A remote Norwegian fjord. A legacy of strange occurrences. Disappearing tourists. Environmental degradation. A corrupt business using questionable technology with unexpected side effects. All of this adds up to a big old mess in director Pal Oie’s new creature feature, Kraken, with mixed results. On one hand, it can be a thrilling adventure about human meddling waking up an unforeseen natural threat from the chilly depths of the ocean. On the other, it’s awash in cliches and a slow burn to the point where the fuse almost goes entirely out.
I’m almost always game for a cheapo, nature-gone-wild movie, especially one involving sharks. This year has already seen a wild amount of animal-attack films. In the first six months we’ve had Primate, Thrash, Deep Water, Killer Whale, and just this week the hippo-rampage adventure Hungry. I feel like I’m even forgetting a few, but you get the point. And there are at least a handful more still scheduled to release in 2026. All of this brings us to Chum, which is dire, nonsensical, and borderline competent.
When we think about hippos, a lot of us think of them as big, cute, cuddly goofs. They make excellent stuffed animals for a reason, after all. The reality, however, is they are actually ornery, territorial, startlingly fast on land and in water, and dangerous as all hell. There is no shortage of terrifying hippo videos on the internet; they are straight up scary. And now they are getting their due in the fun new hippos-on-a-rampage movie, Hungry.
