Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
I’m continuing my Sharknado binge fest for Shark Week with Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! At least they are consistently upping the cheese factor with each sequel. I will say, I’m not bored yet or tired of it like I am with a certain other cheesy shark series (I’m looking at you Mega Shark).
Photo Credit: The Asylum
Released: Jul 22, 2015
Runtime: 93 mins
Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Writer: Thunder Levin
Actors: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassandra Scerbo
PLOT
A monstrous tornado unleashes ravenous sharks from Washington, D.C., all the way down to Orlando, Florida. And only Fin (with his family and friends) can save the day.
MY THOUGHTS
In this installment of the Sharknado franchise they up the kill count. Instead of one location like the previous films (Sharknado is in Los Angeles and Sharknado 2 is in New York) Sharknado 3 is set basically in Washington D.C. and Florida, but Charleston is totally destroyed. I don’t think I have a favorite death but there are two that stand out.
The first is when Al Roker, Matt Lauer, Natalie Morales, and Savannah Guthrie are killed on air. Each gets attacked by their own sharks. I found it kind of funny. And the second is at the very end when April is crushed by falling shuttle debris. We are supposed to assume she dies but we will see in the next movie if she was killed or not.
As far as acting goes Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Mark McGrath, and Cassandra Scerbo return as Fin, April, Martin, and Nova. Still their cheesy, decent acting. New cast members include Bo Derek, Frankie Muniz, and David Hasselhoff.
The new cast members do a decent job. Bo Derek (known for Orca, Sharknado 6, and Horror 101) plays May, April’s disapproving mother. Frankie Muniz (known for Stay Alive and Malcolm in the Middle) plays Lucas, Nova’s partner. David Hasselhoff (known for Anaconda 3, Knight Rider, Baywatch, Piranha 3DD, and Sharknado 4) plays Gil, Fin’s ex-astronaut father.
We start Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! in Washington D.C. where Fin is getting a Medal of Honor from the President (Mark Cuban). A storm suddenly forms with sharks and several people die, with the president and Fin fighting the sharks off until the storm dissipates on its own.
Meanwhile, April, her daughter, and May (April’s mother) are in Orlando at Universal Studios. The daughter goes off with her friend and a now very pregnant April walks around with her mother. Her mother doesn’t like that Fin is always helping others instead of helping April.
Fin tries to get to Florida, but all of the flights are canceled. So while driving, he runs into a strange fog that sharks soon attack from. He is saved by Nova and her friend Lucas. They have been following the storms since the first Sharknado, and made a mobile unit in an RV. The three realize that all the storms are trying to converge into a mega storm which would destroy the east coast. They decide to head to Charleston Air Base.
While at Charleston, a sharknado approaches and the base commander gives Fin a jet to get to Florida. Lucas sacrifices himself to clear out the storm so Nova and Fin can leave. (It’s a crazy death. A different shark bites off each of his limbs. In order to hit the self-destruct button he uses his head. LOL)
As they are flying over Daytona International Speedway, a sharknado forms and they have to stop it before thousands of people are killed. They are successful in destroying it, but they end up crash landing in the water. (Which leads to one of the funniest scenes. As soon as they crash, they pop out of the water in the skimpiest outfits. Also coming out of the water in the sexiest way possible. It’s too funny. My son, who was watching with me, said the scene made the whole movie worth it.)
The family all reunite, but another sharknado attacks and they take shelter in the huge Universal globe. They survive, but May is injured and taken to the hospital. But not before showing her appreciation and approval to Fin.
The rest go to a restaurant where Fin talks to her father Gil, a former astronaut. He has a plan that they fly a shuttle straight into the air and using fuel tanks as bombs to dissipate the storm. At Cape Canaveral they get approval and Fin and Gil suit up to take off. April finds out and races to the shuttle.
Another storm attacks and April is unable to leave so she joins Fin and Gil in the cockpit. Nova flies a jet into the storm to give the guys enough time to take off. Even though they set off the bombs, they are not big enough to stop the storms. But Gil has a backup plan. He plans on using a super secret program with a laser that could actually work.
However, the satellite has to be manually triggered because it’s so old. Gil goes out into space and triggers it. It works! The storms are stopped and people are safe. Except Gil. There’s not enough fuel to get Gil and go home. So he is left out in space.
Before Fin and April can return, sharks appear in space and attack the shuttle! Fin tries to fight them off but there are too many and both him and April are swallowed by two different sharks! The sharks plummet to earth, on fire, and land on the beach.
