The year is 2013. While browsing the internet, you come across a poster of an upcoming movie called ‘Sharknado’, showing… Well, sharks in a tornado. Try to remember your first reaction to seeing the poster. Shock? Confusion? A desire to drink copious amounts of alcohol and wonder if God weapt at seeing what His most beautiful creation had created? Or that the Sharknado series would last five years and cover six movies? The fact that the Sharknado franchise managed to keep most of the cast throughout, and end with a planned finale, could be seen as nothing short of a minor miracle.
But what about the quality?
Looking back, a case can be made that the Sharknado movies can be divided into two periods. The first, covering movies one through three, could be considered the serious half, in that there was an attempt at having a somewhat grounded story, while the second half (films four through six), embraces the goofiness, bringing in mech suits, evil shark gods, the Sydney Opera House being turned into a missile platform by Tony Hawk, and time travel. In my opinion, it’s the later three films that are the most memorable precisely because they embrace the silliness. However, craziness will only go so far. While I felt the Sharknado became more entertaining when it abandoned insanity, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that the movies went just a little too long.
Let’s try another mental exercise. Take a look at this photoshopped movie poster. What immediately comes to mind? Probably ridiculous scenes of, say, Samuel L. Jackson getting into a fistfight with a bear inside a flooding chamber inside a sinking nuclear submarine (Having typed that out, I now desperately want to watch it). Whatever you come up with is probably amusing, and would be great to see on the big screen.
Now imagine having to write six movies based on that concept. Could you? One movie, maybe. But six movies? Around a single joke? Not likely.
If there’s one common mistake with the Sharknado series, it’s that it goes on too long, spread out – in the words of Bilbo Baggins – like butter scraped over too much bread. In a single, concentrated dose, the joke is delicious and enjoyable, but when spread out, becomes thin and flavorless. If we take this idea and apply it to the six Sharknado movies, a pattern emerges: The latter three embrace cramming in as many ridiculous scenarios as possible, while the first three try to have scenes of character building and their lives away from the sharknado. While having these things is necessary, a balance must be found, one that favors the sharks and the mayhem they cause. If we were to go through the films and cut out all the fluff and non-sharknado related material, we could end up with something like this:
Movie One: The sharknado appears, destroys Los Angeles, then rampages across the country to destroy New York, with Fin and friends finally destroying it by heading into outer space.
Movie Two: The United States recovers from the devastation of the Sharknado. But then it suddenly comes back in new and twisted forms, and spreads across the globe. Finn and Friends embark on a globe-trotting quest to save humanity.
Movie Three: The sharknadoes return one last time, and kill everyone but Fin, who then embarks on a time traveling adventure to save humanity and everyone he loves.
Don’t those three movies sound compelling? Each one has high stakes, a high concept, and it’s easy to imagine them spending most of their time on the concept that we want to see.
This, I believe, is the ultimate lesson the Sharknado series can teach us: When doing a story based around a single joke or idea, the less time you spend away from that gag, the better. Avoid trying to make things realistic. Avoid trying to be grounded. Embrace the crazy and milk it for everything its worth, because you don’t know if you’re going to get a second go at it.
But while Sharknado may have overstayed its welcome just a little bit, it still provided plenty of laughs, jokes, chainsaws, and a cast of characters that stays and grows throughout the saga, complete with a surprisingly touching theme about the importance of family, and proved that any concept, no matter how silly, can entertain millions.
Last week, we took a look at the third entry of the Sharknado series. Let’s keep the ball rolling and take a look at the fourth(!) entry.
1. Consider retconning a previous entry to reveal that a hero who sacrificed themselves actually survived
At the climax of ‘Oh Hell No!’ Finn’s dad, Gilbert, sacrificed himself to save the eastern coast of the United States and ended up landing on the surface of the Moon, far from rescue, but knowing that his son and family would survive, and so would millions. It was a fitting end for his character… which makes for a delightful surprise to find out that he was rescued and brought back to Earth, letting him engage in more sharknado adventures.
When characters sacrifice themselves to save the day, it’s almost always a heroic moment, and satisfying to know that while they may be gone, they made a positive difference and helped others, whether it’s just one person or many. However, not many stories have them actually survive their heroic sacrifice; while there is the risk of cheapening that sacrifice by saving them, doing so can be a heartwarming moment that stays with your audience long after the story is over.
2. Consider having the world be improved due to your hero’s efforts
One thing ‘The 4th Awakens’ does very well as a post-trilogy film is show that the world has changed considerably since the ending of ‘Oh Hell No!’ Earth has developed anti-sharknado technology, and has enjoyed five sharknado-free years, to the point that the public can poke fun of sharknadoes by building shark-themed casinos in Las Vegas. And best of all, Finn has enjoyed a quiet, peaceful life of raising his family.
When doing a sequel that takes place after the conclusion of an earlier work, it’s a good idea to show that all the work your hero/s did in previous stories wasn’t for nothing. Your audiences will be satisfied and pleased to see that the hero/s earned a happy life, and that their hard work paid off. This is a better approach than just showing that the same problem (or something very similar) is still going on as before without any resolution or change in circumstances, which suggests that all the struggle and suffering that came before was for nothing.
