Shark Survivor is a harrowing true story about the dangers at sea. Minute by minute, the film chronicles the trauma suffered by the five crew members of the Trashman, a yacht they transported from Maine to Florida in October 1982.
While crossing the Atlantic, the crew encountered a violent tropical storm off the coast of North Carolina. A series of rough waves and heavy rain eventually engulfed the yacht, and the crew managed to survive on a life raft, but without food, water, signaling devices or anything else they needed to survive. Her fears had only just begun.
They drift in waters dense with hordes of deadly sharks.
The film contains interviews with survivors of the crew. They remember every heartbreaking moment in their struggle to survive – from braving the bone-chilling water to their mate’s tragic sinking in the jaws of a ferocious tiger shark. These interviews are supported by elaborate re-enactments dramatized by a cast of skilled actors.
Much of the film is eternally dark, but there’s a morbid fascination to the extremes it explores. They started hallucinating due to dehydration, open sores and staph infections. Soon, the underwater threat begins to pale in comparison to the horrific drama taking place on the raft. Each crew member deals with their growing state of insanity in their own way. When they were found by a rescue ship after five grueling days, most of the crew succumbed to the mounting pressure, leaving only two determined to survive.
Steeped in chilling horror and gruesome carnage, the story of Shark Survivor demanded a Hollywood-style treatment on the big screen. Regardless, this short documentary manages to convey with intimacy and visceral force the many challenges and fears experienced by the crew. It shows us the brutal potential of nature, how our differences can widen or close in life-or-death situations, and how the remnants of trauma can leave a mark on us for the rest of our lives.
Directed by: Ian Barnes
