Netflix is again in the firing line, this time as one of its original movies is accused of being everything from a blatant rip-off to an AI creation. Things are getting increasingly competitive in the world of streaming services, but as the average household continues to tighten its belt and assess what’s a necessity in our everyday lives, many can no longer afford to juggle multiple subscriptions at once.
With this, the various streaming giants are pumping out more originals than ever to keep you paying that monthly fee. As we've seen with Netflix losing A Quiet Place and HBO Max dropping the Raimi and Webb Spider-Man movies, licensed content isn't enough to keep the light on. Thankfully, Netflix originals like Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Squid Game have been global hits.
Less is said about Netflix's original movies, but let's not forget KPop Demon Hunters, Red Notice, and Carry-On are the service's biggest hits and give the average Hollywood blockbuster a run for its money.
Sadly, we're not sure its latest film is going to be setting the internet alight – at least not in a good way.
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It's true that Netflix’s The Silence was compared unfavorably to A Quiet Place (despite the novel being published in 2015), but as the trend of 'mockbusters' shows no signs of going away, critics have spotted a few similarities between Tommy Wirkola's Thrash and Alexandre Aja's Crawl.
Crawl was released in 2019, following a father and daughter who are trapped in their Florida home during a Category 5 hurricane and being hunted by alligators. Sounding more than a little familiar, Thrash focuses on a pregnant woman (and others) who are cut off in their coastal town and have to deal with ravenous sharks during…a Category 5 hurricane.
While The Asylum's Snakes on a Train is a not-so-subtle take on Snakes on a Plane, we're not sure Thrash was intended to be a mockbuster. Despite an impressive cast that includes Bridgerton's Phoebe Dynevor, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's Whitney Peak, and A Quiet Place Part II's Djimon Hounsou, the sharks are already circling Thrash.
Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the 2026 movie boasts a decidedly low 41% critic score and abysmal 27% from audiences.
Redditors have been even less kind, with one post claiming it feels like Thrash was written by ChatGPT and the OP writing: "Anyways, lots of Netflix stuff is called 'AI' like, but this is one of the first movies I've watched that I legitimately think was written in ChatGPT."
Elsewhere, Thrash was compared to Crawl as another added: "Grok make the movie Crawl but replace gators with sharks."
In a separate thread, someone else said: "Shark films are always solid performers on Netflix. Thrash is a blatant rip off of 'Crawl' (2019) - just substitute sharks for alligators. File under unintentional comedy and it's half enjoyable."
Not everyone thinks it's a bad idea, with one defender stating: "Business-wise, it's not a bad decision necessarily. It shares concepts with previous movies like Crawl and Bait, the director made some profitable movies before, and I think Under Paris was fairly popular on Netflix before."
Noting that shark movies have a built-in audience that always gets attention, they concluded: "The production was a mess and the end result is meh, but in terms of just getting people to watch content on Netflix it was a good decision."
For many, the most egregious part of Thrash is that is used a revamped version of "Baby Shark" in its trailer.