Big Shark: Will It Achieve Cult Status Like The Room?

The Enigma of Big Shark

With an infamous cult reputation already behind him, Tommy Wiseau's Big Shark has baffled the VFX artists at Corridor Crew. The 2023 horror movie marked Wiseau's second directorial effort for a movie after 2003's The Room, which steadily became regarded as one of the best worst movies of all time.

Tommy Wiseau and the Big Shark cast looking scared in Big Shark

Wiseau led the cast of Big Shark as Patrick, one of three firefighter friends in New Orleans who races against time to save the city from the titular killer fish. Nearly a year after the movie first began its national roadshow, the group at Corridor Crew have taken a look at Big Shark in the latest episode of their VFX Artists React series. The video, as seen above, sees the group watching the trailers released for the 2023 movie thus far, and being very baffled by what's shown. While initially favorable about a certain effect, the trio turn to laughing at the remainder of the footage, appreciating some of the efforts made for capturing proper reflections in water, while other effects leave them criticizing the movie, ultimately resulting in the consensus of being curious about seeing the full product.

The question lingers: will Big Shark achieve the same cult status as The Room?

The Room Johnny Laughing

The Legacy of The Room

Though regarded as one of the worst movies of all time, audiences have been keen to see Wiseau step back into the director's chair in the 20 years since The Room came out. This interest grew immensely following the release of the 2017 biographical comedy The Disaster Artist, which starred and was directed by James Franco as Wiseau and chronicled the troubled production of the 2003 movie, based on Greg Sestero's non-fiction book of the same name.

Tommy Wiseau as Johnny in The Room

Rather than take a cynical look at the story, it ultimately offered a sympathetic portrayal of Wiseau, creating a newfound appreciation for him and his work. A remake of The Room led by Bob Odenkirk in Wiseau's role was filmed in January 2023, though a release date still hasn't been set for the project.

Tommy Wiseau holds a football in The Room

With Big Shark, one of the biggest questions to swirl around the movie is whether it would reach the same level of cult status as The Room before it. Though it didn't endure the same level of problems during its filming, the action-horror movie has endured an even worse reception from the few critics who have reviewed it than Wiseau's directorial debut, with his writing, acting and direction being panned, and some finding it leaned too hard into trying to be a movie that's so bad it's good. A few have, on the other hand, defended his work as trying to acknowledge some of the criticisms for The Room and avoid many of its pitfalls.

The Potential of Big Shark

Given Big Shark has only enjoyed a limited roadshow release in the US and United Kingdom since its April 2023 premiere, it's difficult to determine how much of an impact the movie has made on those looking for movies so bad they're entertaining. With a wider release, or a more stationary one akin to the one The Room has enjoyed in the 20 years since its debut, Wiseau's new effort might reach the same level of discussion he hoped to achieve and ultimately rival the likes of the Sharknado and Anaconda franchises to become a cult classic.