The sharks weren't the scariest part of Netflix's new thriller
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Phoebe Dynevor portrays a pregnant woman trapped in floodwaters in Netflix's "Thrash." Photo: Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix has a new scary movie just in time for hurricane season.
The big picture: In "Thrash," a Category 5 storm slams a South Carolina town, trapping residents in the floodwaters.
- Plot twist: Ravenous sharks are in the water. Yeah, I rolled my eyes, too.
- Upside: Phoebe Dynevor ("Bridgerton"), Djimon Hounsou ("Quiet Place" and "Amistad") and Whitney Peak star.
Zoom in: I saw the trailer and wanted to hate this movie. Same for "Crawl," the alligator version of this storyline.
- I don't watch scary movies, and I don't need help worrying about hurricane season in New Orleans.
Yes, but: I started watching "Thrash" for journalism and it wasn't what I expected.
- The movie opens with a warning that storm surge is the deadliest part of a storm, something the National Hurricane Center warns about every year.
- Then comes the mandatory evacuation order for a fast-moving storm. Some people leave. Others stay because they don't have a car, they have to work or they think the storm won't be that bad.
- All painfully believable reasons.
What happens: The flood walls break, trapping people in homes and cars as the water rises.
- Honestly, that was already terrifying enough for this coastal resident.
- I didn't need the sharks to up the ante, though maybe Netflix added those for viewers who have never lived through hurricane season.
- I wound up turning the movie off halfway through because it stressed me out.
Zoom out: "Thrash" was Netflix's No. 1 movie in the U.S. when it debuted last month and spent three weeks in the Top 10.
- "The Requin," another shark movie with Alicia Silverstone, has popped back up into the Top 10, too.
What's next: The National Hurricane Center begins issuing its daily outlooks Friday for the 2026 Atlantic season.
- Hurricane season officially starts June 1, though named storms have formed earlier in recent years.
Axios' Carly Mallenbaum and Kathryn Varn contributed to this story.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the movie is set in South Carolina (not North Carolina).