Sharknado: Oh Hell No! It’s a Wormnado!

Watch out! In the sky… Where is Fin Shepard? We need his chainsaw! The Sharknado is coming! The Sharknado is coming! Okay, maybe things aren’t that bad. After all, Mark Cuban is not the president and more importantly, sharks are not falling from the sky and destroying major metropolitan areas across the United States. However, signs that Mother Nature is fighting back are all over, and quite possibly giving rise to the hysteria that spawned the king of schlock, the SyFy Channel’s Sharknado franchise.

That’s right. While there is truly no need to brandish your Stihl, the idea may not be as farfetched as some would believe. Creatures DO fall from the sky. In 2007, the small town of Jennings, Louisiana encountered a strange anomaly. Police department employee, Eleanor Beal, was unexpectedly overtaken by large, tangled clumps of worms   — yes, worms, falling from the sky. Referred to by some as “creepy crawlers,” they were certainly creepy, but one can only imagine that all the crawling was being done by Ms. Beal’s skin!  

What could have caused such craziness? Worms can’t fly. Can they? According to reports from the warm July afternoon, there was not a cloud in the sky. So, what else could cause this Wormnado? Was it a bird dropping some uneaten treat or a government experiment gone awry? Probably not, after all, the slimy critters were still alive and wiggling on the ground as they made landfall.  

The event was so mysterious that the town turned to the National Weather Service for an answer, and even that concept was a bit of a stretch. While there was nothing concrete, their only theory pointed to a waterspout spotted near Lacassine Bayou, some five miles away at the same time that the Annelids rained down. Could that be it, a real Wormnado?

The mystery continues to grow, as strange reports continue to rise. More importantly, they are not limited to the depths of the bayou. In 2011, students in the United Kingdom encountered a similar anomaly during a gym class at their soccer field, when thousands of worms descended upon them one March morning. What does this all mean? I am not sure. All I do know is that while the idea and cheesiness of Sharknado may be fiction, I would keep watching the sky because the mother lode of bass bait may be lurking in the clouds, just waiting to take over your town and send you running for cover... 

    

That’s right; Wormnado’s are real… 

Got a question or some strange anomaly for me? Send me an email and I'll check it out. Follow Mark Mihalko on Twitter @ScarletCircus.

References:

http://www.livescience.com/33181-gym-class-interrupted-by-worms-falling-from-sky.html

http://www.wafb.com/story/6771977/worms-fall-from-the-sky-in-jennings

http://www.kplctv.com/story/6797945/raining-worms-in-jennings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAmYUt1-5Rg

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)

Having taken a more serious look at some of my movie selections recently, I decided that I needed to watch something a little less intense, and something with some comedic flair. After some debate with myself, I broke down and watched one of the more recent schlockfests to come around, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (now, I will need to revisit and review part 2).

Plot/ A monstrous tornado unleashes ravenous sharks from Washington, D.C., all the way down to Orlando, Florida.

This may sound a bit crazy, but I have a huge soft spot for schlockfests like the Sharknado franchise. Any time a movie can embrace stupidity and take it to a new level with every installment, it is even better. That is definitely the case with this one, as the third installment may be the most outlandish one yet. Sharks in space, really, who could want more? Yes, the CGI is bad, the dialog laughable, the comedy, and action outlandish, but it is supposed to be, as nothing is taken seriously inside this (or any) entry in the Sharknado franchise. In the end, this cheese-fest is nothing more than a fun ride full of insane cameos and absurdity. Sure, it is mindless, but sometimes we need that type of ridiculous humor to keep us all sane.

Sharknado (2013)

After a couple days of quiet, I decided to see what I had sitting in my queue to watch. While I had a variety to choose from, and could have dove into some Sci-Fi, or a classic slasher, I decided that I needed something a touch more laughable. My selection for the evening is the ultra-hyped SyFy Channel cheesefest Sharknado from 2013.

Plot/ When a freak hurricane swamps Los Angeles, nature's deadliest killer rules sea, land, and air as thousands of sharks terrorize the waterlogged populace.

After putting this off for some time now knowing this would be a train wreck, I decided that it was time to see what all the hype was about. Now I know and am glad I finally broke down to watch this schlockfest. This is beyond B-Movie camp, this is beyond ludicrous, yet, it definitely falls in the so back it is good category. Cinematically, it is horrid. It is incoherent, the storyline is crazy, the dialogue is non-existent and the CGI makes the reptile creature features appear to be Oscar worthy. All that being said, this has to be one of the most entertaining and laughable SyFy Creature Features that has crossed the screen in some time. If you have not seen this yet, check it out! It is a train wreck that is worth watching.