''Frankenfish'' is a 2004 American
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
dealing with genetically engineered fish in the
bayou
In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...
. Filmed in
Baldwin County, Alabama
Baldwin County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, on the Gulf coast. It is one of only two counties in Alabama that border the Gulf of Mexico, along with Mobile County. As of the 2020 census, the populat ...
, a pack of massive, bloodthirsty, genetically engineered fish combing the quiet waters of the river in the Louisiana Bayou, searching for prey. Based on the
snakehead fish incident in a
Crofton, Maryland
Crofton is a census-designated place and planned community in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, located west of the state capital Annapolis, south of Baltimore, and east-northeast of Washington, D.C. The community was established i ...
,
pond
A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...
, ''Frankenfish'' is one of three films based on the incident, the others being ''
Snakehead Terror
''Snakehead Terror'' is a 2004 Canadian-American made-for-television science fiction-horror film and is one of two Sci Fi Channel films based on the snakehead fish incident in a Crofton, Maryland, pond. The other film is ''Frankenfish''. '' Sw ...
'' and ''
Swarm of the Snakehead
''Swarm of the Snakehead'' is a 2006 comedy/ horror feature film directed by Frank A. Lama and Joel C. Denning and written by Seth Hurwitz. It is the first feature from producers Lama and Hurwitz's Baltimore-based production company Ten Pound Fil ...
''.
Plot
Fishermen John Crankton is killed by an unseen animal. The next day,
medical examiner
The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology that investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictio ...
Sam Rivers and
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
Mary Callahan travel into the bayou to investigate John's mysterious death. Having grown up in the area, Sam is comfortable in his surroundings while Mary is not. They find Elmer
noodling
Noodling is fishing for catfish using one's bare hands, and is practiced primarily in the southern United States. The noodler places their hand inside a discovered catfish hole in order to catch the fish. Other names for the same activity are ...
for
catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
in the swamp canals. With Elmer, Sam and Mary travel upriver to the fishing community. They meet Gloria and Eliza Crankton, John's wife and daughter. Eliza's semi-boyfriend Dan also lives in the house. Gloria explains that a strange boat washed upriver three months ago after a hurricane and weird things have happened since.
Sam and Mary find a large fishing boat along the bank of a canal. They explore the interior while Elmer waits in the boat outside. They discover the remains of the crew in the hold. Upset and nauseous, Mary clumsily knocks Elmer from the boat and something drags him down. Sam and Mary flee in the boat, unaware that they have triggered a homing signal on the ship. On the mainland, a team relays the information to their employer, Jeff, a wealthy
bounty hunter
A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
.
Later that night, Roland hears noises while on the roof of his houseboat. He leans over the edge and an unseen fish leaps up and decapitates him. His wife Bobbi attempts to escape the houseboat on a small boat, but the fish (revealing itself a frankenfish) flips her out and kills her. Frightened, the group tries to flee in boats, but the fish destroys them. Trying to come with a plan to escape, Eliza gets over to Roland and Bobbi's house to try and start it up to escape. However, the houseboat is inoperable. On a neighboring stilt house, Ricardo baits a large hook using an entire catfish and manages to land the fish. Roughly as big as a full-grown man, the fish can breathe air and hops forward biting at Ricardo's legs. Ricardo manages to kill it with a shotgun blast to the head. In vengeance, he tears out its heart and barbecues it. As he takes his first bite, a second frankenfish leaps from the water and devours him.
While everyone panics, Mary declares she has an idea on how to get off the boathouse. Before she can explain, she is killed by an accidental gunshot due to an explosion. A fire propels a propane tank into the boathouse causing an explosion that sends Eliza into the water. Sam dives in and rescues her. Simultaneously, the fish leaps from the water and bites off Gloria's legs. The fish begins attacking the boathouses, punching holes in them to make them sink.
Jeff and his crew arrive and the fish attacks them too, knocking them out of the
fanboat
An airboat (also known as a planeboat, swamp boat, bayou boat, or fanboat) is a flat-bottomed watercraft propelled by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine. In early aviation history the term ''airboat ...
. They swim quickly to the safety of the sinking stilt houses. Jeff explains that the fish are genetically engineered
snakeheads. Sam, Eliza, and Dan have no choice but to join Jeff in pursuing the fish, even after most of his crew is killed.
