Spoiler-Free Review of “Killer Whale” on Demand: Virginia Gardner Puts Forth a Valiant Effort in this FALL Downgrade

**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

“She thinks she’s still trapped in captivity…”

Killer Whale released on Demand on January 16th 2026. The survival thriller film stars Virginia Gardner and Mel Jarnson. It runs for approximately an hour and thirty minutes.

Friends, Maddie and Trish go on a trip to Thailand a year after Maddie went through a tragic event, but after jet-skiing out to a remote location, they find themselves hunted by a killer whale that was released from her tank after killing someone. They are now stranded with no way to call for help and must figure out a way to survive.

Here is the trailer:

Killer Whale takes the standard shark thriller formula and tries it out with a different ocean creature, but does it do enough to be worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Lionsgate

Virginia Gardner did what she could…

She’s just so pretty and getting really good at finding herself trapped in dangerous places with no way to call for help. I thought she was terrific in the film, FALL. In a lot of ways, this film kind of ripped that one off, but that was a MUCH better movie.

That being said, I stayed tuned in to see what would happen to her character and I thought she did a solid job with what she was given.

Unfortunately she wasn’t really given much…

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Lionsgate

Terrible CGI and so cheesy!

Ugh…I really wanted to like this one. The CGI was so bad, I started laughing at certain points. Everything just felt so silly and not in a good way. There weren’t any genuine moments of suspense here. I’ve seen numerous shark films and while a lot of them followed a similar formula, I still found myself on the edge of my seat during key moments.

That didn’t happen here…

We got these overdone slow motion scenes and exhausting flashbacks that really didn’t do anything to advance the plot. I was so disappointed.

Images courtesy of Lionsgate

Nothing new here…

In addition, this film did not stray from its formula at all. Dangerous Animals (my new favorite shark movie after Jaws) really tried to do something new with the shark genre and it worked in such a compelling and outrageous way. This film didn’t even put forth the slightest bit of effort. The plot felt so lazy and phoned in.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Lionsgate

Unfortunately I’m out on this one…

Killer Whale doesn’t offer the audience anything new here with its vapid and lackluster story.

Virginia Gardner deserves better…

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on Killer Whale in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

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Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

I live in Long Island, NY. I am obsessed with TV, movies, reading and writing! My top TV shows are LOST, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Breaking Bad, Veronica Mars, Prison Break, Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, and Supernatural. My dog, Honey, loves TV too!

2 thoughts on “Spoiler-Free Review of “Killer Whale” on Demand: Virginia Gardner Puts Forth a Valiant Effort in this FALL Downgrade”

  1. I’ll admit I secretly wanted to see Killer Whale since it looks so much like Fall with Virginia Gardner in a similar role. Didn’t realize it wouldn’t be playing in any of my theaters and that VOD was the only option. Based on your review, I’ll just wait till it’s free on streaming. Have you seen The Shallows with Blake Lively? That’s probably my second favorite shark attack movie behind Jaws.

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