A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst, transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.
When the trailer for “Chum” surfaced, I’ll admit my expectations sank faster than a chum bucket. The digital shark was glaringly artificial, and the acting looked about as convincing as a toddler’s school play. Still, I have a soft spot for shark flicks, and Alice Eve is always a welcome presence, so I took the plunge. Spoiler alert: those 87 minutes are now lost at sea.
The film begins with a young couple enjoying a seaside picnic, as if nothing could possibly go wrong. Within moments, the woman dives in and is promptly devoured by a great white shark. Her husband, Roy (Jim Klock), leaps in after her, only to discover her lower half bobbing in the water—a romantic gesture, if you appreciate horror and poor decision-making. Roy’s anguished scream transitions to the wedding dinner of Tina (Alice Eve) and her fiancé, Tom (Eric Michael Cole), on the picturesque island of Malta. Their relationship is barely afloat, but that doesn’t stop their friends Rick and Rachinda (Johnny Gaffney and Sarah Siadat), Tina’s pal Britney (Lisa Yaro), and her sister Sadie (Elle Haymond) from organizing a cheerful sailboat excursion.
Tina and Tom, both radiating reluctance, agree to join the adventure—because nothing says “let’s avoid talking about our problems” like being trapped on a boat with people who don’t know when to mind their business. Naturally, things quickly escalate when a shark attacks the boat, the captain goes overboard and becomes a snack, and the vessel erupts in flames. The group abandons ship, only to be “rescued” by Roy, who, displaying the warmth of a Bond villain, drugs everyone and sticks them in a shark-proof cage. His motivation? Ever since the tragic opening scene (apparently five years in the past), Roy has been hunting the same shark, convinced it’s time for payback and apparently in need of fresh bait. The real question is: are these pampered, self-absorbed caricatures capable of fighting back, or is the shark the only character worth rooting for?
To its credit, “Chum” features a genuinely terrifying shark—thanks to a combination of AI wizardry and actual great white footage. Sadly, that’s where the compliments end. The acting is, to put it politely, tragic. I generally enjoy Alice Eve’s work, but here, she and her co-stars deliver performances so wooden I half-expected splinters. Their emotional range is best described as “cabbage-adjacent,” and every line lands like it’s being read for the very first time. When the group finally musters the courage to confront Roy, he dispatches them with such ease that I felt embarrassed for everyone involved—myself included.
If you’ve ever endured “Jaws: The Revenge,” you’ll recall its premise: Ellen Brody is convinced a vengeful shark has followed her from Amity to the Bahamas. “Chum” takes a similar leap of logic—after losing his wife, Roy spends five years obsessively tracking the same shark, trying everything from dead seals to household pets to lure it in, before deciding that live humans make the best bait. He delivers this revelation with the sincerity of someone reciting a parking notice, expecting us to feel sympathy. Instead, his droning voiceovers only make you wish the shark would hurry up and do us all a favor.
Shark movies, by nature, are formulaic. There’s only so much you can do with people vs. predator on (or under) the water. The trick is to give your characters enough depth and charm that audiences actually care whether they survive. “Chum” sidesteps this challenge entirely, leaving you to cheer for the shark at every turn. While the film clocks in at a brisk 87 minutes, it somehow manages to feel endless. The shark and the cinematography are passable, but both are wasted on a cast that seems actively opposed to the concept of acting. If you’re searching for a genuinely entertaining shark movie, do yourself a favor and revisit “Jaws,” or even “Deep Blue Sea”—the latter may be ridiculous, but at least it’s in on the joke.
In Theaters and on Digital Friday, June 5th
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