Chum Movie Ending Explained And Full Story: Is The Killer Shark Dead? 

I don’t think there will be a day when a mildly disturbed individual won’t be down for a full-on fin frenzy shark flick. The thing is, one must always be open to new experiences, and not expect stories like “Jaws” or “47 Meters Down” every time. For a mid-range experience with a relatively entertaining plot, Jonathan Zuck’s “Chum” does the job just right. There’s only one bloodthirsty fish, and the poor shark is only attacking people because, big news, climate change is ruining its habitat. Zuck dials the irony up a notch further by throwing a bunch of rich people who couldn’t care less about wildlife into the chaos, which is much appreciated. Altogether, “Chum” is a pretty good entertainer with plenty of blood and gore, and honestly, what more do you want from this genre? 

Spoilers Ahead

What happens in the film?

Tina and Tom are getting married on a scenic Mediterranean island, but they are beefing even before they’ve read their wedding vows. From Tina’s father’s toast, we get the idea that Tom is a perfect man who’s successful in his career and his personality is second to none. But both the bride and groom are distant, and we see Tom passed out on the beach on their wedding night. Before they could get their heads in the right place, their friends, Rick and Rachinda, knock on their door, all excited to take them cruising on a private yacht. There’s no way that Tina and Tom can say no, and Tina’s sister, Sadie, and another friend of theirs, Britney, tag along. The yacht sails smoothly, with Captain Mackey putting everyone at ease by reassuring that there has never been any shark sightings in these waters. Meanwhile, whispers of the rift between Tina and Tom spread among the group, and Tom, being a “good guy,” isn’t okay with Tina’s firm advocating for a big corporation who wants to drill for oil in Alaska. Sadie finally gets to speak her mind, so she tells Tina that Tom is too kind and pure for her, and considering how ambitious she is, them being together doesn’t make any sense. Even though Tina hates Sadie for pointing out the truth, you can see Sadie isn’t at all wrong here. Ambition often eclipses personal relationships, and in this case, the environment too. But little did Tina know that environmental transgressions always come at a cost. 

Who saves the group from the killer shark? 

Despite Captain Mackey reassuring the group that there’s never been a shark attack in these waters, he is proven wrong within a few minutes. The killer shark rams into the boat, causing the anchor to slip and sink to the bottom of the sea, leaving the boat stranded in the middle of the ocean. Mackey tries to retract the anchor, with Tom’s help, but the captain ends up tripping over and falling into the water. The shark is not going to leave his lunch, and so he takes one of his legs for the meal. Mackey is saved by the rich folk, but the way he’s bleeding, combined with the fact that the radio of the yacht is busted, leaves little hope for his survival. When the panic strikes, everybody starts looking for a first aid kit, and Britney ends up leaving the engine compartment open. Coming to Britney, not only is she dumb as a bag of rocks, she also wasted no time hitting on Tom when she found out about his rift with Tina. To put the final nail in the coffin, she insists on firing the flare gun, which she does so poorly that the flare ends up in the engine compartment, setting the boat on fire. Seeing that there’s no other option but to jump off the boat, everyone jumps in the water despite the shark lurking on the horizon. Thankfully, a fisherman saves them from becoming shark meal, and his boat might not be luxurious, but it’s the only thing keeping them alive. 

Why does Roy drug the rich folks? 

Except Tom, nobody is grateful to the fisherman, Roy, for saving their lives. Rick, being the snotty rich guy, is even reluctant to appreciate the man. However, Roy makes a good first impression, and he tells them that it will take a day or two for him to take them to shore again, since he is on a fishing trip. He even gives free marriage advice to Tina when he hears her and Tom arguing, and he also tells Tom to cherish his wife while he can. But the suspicion of the others wasn’t all that wrong, and it turns out that the bread and coffee Roy gave them was laced with sedatives. When they open their eyes, Britney is inside a cage, and Roy is about to lower the cage into the ocean. As it turns out, Roy lost his wife when this same shark killed her five years ago. Roy managed to tag the shark and he’s been following the fish for a long time. He claims to have used all kinds of bait, even cats and dogs. He started using human bait not so long ago, and fate basically gifted him a platter of bait when Britney accidentally burned the yacht down. 

