WFG RATING: A-

Utopia Distribution presents a NichihoLand production in association with Plan A. Written and directed by Morihito Inoue. Produced by Masayuki Nagata. Cinematography by Kouichi Inokuchi.

Stars Kiyobumi Kaneko, Takuya Fujimura, Yu Nakanishi, Masaki Naito, Shigeo Oosako, Koichi Makigami, Shoichiro Akaboshi, Mio Takaki, and Takaya Aoyagi.

Atsumi, a local city in Japan, is known as the “Monaco of the East”. However, the renowned spa resort planned has been under construction. As for the police, veteran officer Tsuka is contemplating retirement. Things soon take a turn when a dead body is washed ashore after what looks like to be a shark attack and they find a hot spring key on the corpse.

Mayor Mangan Kanichi doesn’t want the word about the shark attacks to go out as it is tourist season, and he worries the news will cause a stir in Atsumi. When it’s discovered the construction of a grand spa resort is the cause of the attacks, a wave of bodies begins to pile up. Mayumi Kose, a marine biologist, may be the key in saving the small city before the government decides to decimate it.

If you are a fan of that little modern cult classic franchise called Sharknado and all those wild shark attack movies, then this film is guaranteed to be right up your alley. Perhaps it is the fact that this was not only a surprise from Japan (then again, there is Ninja vs. Shark), but the fact that Robert Schwartzman’s Utopia opted to bring this to U.S. shores sounds like a mind-blowing moment. Quite frankly, I’m glad it is here because this is one of the most “do not take this seriously” movies of the year.

Within the first 30 minutes of its 77-minute running time, there are loads of WTF moments, from a veteran police officer who wants to retire but can’t decide on his next steps to the fact we have a random muscleman who fends off against the sharks and feels the need to pose after defeating the sharks. The film also brings a redemption arc from the mayor, who starts off as a greedy businessman who just wants to boost the tourism of his city only to realize his mistakes and joins in on the fight himself, finally putting others before himself.

The shark attacks themselves are a meshing of hilarious CGI with practical effects for closeup shots or in some cases, the attacks within a confined area. These sharks are also smarter than they seem as in one instance, they use a defense mechanism in emitting methane gas, which wipes them out along with a firing SWAT team. And the defense against the sharks is a submarine made from a 3D printer?! The final battle against the sharks is so insane a WTF manner that you must see it for yourself.

Hot Spring Shark Attack (Onsen Shark) is definitely one of the wildest movies this year in a ‘do not think of taking this seriously’ way. Some moments are so insane that there are instances that you will have to see for yourself, but perhaps the “dark horse” or “wild card” is Macho, the muscleman who singlehandly fights sharks to pose out of nowhere?! If you’re a fan of shark attack movies, this is a must for your watchlist!

The film premiered at the Chattanooga Film Festival on June 20 with available screenings in theaters right now and others set for the week of July 11 in select cities! For information on where you can see the film in theaters, go to https://hotspringsharkattackfilm.com/