by FilmInk Staff

Young actors Lauren Grimson, Jess King, April Rose Pengilly, Lachlan McLean, Jack Stratton‑Smith and Josh Jurlina have been announced for the new Aussie shark thrillerBully.

Ingeniously playing into that most essential of Aussie fears (namely, sharks, and bull sharks in this instance, which have had a devastating effect on Australia’s recent summer), and primed to take its place alongside impressive local shark attack films likeBeast of War,Dangerous Animals,The Reef andThe Reef: Stalked,Bait,Great White and more, the new Australian survival flickBully is starting to take ominous shape. This time taking the shark attack horror movie out of the ocean and upriver,Bully comes courtesy of genre specialists and producers Michael Robertson and Neal Kingston of Thrills & Spills, who were part of the team on the terrifying shark flickDeep Water (starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley) along with the aforementionedThe Reef andGreat White.

The central figure inBully is pregnant brewer Peta, who is pressured into joining a remote New Year’s Eve river trip organised by her scheming cousin Derek. The celebratory river trek is part of a desperate move to win the favour of powerful American influencer Rafael, whose support is vital in saving their flailing craft beer business. With Peta’s possessive partner Jakob skippering the boat and a disparate mix of passengers on board including Derek’s girlfriend Katie and his teenage daughter Beth, a floating emotional crisis situation is immediately established.

The heightened emotions only get more heated, however, when the group becomes stranded on a rocky outcrop mid-channel after a series of very bad decisions. To make matters worse, the bickering group is right in the middle of an aggressive bull shark’s territory. As the water begins to slowly rise with the tide, and their rocky outcrop gets smaller and smaller, Peta and her crew are placed in greater and greater danger. With chaos erupting around her, Peta is forced to take action and protect those around her. And all the while, the deadly bull shark gets closer and closer…

With an exciting young cast already announced in Lauren Grimson, Jess King, April Rose Pengilly, Lachlan McLean, Jack Stratton‑Smith, Will Peters, Brett Dodenhoff and Josh Jurlina,Bully is poised to take a major bite out of the box office. Along with Michael Robertson and Neal Kingston’s Thrills & Spills, the major driving force behindBully is Ashlee Jensen (500 Miles) and Rodrigo Vidal Dawson’s production company Tacos Entertainment, with Jensen set to direct. “We’re thrilled to be supporting Ashlee and Rodrigo’s vision,” says Neal Kingston. “The combination of bull sharks, a rising tide and a pressure‑cooker group dynamic is built for suspense and big‑screen entertainment.”

UK basedEvolutionary Films are repping the film for worldwide sales. With a deal already set for a release in Germany, and other international territories currently being negotiated, Australian and New Zealand distribution rights have been snapped up by Screen Inc., the enterprising Sydney-based distribution and marketing company founded by Dov Kornits, who have recently released titles likeChanging Track,Ice Maiden,Unseen EnemyandSnatchers, withAlphabet Lane andBody Blow slated for release in 2026.

Stay tuned for more onBully…