CHUM

(director/writer: Jonathan Zuck; screenwriters: Joe Leone, story by Dick Grunert, Ryan R. Johnson, James Kondelik; cinematographer: Mac Fisken; editors: Dan Riddle, Ethan Maniquis; music: Jojo Dravan; cast: Alice Eve (Tina), Eric Michael Cole (Tom), Jim Klock (Roy), Elle Haymond (Tina’s sister, Sadie), Johnny Gaffney (Rick), Lisa Yaro (Britney), Sarah Siadat (Rachinda); Runtime: 87; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Luke Daniels, Lucas Jarach, Eamon O’Rourke, Kurt Fetke, Alice Eve, Ryan R. Johnson; IFC/Shudder; 2026-Australia/ Malta/USA)

“Beware, it’s just another run-of-the-mill shark film!”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
 
Jonathan Zuck (“Meant to be Broken”/”Within the Darkness”) directs this low-budget shark horror survival pic he writes with Joe Leone. It’s based on a story by Dick Grunert, Ryan R. Johnson, and James Kondelik. Beware, it’s just another run-of-the-mill shark film! The acting and the contrived story are poor, but the photography is not bad.

Tina (Alice Eve) and Tom (Eric Michael Cole) are on a yacht trip on the Mediterranean with friends, after getting married in Malta. The boat is attacked by sharks and capsizes.

Though a good guy, an environmental activist, their marriage gets off to a rocky start, because Tina didn’t want to go on the excursion, and blames hubby for getting her into this situation.

Because of the attacking sharks, the boat capsizes. They are saved by Roy (Jim Klock), a lone fisherman who takes them in his well-equipped boat. But then he puts them in a shark cage  using them for shark bait. It turns out there’s a reason Roy is after the sharks, as these are the same sharks who killed his wife five years ago and he’s determined to get revenge. Why he would use people as shark bait makes him a very bad person.

The pic is a poor version of Dangerous Animals (2025), shooting for the same story but shooting it all wrong.

REVIEWED ON 7/5/2026  GRADE: C-
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