Bait 2012

Josh wakes up in a haze after a night out, only to be snapped to attention by a bleary voice: Rory warning him that proposing to his sister, Tina, might be a bad idea. Rory hands him his grandmother’s hangover remedy and adds that Tina has something for him down at the beach. Josh spots Tina bending down and habitually picks up what she’s holding—she reveals a seahorse, a small moment of normalcy before danger arrives. An old man swims nearby as Rory sits on his lifeguard board. A shark appears, and a lifeguard on the watchtower hears the chaos unfold as the old man is dragged under. In a panic, Josh grabs a jet ski to reach him, but the shark rips the board away, hurling Rory into the surf. Josh fights to pull Rory onto the jet ski, but the predator drags him under, leaving Rory’s body floating and the beach in stunned silence while Tina watches in shock.

A year passes and Josh is alone in his house, watching a news segment about a shark migration. He sees a newspaper article about Rory’s death and heads to the supermarket where a plan begins to unfold. In the parking lot, Doyle and Kirby scheme to rob the store, while Kyle and Heather share a tense moment in their car. Inside, Jaime—who later admits to shoplifting—steals again, and her boyfriend, Ryan, tries to keep things quiet until their boss, Pessup, arrives, fires Ryan, and scatters the tension. Josh and Naomi stock shelves, and Josh’s attention is drawn to Tina, now accompanied by her new partner, Steven. He introduces Tina to a cop he’s called, who turns out to be Jaime’s father, Todd, creating a tangled web of relationships that underpins the coming crisis. The uneasy mix of past mistakes and present danger sets the stage for a catastrophe neither the shoppers nor the staff could have anticipated.

When the floodgates burst, the store and the car park flood in seconds as a titanic tsunami rolls in. The living quickly outnumber the dead, and a chaotic scramble ensues: Neil—the Oceania store owner—falls to a 12-foot great white shark, and the scene erupts into panic as another shark circles the flooded car park. The power fails and the danger multiplies as the water rises and sparks threaten to electrocute anyone who remains. In a daring bid for survival, Ryan distracts the first shark, allowing Kyle to escape into an upside-down van, while the two attempt a risky swim to safety. The group discovers that the sharks respond to live bait, forcing a brutal choice: someone must be the lure.

Inside the supermarket, the crew improvises a plan to trap the predators. Kirby grabs a hook and drags a life-threatening risk toward the water, but Doyle acts decisively, stabbing Kirby to seize control and using Kirby as bait to lure the shark toward Naomi—whose life is placed in jeopardy. The ploy pays off, and the group manages to reel in a victory of sorts by catching the shark. A desperate escape follows as the tremor violently shakes the building and a second shark breaches the floodwaters, threatening everyone as they scramble for the remaining exits. Josh’s resolve deepens as he apologizes to Tina for his part in Rory’s death, trying to protect those he cares for as best he can.

In the chaotic aftermath, the survivors are forced to improvise: Josh, Ryan, Todd, Jaime, Tina, Heather, Heather’s dog, Doyle and Naomi endure the wreckage and press on toward any sign of safety. They crawl through vents, cling to debris, and flee through ruined streets as the tsunami’s wreckage confirms the sheer scale of the disaster. The store’s dramatic escape ends with them emerging to a destroyed cityscape, where the horizon is punctuated by smoke, water, and a sense that the fight isn’t over. As the camera drifts away, a final image lingers: a bird glides toward the sea, and a shark erupts from the waves, leaping toward the viewer in a chilling close.

Oh Shit.