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[Editorial] The Beach Scene in ‘The Meg’ Is the Film’s Biggest Missed Opportunity for Fun

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As a mega fan of shark attack horror films, even the ones that aim for big stupid fun and little else, you could say that I was precisely the target audience for a film like The Meg, an adaptation of Steve Alten’s novel that had been begging for a big screen adaptation for over 20 years. Alas, Jon Turteltaub’s film failed me even on that level, as I found it mostly a bore that delivered only fleeting moments of the wild entertainment it should’ve been providing the whole way through; worth noting, our own Scott Weinberg had more fun with it than I did.

In my book, The Meg gets a whole lot wrong in its quest to deliver mindless summer popcorn fun, with its hotly anticipated “beach scene” highlighting many of those issues.

Leading up to the release, the beach scene played a large part in The Meg‘s marketing, featured on the very first poster as well as its most recent IMAX art. Images, trailers and TV spots similarly played up what promised to be one of the most epic scenes in the history of shark horror: in the waters of a crowded beach, the Meg makes lunch of HUNDREDS of swimmers.

In the IMAX art, seen at bottom, the MASSIVE shark leaps out of the water, sending swimmers and their colorful, Fruit Loop-like rafts flying up into the air… many headed for its mouth.

Mind you, attention-grabbing marketing that builds up hype for things that don’t actually happen in the movies themsleves is nothing new in the world of horror, but The Meg‘s beach scene is a particular disappointment because how of how tame and ultimately useless it turns out to be. As it’s been well documented by now, mostly thanks to our interview with Jon Turteltaub wherein the director got admirably honest about the production, The Meg was originally intended to be an “R” rated film, but the studio axed all of the more gruesome bits in favor of a PG-13, decidedly family friendly action-horror experience.

Turteltaub told us, “I am so disappointed the film wasn’t more bloody or disgusting. My wife is glad about it and I’m glad my kids can see the movie, but the number of really horrifying, disgusting and bloody deaths we had lined up that we didn’t get to do is tragic. There was some really good shit that didn’t survive to the final cut.”

We don’t know what exactly didn’t make the final cut at this time, but it seems pretty clear that The Meg‘s beach scene was *probably* neutered for the sake of the PG-13 rating that ultimately may have helped the film do better than expected at the box office. Despite the titular Megalodon swimming into waters occupied by nearly 1,000 swimmers, we only actually see the shark *maybe* kill a couple of them, and only in quick flashes that don’t actually show anything at all. At one point, the Meg appears to swallow a woman underwater. At another, the shark pops a massive inflatable ball that a man had been running around inside of. Like all the carnage in the rest of the film, no blood. Only the suggestion of shark-on-human violence.

The scene comes to an end quickly after being clunkily inserted into the film, with our heroes using whale sounds to lure the shark away from the beach before it does any real damage. I ask, what’s so scary about a shark that barely feeds when presented with 1,000 meals?

It may seem like I’m suggesting that The Meg‘s biggest problem is that it’s not rated R and graphically violent, but the issue (among many others) is more that it just doesn’t ever really *go for it,* even when it gives itself the opportunity to do precisely that. Again, it’s not without its wild moments of over-the-top fun, but the beach scene perfectly highlights that resistance to fully embrace the fun of it all. Hell, even without any blood at all (I sure wasn’t expecting the all-out gory mayhem of Piranha 3D‘s “beach attack” scene), that scene easily could’ve been an all-timer in the shark horror canon. Could’ve been and by all means should’ve been.

Just one day after seeing The Meg, I went to the beach and swam in the ocean without fear. If that’s not proof positive of an ineffective shark movie, well, I’m just not sure what is.

Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

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leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

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Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

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Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

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