Since before the dawn of man, sharks have plagued the nightmares of those that dream. When the big daddy Jaws was first published, the profile of these graceful beasts skyrocketed (for worse, then better) and the predators became a token bad guy of the deep.
So what do you do with a shark tale? It seems to be the same old tale; shark eats people. How do you keep that as fresh as Grimsby fish? As long as you stay out of the water, the shark can’t get you, right?
Sharkpunk takes the classic marine villain and twists it, bringing us a boatload of wholly original tales, none of which are the same (although characters named Bruce do appear several times for Spielbergian reasons). There’s no Shark as Slasher horror, which is what we’ve been fed for the past 40 years. This is modern horror, so science takes centre stage in some of the stories, with genetic modifications playing a part in several of the tales to great effect (Spetsnaz trained lady shark assassins anyone?). In this post modern world of ours, we long to look beyond for a perhaps saner reality, bizarro can help, especially if it involves... MAFIA SHARKS! Can it get weirder? Of course it can, as Shark Cop 2: Feeding Frenzy merges bizarre and buddy movie into one beautiful, blood filled massacre. The final tale, You are the Shark, is fine tail/tale to end on; subdued, tragic and funny, as a young girl seeks solace in an arcade game to escape the reality of her home life.
Space Sharks, Sharks vs Samurai’s, imaginary sharks (or are they?), sharks as personification of a serial killer, the list goes on. If you like sharks, you’ll love this. Original tales each as different as the next. If you love short horror stories, especially a themed anthology, then Sharkpunk might be worth you dipping your toe into. Already I’m hoping for volume 2, but this time, they’re gonna need a bigger book....
A variety of voice actors keep each tale fresh, so as that you don’t become bogged down with the same voice for each tale, making each tale seem even more unique. I can’t recommend this production enough.
fin