How does Roy evade the coast guard?

Ray sinks the cage with Britney into the water, and he’s ready to kill the shark with his harpoon gun. The problem is, Britney cannot swim, and her hands are tied while a bloodthirsty shark is trying to get her. When Ray misses a few good chances to get the shark, he pulls the cage up for a while to keep Britney alive, only to put her back into the ocean again. Britney manages to get free this time, and she can suddenly swim out of the cage just fine. Just like me, the shark doesn’t like the plothole, and Britney is the next victim to be absolutely decimated by the great white. Roy doesn’t like the fact that Britney’s friends are protesting against this, so he decides to not waste more time and just put Tina in the cage. But as he is manhandling Tina, two coast guards show up, looking for Tina and the others. Roy hides everyone else, and he forces Tina to pretend that she is his sister. When the guards come to interrogate them, Tina plays along for a while, but one of the officers spots Britney’s arm floating in the ocean. Before she can pull her gun out, Roy shoots a harpoon at her. The other guard climbs on the boat to get Roy, but he does a very poor job of nabbing a criminal, and Roy just shoves the man into the ocean. The shark gets free food, and the rich folks are at Roy’s mercy once again. 

Is The Killer Shark Dead? 

After getting rid of the coast guards, Roy goes a step further and shoots a harpoon at Rick, who was a bit too sure that he could persuade Roy to spare him by offering him money. But the man is out here to avenge his wife, and he is in no mood to stop until he gets the shark. When Tom tries to fight him, Roy knocks him out and Tom falls straight into the ocean, and everyone assumes that he is dead. Rachinda, who was knocked out until now, tries to make an escape by jumping off the boat, but Ray simply drives his boat over her, and the blades chop her up in a few seconds. Tina and Sadie manage to get themselves free and attack Roy, but he fights them off easily. When Rick tries to help the girls, he stands a bit too close to the edge of the boat, which prompts the shark to jump out of the water and hunt him. For somebody who planned the trip, Rick really is the most unfortunate person here, and despite how repulsive you find him, the way he’s killed is dumb and sad at the same time! However, though the shark might go the extra mile to grab people from the boat, it left Tom alone for long enough, and when he regains consciousness, he swims to the small boat the coast guards were in. Tom immediately sends a distress signal for help, and he drives the boat to save his wife.

Roy has now put Tina in the cage, and while he’s getting the cage down to the water, the cable snaps, and Tina and the cage hit the bottom of the sea. She manages to swim out of the cage, and just when you think she is about to pass out, Tom saves her. Together, they hop on to Roy’s boat once again, and Tina, who was just about to die, suddenly has the energy to jump on top of the shark and stab it. The shark is mad as hell, and just as it’s about to make Tina its next meal, Roy finally manages to land a harpoon strike, wounding the giant fish and forcing it to hide for a while. Tina comes back to the boat, and Tom manages to tackle Roy. Just when they are tying the madman up, the shark returns to ram into the boat, which gives Roy the chance to get free and grab a gun. Roy gets cocky, thinking that all these people couldn’t get the better of him after so many attempts, but Tina has a plan of her own. She sees a gas cylinder lying just in front of her, and conveniently, it’s facing right where Roy is standing. Tina grabs a wrench and strikes the cylinder, and it flies into Roy and strikes him real hard. The hunter becomes the hunted, as the shark returns to finish off the man who has been hunting it for so long. Tom and Tina are finally safe, and this whole mad adventure rekindles their love for each other. Though it is not like these two wanted to come to this boat trip, and even though Tom and Tina have no friends left anymore, at least they have each other, and yes Sadie, she’s alive too! 

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