Sharktopus

A Syfy Original Movie released September 25, 2010, this film centers on the rampage of a half-shark half-octopus whose handlers have lost control of it. Piranhaconda is a sequel to this.


 * Artistic License: Biology: A surprising amount for a movie about a mix-and-match critter made up of two totally unrelated creatures.
 * This post by biologist P.Z. Myers mentions that a creature with two mouths and no method of waste disposal will eventually explode. If he'd actually seen the film after it came out he'd notice that the Sharktopus has only one mouth (the shark one); its anus is presumably on the other side.
 * Also, a more minor point - an octopus doesn't have the tentacular clubs at the end of its arms. A squid does, but...
 * How did the Sharktopus breathe on land?
 * Asshole Victim: Quite a few.
 * Always a Bigger Fish: In the beginning of the film a beach girl is attacked by a shark while swimming off the shoreline, but the Sharktopus saves her by devouring it.
 * Belligerent Sexual Tension: Andy and Nicole are less than cordial towards one another when they first meet, and for a while after that, but you can tell they're going to end up together by the end of the movie.
 * Big No:
 * Screamed by Andy after.
 * The second victim to die directly from the Sharktopus gives a pretty nice one as he contemplates how he's about to die.
 * Combat Tentacles: It's called a Sharktopus for a reason. With swords on the tips of its tentacles for some weird reason.
 * Creator Cameo:
 * Roger Corman as the guy taking the old coin found on a beach.
 * It also makes for a Crowning Moment of Funny when he bites the coin to see if it's real. Given Corman's legendary...erm, frugality, you can just see him calculating just how many cheap b-movies he can fund with it.
 * Similarly, Corman's daughter, Mary Corman, appears as the bungee-jumping girl.
 * Everything's Even Worse with Sharks: Yes.
 * Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods: And yes, although the Sharktopus quickly proves that the combo of the two beats out the former.
 * Firing in the Air a Lot: When tourists disregard warnings of a giant half-shark half-octopus approaching, this is what gets them to leave.
 * Gone Horribly Right:
 * Nicole created a hunter, but her dad wanted a killer. He changes her programming and everyone ends up paying for it.
 * Too Dumb to Live: They had a remote control anyway, so there was no reason to make the shark psychotic too.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: I guess Esqueleto got tired of wrestling.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Or rather, by his own Sharktopus.
 * Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: For a guy with a submachine gun, shooting at a 20-some foot tall Shartopus (which tends to remain fairly still while he shoots,) Andy sure manages to miss a LOT of his shots.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Andy seems at first nothing more than a mercenary who loves cheap booze and cheap women, but he later refuses an offer of $1 million to not kill the titular monster. Mind you,, so Andy has a good excuse.
 * Immune to Bullets: The Sharktopus can withstand machine gun fire.
 * It's Been Done: Take a look at an earlier film with a suspiciously similar plot (minus the military angle) and a suspiciously similar monster: Devil Fish, an Italian Jaws ripoff made in the 80's. You know these people are scraping the bottom of the barrel when they rip off a godawful Italian ripoff. Thankfully, this film doesn't take itself as seriously.
 * Just Think of the Potential: The military sort.
 * Lampshade Hanging: And how, this movie gets close to a parody of Syfy Channel Original Movies at times.
 * Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter
 * Mix-and-Match Critters: Oddly enough, this isn't the only form of entertainment that featured a sharktopus.
 * My Eyes Are Up Here: Said by Stacy to Pez.
 * The Password Is Always Swordfish: The kill switch password to destroy the Sharktopus is "Pumpkin", the term of affection that Nicole's father used to call her.
 * Plot Armor: The only sensible explanation as to why the Sharktopus is so hesitant to eat Andy at the end,.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After, Andy spends the rest of the movie trying as hard as he can to kill the Sharktopus in a fury.
 * : Apparently, the best way to kill a Sharktopus.
 * Super-Persistent Predator: Guess who. Justified because the Sharktopus was specifically designed to hunt humans.
 * Tempting Fate: In the opening, a woman goes swimming in the ocean alone, is stalked by a huge bloodthirsty great white shark...and is "saved" when said shark is grabbed and killed by the title beast.
 * Too Dumb to Live:
 * Turned Against Their Masters: After the device that enabled the scientists to control their project gets smashed, this happens—although it's not so much against its masters as it is against humanity in general.
 * Unusually Uninteresting Sight: An old man and a woman are on a beach with a metal detector. The woman finds an old coin, and is then grasped by the Sharktopus's tentacles, dragged into the water, and slain (all rather slowly). The man just stands there in Dull Surprise mode, waits until she is dead... and then goes to get the coin. Not out of place at all in a movie like this, though.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: Andy does actually own a shirt, he just never bothers to do it up.
 * The Worf Effect: See Always a Bigger Fish above.