The Sand

There is an old saying that you can't judge a book by it's cover, but does that extend to movie posters? Going into this movie I figured it would be true and this movie would be as silly as the poster. Was I right? Was I wrong? Before I get into the movie, why not watch the trailer.

Some movies start out slow, introducing you to the various characters and setting the stage. The Sand jumps right into the thick of it. The movie opens with shaky cell phone video of young adults (?) partying on the beach at night. Most of the main characters are shown partying, but outside Kaylee (girl in the red bikini top on the poster) you really don't know these other people will be part of the main staff. The party scene happens over the course of just a few minutes and doesn't show much outside of partying and two guys carrying some large slimy round thing. What?

The next morning Kaylee wakes up in a lifeguard hut on the beach. She walks outside to the ramp and sees 4 others a sleep in a car sitting just below, one girl asleep on a picnic table and one other guy still asleep that was stuck into a garbage can. The movie doesn't really address what happened to everyone else, just has the camera pan across the beach showing empty sleep bags on the beach.

Immediately everyone starts to wake up and when the girl on the picnic table steps off and onto the sand, her foot is immediately stuck in the sand. The others question how she could be stuck and give her crap. Then she falls over and catches herself only for her hand to become stuck. One of the guys in the convertible decides not to be a jerk and jumps out to help her. This is when you really know that something is up. This is also the first (and only) gory scene in the movie. The special effects I thought were pretty good...too bad they couldn't keep that up as the movie progressed.

Something carnivorous is under the sand and anything with a heartbeat that directly touches the sand is basically food. If I still have your attention and you're thinking this is one of those bad SyFy movies...you'd be right. While I've not seen another other movies with killer sand, I know of at least one other horror movie that I believe has a similar plot. Thankfully the movie clocks in at just under 1 and half hours because I have better things to do. I didn't hate the movie, but I've seen better.

The acting was OK. I've seen worse. The special effects started off great, but quickly fall apart. The CGI used in both attack scenes and of the monster underneath the sand aren't well done and comes across as cheesy. The ending of the movie leaves it open for a sequel...but Lord I hope that never happens.

I streamed this movie on TubiTV for free. Had I paid to rent this movie I would have been highly dissapointed, but seeing how I didn't have to pay a dime to watch it made it a little easier to swallow. I can't recommend this movie, but I also can't say it's the worse thing out there.