4. Snake Island: For every decent flick like Python, we get another like Snake Island. This abomination has a group of inept tourists going for a vacation boat ride down a river in who-knows-where. When their boat conveniently breaks down on (gasp!) Snake Island, the fun begins. We are shocked to learn that snakes (gasp!) rule the island. It gets worse when the group starts to party and turn on some (and I quote) "Funky Latino tunes" and the snakes DANCE! Gasp! There is never really any reason given for their actions, they just seem to like to kill people. It's even funnier to think that these people are surprised when they discover the snakes. It's called Snake Island genius! There's some brief nudity, but trust me when I say it's not worth it. DVD is standard full frame with Dolby Pro-Logic support.

5. Killer Rats: My vote for the direct-to-video-creature-feature of the year. This little Canadian flick has a really nice, tension filled plot and some decent rat effects. Seems that the Brookdale Institute for the wealthy and insane was home to some genetic experiments on rats. These mean bastards have bredÖa lot. There's even a nice big one that really deals out the damage. Well, everyone gets stuck inside and it's a war with the altered rodents. There are a few scenes of camp (The exterminator segment really should've been cut.) and a few CG effects are worse than normal. However, the acting, setting, lighting, and sense of horror really shine through. I was unable to track down a widescreen version so I'm assuming either it doesn't exist or it was shot this way.

6. Shark Attack 3: Megaladon: A great premiseÖ.actually, anything featuring the mother of prehistoric sharks has a great premise. Sadly, the execution here is laughable. Not related to the first 2 in anyway, this film centers around a wealthy investor person who takes his cruise boat out to sea when he was warned not to. Guess what happens next? Yeah, the entire finale features just about the entire cast beaten chomped on, but notice that all the shark footage has probably been lifted from the Discovery Channel. When interaction between human and shark is needed, a simple, poorly executed matte shot is completed. It's really bad beyond comprehension. Note that when this one plays on TV, one of the funniest censored lines ever makes an appearance: "Bullsquat!" That pretty much sums this one up. Full screen, Dolby 2.0.

7. Shark Zone: Think SA3 had a ton of re-used footage? It's has nothing on Shark Zone. Not only is 90% of the shark footage lifted from "Shark Week," but other films as well. An explosion segment is lifted from what I believe was last years "Octopus," a school of fish shot Iíd swear was from "Jaws," and even a few clips from SA3 make an appearance, sans the bad matte. None of the video matches correctly and it's painfully obvious. The film even recycles it's own footage. To it's credit, there is a decent amount of tension, there's a ton of death, lots of red bodily fluids, and some so-so acting, but the use of shark footage is inexcusable. Again, we get a full frame print and standard Dolby 2.0.