The crew follows a trail of blood back to the fish's den and find the fish is dead. Jeff forces Sam at gunpoint to enter first. Sam flees the den as behind him, a third, much larger frankenfish kills two hunters, including Jeff. Dan, Sam, and Eliza quickly leave on the fan boat, chased by the fish. Dan falls from the boat during the chase but scrambles up a mudbank. Realizing they cannot outrace the fish, Sam drives the fan boat up a stand of tree stumps and knocks off the protective lining of the fan. Unable to slow its momentum, the fish launches into the whirling blades to its death. Sam and Eliza kiss and go back the way they came to get Dan. However, Dan is trapped in the mud as dozens of baby frankenfish attack him.
Cast
*
Tory Kittles
Tory Kittles is an American actor. He has appeared in the films '' Malibu's Most Wanted'' (2003), ''Get Rich or Die Tryin (2005), ''Next'' (2007), ''Miracle at St. Anna'' (2008), and ''Dragged Across Concrete'' (2018). He is known mostly for h ...
as Sam Rivers
*
K.D. Aubert
Karen Denise Aubert, (born December 6, 1978) also known as K.D. Rose, is an American actress, fashion model and singer. She owns her own record label, Roseland.
Early life
Aubert was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 6, 1978. She des ...
as Eliza
*
China Chow
China Eiko Chow (born 15 April 1974) is a British-born American actress and model.
Life
Chow was born in London to restaurateur Michael Chow and his wife, model/designer Tina Chow (). Her paternal grandfather was the Peking Opera's Zhou X ...
as Mary Callahan
* Matthew Rauch as Dan
*
Donna Biscoe
Donna Biscoe (born September 30, 1955) is an American actress.
Early years
Biscoe was born in Fort Benning, Georgia, the daughter of Mildred Skillern, a retired Carver High School English teacher. Biscoe attended Carver, then graduated from Ke ...
as Gloria Crankton
*
Tomas Arana
Tomas Clifford Arana (born April 3, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1990), '' The Bodyguard'' (1992), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), ''Gladiator'' (2000), ''The Bourne Supremac ...
as Jeff
*
Mark Boone, Jr. as Joseph
*
Reggie Lee as Anton
* Noelle Evans as Bobbi
*
Richard Edson
Richard Edson (born January 1, 1954) is an American actor and musician.
Personal life
Edson was born in New Rochelle, New York to a Jewish family. He has one brother, Steven, who resides in the Boston area, and two sisters, Andrea, who resides ...
as Roland
*
Muse Watson
Muse Watson (born July 20, 1948) is an American stage and screen actor. He became known for his roles as Ben Willis, the primary antagonist in the ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' franchise, Charles Westmoreland on the Fox television series ...
as Elmer
* Steve Ritzi as Pilot
* Ron Gural as The Coroner / Sheriff
* Eugene Collier as John Crankton
*
Sean Patterson as Abrams
*
Raoul Trujillo
Raoul Maximiano Trujillo de Chauvelon (born May 8, 1955) is an American and Canadian actor, dancer, choreographer, and theatre director. A former soloist with the Nikolais Dance Theatre, he is the original choreographer and co-director for the ...
as Ricardo
*
Marco St. John
Marco St. John (born Marco John Figueroa, Jr.; May 7, 1939) is an American actor who has appeared in films and television programs. He is known for his role as the horny truck driver in the 1991 film '' Thelma & Louise'' and for playing Sheriff ...
as Chief
Home media
''Frankenfish'' was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
and
VHS on October 26, 2004.
Reception
James Mudge of Beyond Hollywood wrote that the film, as judged by its peers, was "a surprising success". Jon Condit of
Dread Central
Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...
rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "It is what it is and it’s better at being it than most of the recent offerings similar to it." Dennis Prince of
DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...
wrote that the film is a retread but has good gore effects. In a 2018 retrospective review, Glenn Cochrane of ScreenRealm wrote that although the film's visual effects are severely dated, it still offers a fun time for viewers with "a penchant for cheesy
B movie
A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
creature features."
References
External links
*
*
Official site at Scifi.com
{{Mark A.Z. Dippé
2004 films
2004 television films
2004 science fiction action films
2004 horror films
2000s monster movies
Giant monster films
Syfy original films
Films set in Louisiana
Films shot in Alabama
American horror television films
Films directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé
American natural horror films
Films with screenplays by Simon Barrett (filmmaker)
Films about fish
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
Sony Pictures direct-to-video films