Man-Eater 2005 Horror Movie Review

‘Shark’ as it’s actually called is famous for being such a volatile production that not only did a stuntman die but director Samuel Fuller walked off the picture due to the producer’s handling of the death. As a result they edited the film themselves and left his name on as director. It’s unfortunate since this film is one of the most poorly edited I’ve seen. Some of Fuller’s trademark touches did survive the editing process making an otherwise unwatchable film a fun bad movie. Caine (an effortlessly cool Burt Reynolds) is a gun runner on the run from authorities who seized his last shipment as he attempted to cross the border. He winds up in the Middle East looking for a boat and a way out of town. Luckily for him a doctor and his female assistant are looking for someone to work on their boat and dive into shark infested waters. The doctor explains to Caine that he is hoping to find a cure for Alzheimer’s that involves sharks. Caine doesn’t buy it and neither do we but Caine sees his chance for escape and takes it. We find out that the doctor is hoping to recover gold that is in a sunken ship at the bottom of the ocean. The first person that the doctor hired was eaten by sharks in the first scene and Caine becomes the unwitting sap who must do battle with the sharks. It’s not all bad for Caine since he finds time to romance the assistant (Silvia Pinal), befriend a young pickpocket who he names Runt, and stay one step ahead of a crooked cop named Baroque. The film has it’s fun and entertaining moments but it’s certainly over the top and confusing in others. It’s definitely a bad movie but it’s not Fuller’s fault. The only positive thing to say about this Legacy edition DVD is that it’s superior to other versions in which the nighttime and underwater scenes are so dark they are unwatchable. Worth a watch for Fuller or Reynolds fans.