If you thought the worst part of a Category 5 hurricane was the torrential rain and devastating winds, Netflix’s latest disaster thriller is here to prove you wrong. Imagine trying to survive a catastrophic flood, only to realize that hungry sharks are now swimming through your neighborhood.
That is exactly the terrifying, edge-of-your-seat premise of Thrash, an upcoming survival horror film that officially hits Netflix on April 10.
The film stars Academy Award-nominated actor Djimon Hounsou, Bridgerton breakout Phoebe Dynevor, and Gossip Girl star Whitney Peak.
The story centers on a coastal town that gets absolutely leveled by a massive Category 5 hurricane. But the storm surge doesn’t just bring rising water and structural devastation; it brings the ocean’s deadliest predators right into the streets and flooded living rooms.
Hounsou takes on the role of a seasoned marine researcher who understands exactly how dire the situation is once the storm hits and the levees break. Dynevor stars as a fiercely determined pregnant woman stuck in the rising water who refuses to let the aquatic invaders stop her child from taking his first breath. Meanwhile, Peak plays Hounsou’s agoraphobic niece, who is forced to face her fears in the worst way imaginable.
If the idea of an R-rated, blood-pumping creature feature sounds right up your alley, you will be happy to know that the film is in very capable hands.
Thrash is written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, the mastermind behind high-octane genre hits like Violent Night and Dead Snow. Academy Award-winner Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up, The Big Short) serves as a producer alongside Kevin Messick.
While the concept of sharks swimming through suburban houses sounds wild, the filmmakers actually rooted the premise in a terrifyingly modern reality. According to McKay, marine biologists are increasingly noting how climate change and global warming are altering shark behavior and migration patterns. So, while it is definitely an entertaining disaster movie, the underlying science of predators being pushed out of their normal habitats isn’t entirely implausible.
Thrash actually has a pretty interesting Hollywood backstory, too. The film was originally developed at Sony Pictures under the working titles Beneath the Storm and Shiver for a traditional theatrical run. However, Netflix swooped in and acquired the rights earlier this year, setting it up as a massive global streaming event.
Drawing natural comparisons to the 2019 hit Crawl (which trapped survivors in a hurricane with deadly alligators), Thrash seems poised to be the next big obsession for horror and thriller fans alike.
Thrash swims onto Netflix on April 10. Check out the trailer below.
