid steering up panic with the locals. Being able to convince the Captain to check out the area where the men were killed, David will quickly find out that his suspicions have been confirmed.

Needing to wait a couple of hours before a boat and diver are ready to investigate the scene of the crime, David, Laura and Lieutenant Totti all stop by David’s father’s home to see that they are not the first ones to be there. With the home looking like a tornado hit it, David knows that his father was very sly in hiding things that he did not want others to find. Being able to locate a box of research, David finds out that his father was on a treasure hunt like no other looking for The Medici’s plunders from their many expeditions. With the belief of it being somewhere in Venice, David’s old man gave his life in looking for something that was just a legend, but it may now prove to be reality.

Using his father’s map, David is able to locate the last place that the man dived and takes the plunge with a fellow diver. Hearing his backup being attacked by a Great White Shark, David is able to avoid certain death by the super predator by a hair and enters an underground cavern and sees that the treasure is not a myth. Running low on energy and blood from his first shark attack, David is forced to get back into the water once again to face it head on. Waking up two days later in the hospital, David is lucky to be alive, but when getting discharged he finds out that there is someone who will put the treasure above anything else and at any price, including death. Watching Laura getting kidnapped and himself being set up to be the next victim, David must come up with some sort of plan to escape the evil man’s grasp, along with fighting off the apparent sharks that are roaming the waters of Venice.

This is one of those shark movies that just makes you wonder why you don’t watch them all of the time.  You have got to love how the story is able to jump from an Indiana Jones style treasure hunt, to a shark horror movie, to an evil villain who is not only going to kill you if you don’t succeed but kill your loved ones as well. There are some fun twists that take place in this movie and I am sure if it did better at the box office, there would be a David Franks (Stephen Baldwin) action figure out there for it. With plenty of shark attacks, a villain who does not remain in the shadows, some ancient battle scenes, gun fire, blood in the water and the greatest shoot out in Venice’s history, it is just a good old fashion action/thriller with the horror of sharks being tossed into the mix. Stay Scared.

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