Fin tears his way out of the shark and he’s looking for April. Then we hear a saw and see the saw blade coming from another shark. The next we see, instead of her arm, we see a baby come out of the shark. Fin grabs the baby and April comes out unharmed. Family and friends come out from the trees to see them. Fin wants to know where the wings his father gave him to give the baby.
April sees it and runs to grab it. Just then, a piece of the shuttle plummets down and lands on April. Supposedly crushing and killing her.
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I wanted to take a quick break to let you know I found these great deals on Amazon for Sharknado merchandise. I’ve applied to Amazon’s affiliate program and if I can get three purchases I will be accepted into the program. This will be of tremendous help with starting my small business.
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Overall, another cheesy shark movie in the Sharknado franchise. It’s even cheesier than the movie before. Acting is still the same and the CGI is about the same. So far, I’m not bored or hating life so it was fun. Give it a watch. If for no other reason, just to see who shows up in the movie.
And now for your Forever Final Girl Exclusive…Did you know?:
During the first view of the inside of the armored RV, license plates can be seen on the wall, including the plate from Jaws.
The license plate in the RV that reads I8A4RE, is the same license plate that was on Ian Ziering's Corvette in Beverly Hills, 90210.
Lou Ferrigno plays a bodyguard in the White House. When someone tries to talk him into leaving his assignment, he replies back "I must stay, don't make me angry." This, and the fact that his name is "Agent Banner", pays homage to his hit role as The Incredible Hulk.
Asylum had to let go half of its original crew for the film, because the Actor's Union told them they have to play by union-standard, but they lacked the money to do so.
Mark McGrath played Martin Brody in this movie. In Jaws and Jaws 2, Roy Scheider played Police Chief Martin Brody.
As the sharks attack the White House in the beginning of the movie, the President (Mark Cuban) says "This time, it's personal." This was the tagline for Jaws: The Revenge.
The President (Mark Cuban) tells Fin outside the White House that "they used to call him a shark." Cuban is one of the judges on the television series Shark Tank. In the same scene, he says "he lost a friend in New York last year". Daymond John, a co-star on the show, had a brief cameo in Sharknado 2: The Second One.
"Petunia" (a stuffed opossum which makes an appearance in each movie) can be seen inside a cabinet in Nova's truck.
At the Charleston Air Force Base, Sergeant Roberta Warren (Kellita Smith) says "I hate sharks", to which Lucas replies "It could be worse; it could be zombies." In the episode of Z Nation, Z Nation: Home Sweet Zombie, one of the survivors is played by Smith, and is named Sergeant Roberta Warren. In one scene, a tornado has sucked up a horde of zombies and flings them around, and Sergeant Warren says "I hate zombies", to which Garnett replies, "At least it's not sharks."
The President's bodyguard refers to him by the codename "Maverick". Mark Cuban, who plays the President, is the owner of the 2011 NBA champions the Dallas Mavericks.
The first few seconds of the movie reference the opening of every James Bond film.
The marquee on the outdoor cinema displays "A NIGHT OF HORROR/THE SHINING/PSYCHO". This doubles as a reference to the movie Twister where the same movies were playing at the Drive-In.
Aubrey Peeples was unable to reprise her role of Claudia Shepard from the first film, due to commitments with Jem and the Holograms.
George R.R. Martin's cameo, in which he dies, is an homage to his books "A Song of Ice and Fire", and the television series Game of Thrones. He is eaten by sharks in a movie theater while sitting next to a woman wearing a wedding dress, which pokes fun at the fact that weddings in his series usually end in tragedy or misfortune.
Fans on Twitter could decide April's fate in Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens with the hashtag #AprilLives or #AprilDies.
Irish music duo Jedward wrote and performed the film's official theme song "Oh Hell No", and also had a brief cameo in the film.
There are a ton of cameos. If you want to see a good list, check out the Sharknado 3 Wiki.
Have you seen the other Sharknado movies? Check out my other reviews here: Sharknado Franchise.
Let’s get into the rankings:
Kills/Blood/Gore: 4/5
Sex/Nudity: .5/5 Just for the shot of Nova’s booty coming out of the water. LOL
Scare factor: 1/5
Enjoyment factor: 4/5
My Rank: 2/5
IMDB: 4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: critics: 3.6/10 audience: 2.9/10
Letterboxd: 1.9/5