Note: "Hammerhead" is occasionally known as "SharkMan" in certain releases. Because another film uses the name "SharkMan" which predates this one, I will refer to this film as "Hammerhead."
Hammerhead is one of many shark films Nu Image made during the 2000s. It is arguably the most interesting of them in its IMDb summary. A scientist whose son is diagnosed with cancer splices his DNA with that of a shark to produce a hybrid creature with the brain of a man and the ferocity of a shark. The creature does not actually resemble a hammerhead shark despite the title.
This plot point was utilized in Shark Attack, another Nu Image film. The idea stems from the quack book Sharks Don't Get Cancer combined with The Island of Dr. Moreau. The creature when fully visible is impressive. The costume doesn't look like a school mascot at least while the actor is not moving.
It's a shame the shark attacks are edited so haphazardly that you can never tell what is happening. The edits appear so quick in succession you get the idea that the shark is moving next to his victims rather than attacking them.The camera often focuses on the Hammerhead's eyes which become repetitive in the frequent attacks. Despite the fact that CGI was very bad in 2005, I would have preferred to see the victims attacked with a CGI creature. At least we could see the entire shot. Since the shark can travel on land, why didn't they portray him like a sneaky slasher villain who moves in the shadows?
Nu Image shark films often feature incomprehensible slowdown that throws you out of the scene. Such happens here. You see someone running and for no reason the scene slows down for emphasis on something? I guess?
The actors are alright. No one other than Jeffrey Combs is memorable. His performance as the stereotypical mad scientist is as campy as ever. If you are a fan of his, he makes the film better than it would otherwise be. His performance adds to the otherworldly atmosphere that's weird for its own sake. I especially like the tour he gives through the greenhouse where he keeps other weird hybrids. Perhaps were this not a made for tv film, the filmmakers could have gone further with the oddities. The film reminds me in some ways of the more recent Annihilation just not as developed. The televisual storytelling limits how much worldbuilding the film can do.
Most of this movie is a group of characters running around as Hammerhead picks them off. He can move as well through water as land. There is some gore during a lab scene although not as much during the shark attacks. The survivors really don't do much other than exist until the end. The bad music doesn't help with the increasing tedium of the lack of plot.
Hammerhead is not a good movie. Fans of Jeffrey Combs may want to check it out after seeing his more famous films. The introductory laboratory scenes are weird and bloody; they are the best part of the movie. By the 30 minute mark, you have seen everything it has to offer.
