The Black Demon Movie Review

Ever since Steven Altman’s novel ‘The Meg’ was released back in July 1997, people have become obsessed with the idea that a giant shark or ‘Megalodon’ as they are scientifically known as and the fact it could actually exist. Since then, we have received numerous straight-to-DVD shark films, toying with this premise and delivering suitably fun and over-the-top films. But in 2018, we got the first big-budget film. An adaptation of Altman’s novel, simply titled ‘The Meg’. The film was a monumental success, bringing in a massive $350 million off a $140 million budget, spawning a sequel, titled ‘The Meg 2: The Trench’ that releases in cinemas August 2023. However, to tie fans over until the release of ‘The Meg 2: The Trench’, fans got a smaller budgeted, albeit, scary thriller, again toying with the premise of a giant shark, starring Josh Lucas, ‘titled ‘the Black Demon’.

I have talked about this a number of times before on this blog, but I absolutely adore shark films. Whether they have a big budget like ‘The Meg’, or are deemed a classic like ‘Jaws’, or box office draws ’47 Meters Down’. ’47 Meters Down: Uncaged’, ‘Deep Blue Sea’ and ‘The Shallows’ or even a fun straight-to-DVD film like ‘Great White’, ‘The Reef: Stalked’, ‘Shark Bait’, ’The Requin’ and the ‘Deep Blue Sea’ sequels, I will watch them all! When I first saw the trailer for ‘The Black Demon’, I was immediately drawn to the idea of a family stuck on an offshore oil rig, whilst being stalked by a giant Megalodon. The isolation of the oil rig genuinely terrified me, and I was getting real ‘Deep Blue Sea’ vibes, which is never a bad thing. I am also a massive fan of Josh Lucas. We haven’t got a lot of him in recent years, but when he appeared in the 2018 critically acclaimed ‘Ford v Ferrari’ directed by James Mangold, I was hoping we would see more of him more frequently. So, was ‘The Black Demon worth my anticipation or was it a dud?

I am happy to say, ‘The Black Demon’ was in fact, a hell of a lot of fun! The films premise isn’t anything new, we have seen this done a tonne of times, most notably, ‘Deep Blue Sea’ and even to a certain extent, ‘The Shallows’, but what The Black Demon does differently, is create a sense of dread, that we haven’t seen in this type of film. Director Adrian Grunberg (Get the Gringo, Rambo: Last Blood) knows exactly how to use the film's smaller budget to his advantage. The effects aren’t fantastic, but Grunberg only shows the shark in shadows, really building up its intensity and the fear surrounding this giant creature.

The other thing The Black Demon has going for it, is Josh Lucas in the lead role. As mentioned earlier, his absence from Hollywood in recent years has been noted. His work in the mid-2000s and 2010s was always great, being in films such as ‘Stealth’, ‘Red Dog’ and ‘Sweet home Alabama’. He has now received a bit of a boost in recent years appearing in ‘Ford v Ferrari’, ‘The Forever Purge’ and as young John Dutton in ‘Yellowstone’. He is truly a wonderful actor, and he brings that momentum to this film, showcasing his range and talents as an actor. He still has that charm we have come to expect from him, whilst also showcasing his range as an actor, dancing between genres with poise and complete and utter professionalism. The movie is about a giant shark, referred to as the Black Demon, it should be insane, but Josh Lucas grounds it!

The Black Demon is a truly entertaining horror film. It has the star power of Josh Lucas and the craftsmanship from Adrian Grunberg. It is by no means a classic, but it is a fun shark themed horror film that truly does have fun with its absurd premise but does create some amazing action set pieces that creates legitimate tension. The perfect film to watch this shark week! Click below to pick up your copy of The Black Demon on DVD and check out Sanity’s insane range of Shark movies. Be sure to sign up to Sanity’s newsletter as well, so you don’t miss another title!

Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here