A Sharksnado is a natural phenomenon in which hurricanes lift sharks out of the ocean and drop them on a city. The original Sharknado was a made for TV disaster film that was unexpectedly popular and spawned a series of sequels.
Fin Shepard, Baz Hogan and Nova Clarke join forces to save Los Angeles from a waterspout that is carrying a mass of man-eating sharks. The group must also rescue Fin’s ex-wife April Wexler and daughter Claudia from a house where April’s boyfriend Collin is eaten by sharks.
What is a Sharknado?
A sharksnado is a weather phenomenon cause by a hurricane that causes waterspouts to lift sharks out of the sea and drop them on land. This natural disaster has become a cult hit since the original movie was release in 2013.
Tornadoes are known for causing small animals to fall from the sky, so it makes sense that these critters would be prime to be suck into a sharknado. In fact, tornadoes have been known to pick up cows and other large animals.
Great white sharks can weigh up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms) and sometimes even more. They are also heavy enough to be able to survive the pressure changes in the sharknado, so they should be fine.
However, what happens to the humans when the sharks come crashing out of the storm? That’s a little bit of a tricky question.
The Story
A sharksnado is a type of tornado that can be cause by hurricanes. Tornadoes are whirling columns of air that develop from thunderstorms as condensation releases heat and causes them to move upward.
A waterspout is a similar type of tornado that can occur in the ocean. When a cyclone hits the water, it creates a tornadic waterspout that lifts sharks out of the ocean and deposits them in a nearby town or city.
Teenage Daughter
In Sharknado, a bar owner named Fin sets out with his friends, Baz, Nova, and George to rescue his estranged wife, April, and their teenage daughter, Claudia, from the storm’s wrath. The group stops in a freeway to save people as flooding causes sharks to attack them, and they arrive at April’s house just before the first floor is flooded and shark-infest.
The movie spawned five sequels, and was the first to air on Syfy Channel. It also received a one-night-only special midnight theatrical screening via Regal Cinemas and NCM Fathom Events, earning less than $200,000 from 200 screenings.
Unique Movie Franchises
Sharknado is one of the more unique movie franchises in modern history. It began as a simple, low-budget disaster movie that soon grew into a massive cult classic.
As a result, it has spawned several sequels, all of which are more ‘over-the-top’ than the last. Many famous celebrities have made cameo appearances in the films, including Vivica A. Fox (reprising her role as Fin’s old friend Skye from Part 2), Alaska from RuPaul’s Drag Race, La Toya Jackson and Tori Spelling.
Global Swarming
The fifth film in the series, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, is about to premiere on Syfy this summer. It will see Fin traveling back in time, to meet allies that have died in the past.
However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the wage gap between the female lead Tara Reid and her male costar Ian Ziering has remained the same. As a result, she hasn’t been able to make as much money as he is making on each film.
Films & Smattering of C-List Cameos
After six films and a smattering of C-list cameos, sharksnado is about to call it quits. Syfy confirmed that the series will end with its sixth and final movie, Sharknado 6: City Under Siege.
The film will see a return to the franchise’s signature premise: a hurricane-like tornado bringing hundreds of sharks into Los Angeles. But this time, the threat to the city isn’t just the result of a weather phenomenon, it’s also due to Robot April’s (Tara Reid) clones and flying sharks, which she’s built to take over the world.
Aside from Robot April, the only other major new character is Fin’s son Gil, played by Dolph Lundgren. This is a surprising move for the series, as it foreshadows how much it’s relegated to a gimmick over the years.
Final Words:
The other characters are brought back, including Fin’s wife April and Nova Clarke (Cassie Scerbo). They all attempt to travel back in time to July 11, 2013 to stop the first sharknado. But this is sidetracked by Nova’s desire to save her grandfather from a shark attack that traumatized her as a child.
