Great White Waters (2025) review – An Asylum shark movie without the sharks
Great White Waters: Quick Verdict
The Verdict: A typically ropey Asylum production that is surprisingly coherent, yet disappointingly dull. Great White Waters functions more as a low-budget crime thriller with occasional cameo appearances from terrible CGI sharks than a proper creature feature. While Ashton Leigh tries her best with the material, the lack of shark action and poor effects make it hard to recommend, even for fans of “so bad it’s good” cinema.
Details: Director: Anthony C. Ferrante | Cast: Ashton Leigh, Angela Cole | Runtime: 1h 25m | Release Date: 2025
Best for: Die-hard Asylum completionists and people who need background noise while doing chores.
Worth noting: Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante (Sharknado), this is significantly less fun than his previous shark-infested outings.
Where to Watch: Streaming Free on Tubi.
Rating: 2.0/5 Stars
(Bad CGI, dull, shark-less)
Welcome to Knockout Horror. We have watched some decent horror lately so I decided I needed something to wash the taste of good quality movies away. That’s where today’s film, Great White Waters (2025) comes in.
Highlights
Not Another Awful Shark Movie
The story here blends sharks with smugglers as a cartel has lost a whole bunch of cocaine at the bottom of the ocean and their boss is very eager for them to retrieve it. The only problem, is a group of marauding sharks are only too willing to bite the legs off of anyone attempting to go near the stash. Prompting the group to enlist the help of an unwilling civilian.
“I am actually quite surprised that the sharks in this film weren’t snorting the coke… I can’t help but feel like a golden opportunity was missed.”
I am actually quite surprised that the sharks in this film weren’t snorting the coke, or something, given the recent trend of animals in horror getting high and going on killing sprees. I can’t help but feel like a golden opportunity was missed. Ah well!
This movie really has the four horse men (horse people?) of the terrible horror movie apocalypse. We have sharks, we have the large Tubi Original branding, the Asylum movie team producing, and, worst of all, we have Anthony C. Ferrante at the directorial helm.
Ferrante is the dude responsible for the terrible Sharknado series. He also directed Blind Waters; another shark themed horror that was somehow even worse than Sharknado. This guy, to put it mildly, absolutely sucks and his movies are trash.
To say my expectations for Great White Waters were low would be an understatement. I would need a submersible of dubious build quality to navigate to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve the expectations that I had for this film.
It’s not a good film but it’s not as bad as I expected
I don’t want to build expectations up too high, here. I am definitely not recommending that you head on over to Tubi and fire this movie up for some shark related shenanigans. It’s still not a good film by any stretch of the imagination. But, by Asylum and Ferrante standards, it might as well be their magnum opus.
“I would need a submersible of dubious build quality to navigate to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve the expectations that I had for this film.”
I didn’t laugh in disgust as much as I normally do with these films. I actually found the story at least somewhat interesting. The characters weren’t entirely forgettable and the plot was okay, I guess. There was a degree of restraint here that you don’t normally see in these types of films. Almost a sense of “less is more”.
The plot is pretty standard as far as these types of films go. We have a sentimental flashback to give the protagonist some backstory and to offer up some character motivation. Then we have a little exposition regarding the bad guys as well as a few scenes designed to make them all the more detestable. We then see the sharks who are, for some reason, far more aggressive than standard Great White Sharks.
It’s nothing new but at least we have something to grab hold of. Great White Waters turns into more of a crime based action flick than an outright shark movie which may offer it a little more depth than most Asylum shark movies, for some viewers. We spend a bit more time getting to know characters, there is a bit more in the way of plot, and it is a tiny bit more interesting.
It’s still not a good film, though
Let’s not get it twisted, this is still a crap film. Asylum and Ferrante have just lowered the standard so much that even something as bad as this can surprise you. That’s definitely not a good thing. The story is silly, the last third of the movie is completely ridiculous, the script is poor, and most of the actors are not great.
“The big problem… is that there are hardly any sharks. Like I said, this is actually more of a crime action film than anything else. The sharks play side characters.”
Ashton Leigh is probably the strongest cast member. She deserves extra props for putting up with them constantly focusing on her cleavage. She isn’t allowed to zip her wetsuit up completely the entire film. Hope she got a bonus for that. Angela Cole floats between being fairly competent and absolutely awful. Everyone else is pretty forgettable.
Effects are shocking but that is par-for-the-course with Asylum stuff. The sharks look absolutely terrible. Like with many of these types of movies, how terrible they look lends the film a sort of “so bad it is good” quality. Sometimes it is fun to sit down with some popcorn and just laugh at how bad these movies are. Great White Waters might qualify for that.
The big problem with that is that there are hardly any sharks. Like I said, this is actually more of a crime action film than anything else. The sharks play side characters. I am really not sure whether there is enough to justify sitting down and hate-watching it. Some of the dialogue is bad enough to warrant it but if you are here for sharks you might be disappointed.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good
- Ashton Leigh: She puts in a solid effort despite the material, managing to be the most watchable part of the film.
- The Coherence: Unlike many Asylum films, the plot actually follows a logical progression, even if it isn’t very exciting.
The Bad
- The Sharks: They are barely in it. When they do appear, the CGI is laughably bad.
- The Script: It is cliched, dull, and treats the shark threat as an afterthought to a boring cartel storyline.
- The Mixed Priorities: The director seems more interested in filming cleavage than shark attacks.
The Ugly: The Boredom. For a movie about drug smugglers and killer sharks, it is surprisingly tedious. It lacks the manic energy that usually makes bad shark movies fun.
Should You Watch Great White Waters?
Probably not. Unless you are on a quest to watch every Tubi Original ever made, there is little reason to dive into this one. It isn’t crazy enough to be funny, and it isn’t competent enough to be thrilling. It’s just damp.
Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight
Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
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