I have, and probably forever will have, a huge fondness for Kristy Swanson. That started when I was a young and horny horror fan, and gazed at her in "Deadly Friend" (one word: basketball). A handful of years later, she was also the first actress to depict Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and - to me - she will always own that role, instead of Sarah Michelle Gellar. The lovely Mrs. Swanson never really broke through as a great actress, but it's fantastic to see she still occasionally pops up in low-keyed, undemanding and trashy horror movies like "Swamp Shark". And, might I add, she still looks sensationally sexy!

As far as exaggeratedly ridiculous and straight-to-video shark movies go (and there are hundreds of them...), "Swamp Shark" is definitely one of the coolest. This is largely thanks to Kristy and the rest of the glorious B-cast, but also setting is excellent and the "fun-factor" is very high. Cajun-horror is always fun, just think of "Southern Comfort" or "Hunter's Blood". "Swamp Shark" obviously doesn't play in the same league, but at least director G. E. Furst tries to make the most out of the Louisianan filming locations and atmosphere. The film is also fast-paced and full of action footage and random kills, which is good because you don't have the time to think about how inept the script, in fact, is. The digital gore effects and the shark itself (supposedly a prehistoric species) are pathetic and truly look awful. Fortunately, though, the looks of Kristy Swanson compensate for everything. The young actress playing her sister Krystal is a feast for the eyes as well. She, Sophie Sinise, seems to be cast purely for her blond hair and impressive chest size, but who cares!

A corrupt Louisiana sheriff named "Sheriff Watson" (Robert Davi) is buying rare and exotic animals and reselling them for a profit. In one particular purchase, a strange but exceedingly deadly type of shark is brought to him but manages to escape into the bayou. Not far from there is a family-owned restaurant called "the Gator Shed" which is run by "Rachael Bouchard" (Kristy Swanson) with the help of her brother "Jason Bouchard" (Jeff Chase) and younger sister "Krystal Bouchard" (Sophie Sinise). Naturally, since the shark needs to feed, and an annual celebration nearby called the "Gator Fest" just happens to have plenty of people frolicking in the water, things begin to get rather dicey for all concerned rather quickly. So much for the plot which is, of course, very similar to "Jaws" and several of its sequels and clones. Nothing really new. Along with that the acting wasn't that good, some of the scenarios bordered on the ridiculous and the special effects left much to be desired. On the other hand, this film had some decent suspense and a few attractive young ladies (like the aforementioned Kristy Swanson and Sophie Sinise) to keep things interesting. Even so, the good points simply weren't sufficient to overcome the flaws mentioned earlier and as a result it's difficult to rate this film higher than I have. Slightly below average.

It's about time for a mysterious creature to raise havoc in the swamps of Louisiana. Crowds are gathering in the Atchafalaya Basin to take part in Gator Fest. A black market exotic animal deal goes awry when a very large unusually muscular shark leaps into the murky swamp. Now how does a shark navigate in shallow, boggy swamps...mean and menacing. When a headless body is found in the swamp it is blamed on runaway gators displayed at the Gator Shack, a family owned drinkin' and eatin' waterin' hole. Owner Rachel Broussard(Kristy Swanson)is not about to let her business get a bad reputation; she more or less rounds up a posse of family and friends to find the shark she was sure of witnessing. A stranger named Charlie(D.B. Sweeney)happens to join in the search for the shark causing so much terror, panic and hysterics. And yes, Charlie is not there just by accident. The exotic shark takes very little time in running up a body count; and seems to bite off heads with the skills of a surgeon. SyFy channel, you gave us an entertaining creature feature. The CGI blends well. Why is it always fun to watch people get chomped and mangled? And a few young bouncing beauties don't hurt a thing. Also in the cast: Christopher Berry, Lauren Graham, Marcus Lyle Brown, Robert Davi, Jason Rogel and former Major League Baseball player, Wade Boggs.