The Egyptian (mainly in English) shark horror-thriller Mako quietly swam onto Netflix this December but has been overlooked due to the holidays; however, it has continued to be discovered by genre fans worldwide and is worth the watch.
Based on the real-life tragedy of the Salem Express, in the film, a group travels to the location of the Elsalam Ship, which sank years ago, to make a documentary, not knowing the terror that awaits them as a huge Mako shark hunts the team one by one.
Directed by Mohamed Hesham El-Rashidy, the script was penned by Ahmed Halim, Mohamed El Hafnawy, Mohamed Khaled, and Ahmed Sharaf Elsayed. The cast includes Basma, Nicolas Mouawad, Nahed El Sebai, Munther Rayhana, Amr Wahba, Mohamed Mahran, Sarah El Shamy, and Murat Yıldırım.
What’s the true story that inspired the movie? At 11:13 pm on Saturday, December 14, 1991, the Salem Express passenger ship sank in the Red Sea after hitting a reef. It took less than 20 minutes for it to sink. Due to a raging storm, rescue efforts were delayed by three. Out of the 650 passengers and crew on board, only 180 survived, with 470 losing their lives, making it a massive tragedy. Due to the number of dead in the water, sharks were attracted to the site, which made recovery by divers difficult at times.