3. Take advantage of the unique sights at a location for action sequences
If TV shows and movie sequels have shown us anything over the years, it’s that taking long-running characters to exotic locations is a fantastic chance for those characters to have adventures, crack jokes, and otherwise take advantage of unique attractions and locations. ‘The 4th Awakens’ does so in spades: Las Vegas features the expected sights of sharks attacking casinos, but also features Chippendale dancers attacking the sharks in hand-to-fin combat and Finn and friends riding the Treasure Island casino pirate ship down main street. Later, we have sharks rolling around in Cawker City’s ball of twine, and then tearing up Salt Lake City’s Comic-Con, complete with Utah Governor Gary Herbert fending off sharks with a racket.
In your own stories, don’t be afraid to take advantage of unique sights and events in different locations. If your characters travel to Seattle, Washington, for example, your readers might expect them to get involved with the Space Needle. Or if they travel to Washington DC, any of the famous government buildings. Do so, and you’ll satisfy them. Go crazy (if it fits the story’s tone), and you’ll do even better.
4. If you’re doing a long-running monster series, try new variations on the title creature
When doing monster movies, it’s a good idea to occasionally shake things up with different variations of your beasts. ‘The 4th Awakens’ takes this to heart by giving us seven variations of the sharknados, ranging from sand, to fire, and even a radioactive sharknado (leading to a very amusing – if improbable – shot of two helpless aides being turned into skeletons upon being hit by radioactive sharks).
In your own stories, shaking things up with the beasts with different versions every now and then is a good way to keep your audience’s interest. However, be careful that your variations make sense in the theme and style of your story: with ‘Sharknado’s silly tone, radioactive sharknadoes make sense, but having radioactive dinosaurs in ‘Jurassic Park’ would not.
5. Consider having old and new heroes join forces to save the day
Like many heroes who have saved the day, Finn starts out as someone who’s not interested in fighting sharknadoes anymore, a perfectly logical reaction to having fought them three times. ‘The 4th Awakens’ smartly brings him back into the fight gradually; he has to fight to save his son Matt and his wife out of necessity, but still doesn’t want to go sharknado hunting anymore. In his place, we have newcomer Aston, a wealthy CEO who’s responsible for the technology that’s been combating the sharknadoes, and the two eventually team up to save the day.
When doing a post-series sequel of your own, it’s logical to bring back your most famous hero to take up arms once again. You can do so immediately (and your audience will admire them for being willing to jump right back into the fray), but consider doing so gradually. I liked how Aston was the active protagonist, and gradually convinced Finn to help. And while it might be a cliché, having Aston admire Finn and take inspiration from him was a nice touch.
6. Consider going completely bonkers with your action sequences
If there’s one thing ‘The 4th Awakens’ can’t be criticized for, it’s for playing things safe with its action sequences. Perhaps sensing that there’s no reason to hold back after 4 films, the movie goes nuts and throws everything it can at the screen. We’ve already got the aforementioned variations on the sharknado, and a fight on a pirate ship riding a tidal wave through Las Vegas, but we also have a mech suit with chainsaw arms slicing sharks to ribbons at Niagara Falls, bigger sharks swallowing smaller sharks before all are swallowed by an out-of-nowhere blue whale, and – in what is easily the most bonkers sequence in the series to date – Finn taking out a shark with a sword made from chainsaws inside his house while it flies around inside a tornado.
While it won’t always be appropriate, given the tone of your story, consider having an action sequence so bonkers, so out-there, and so outlandish that there’s no way it could happen in real life. It may not be realistic, but it’s memorable and fun, why not?
6. Remember to have characters mourn their deceased loved ones
One puzzling thing about ‘The 4th Awakens’ is that the main characters don’t mourn their loved ones when they’re killed (or seemingly killed). When Matt’s wife, Gabrielle, is killed, Matt doesn’t even seem to notice that she’s dead. At Niagra falls, when Gilbert, Claudia, and Matt are swallowed up by the sharks, the others are shocked momentarily, but then just keep going on with their tasks. While it can be reasonably argued that they need to focus on stopping the sharkando, it feels wrong for them to get over seeing a loved one be eaten alive so quickly.
In your own stories, it’s important to show characters mourning when their loved ones are killed. While fictional characters can get over deceased loved ones faster than in real life, they will come across as real people if they break down, cry, and grieve. If there’s no time for that, then they can do so after the crisis is passed, but losing a loved one is always a big moment in someone’s life, and shouldn’t be treated lightly… unless that person hated their guts, in which case it’s acceptable for them to move on quickly and easily.
8. Consider having a little kid save the day
One of the most amusing sequences of ‘The 4th Awakens’ occurs at the end, when little Gil slices into the Russian nesting doll stack of sharks who have eaten each other to save his family, complete with a miniature chainsaw. While it’s a staple of stories written for youngsters to have kids save the adults and the day at the end, there’s something so charming about seeing pre-adolescents doing so in movies meant for adults, especially when they take to the task with boundless enthusiasm.
The Takeaway
When doing a post-trilogy story, consider having the world be better off than it was before, only to be attacked by several variations of the returning monster in outlandish action sequences in unique locations while both experienced and new heroes join forces to save the day, before they are saved by a little kid, all while mourning those who’ve they’ve lost.
Imperfect Glass 