As a self-proclaimed film snob, I like my movies to get me thinking. I want complex and interesting characters interacting in unique stories that leave me guessing what will happen next. I want to walk out of the theater asking questions and analyzing what the movie has to say about our society.

But sometimes, I just want to watch sharks make delicious entrees out of mindless college students. This would appear to be the main draw of the new thriller “Shark Night 3D,” but unfortunately, the movie missed this memo. Instead, the film keeps the sharks to a minimum and pushes the tedious dialogue and characters to front and center, causing the picture to sink like an anvil.

The aquatic adventure follows a group of college students on their trip to a house on a salt water lake to relax, drink and hopefully not get brutally murdered. The characters have names, but they are more definable by their various horror movie stereotypes, like the quiet, yet noble hero, the comedic relief or the guy most likely to die first.

All is going well on this trip until a seemingly innocent wakeboarding accident leaves a collegiate with one less arm than he started with. The students discover there are sharks in the lake, and that this isn’t a natural phenomenon. Locals have put the predators there and are using them for a diabolical, as well as hilarious, scheme.

I won’t spoil their master plan because it is the lone piece of dialogue that delivers on “Shark Night 3D’s” promise of B-movie fun. But the rest of Will Hayes and Jesse Studenberg’s screenplay is lethally dull.

The film attempts to develop its stereotypical characters and give each some back story, which is normally a commendable screenwriting tactic. In the case of “Shark Night,” however, the audience isn’t there for intense character development. Most of these characters are stock stereotypes, and the development doesn’t add anything new to make their interactions interesting.

That said, the script is not helped by the young cast. The band of unknowns, including Sara Paxton, known mostly for being Bill Paxton’s daughter, and “90210’s” Dustin Milligan, seem just as bored with their lines as the audience is listening to them. The cast also features “American Idol’s” season five runner up Katharine McPhee, who may have a great singing range but is pretty one-note when it comes to acting.

Director David R. Ellis is equally lost at sea. Under his control, the conversations seemingly drag on forever. Then, as if making up for time wasted on dialogue, Ellis uses cheap tricks—like sped up montages—to move the film along. One particular shot featuring a character walking to a chair was apparently so valuable it needed to be repeated three times, a technique that wasn’t cool when “Salute Your Shorts” did it in the ’90s and has not gotten better with age.

Not surprisingly, “Shark Night 3D” is at its best when it features its star attraction: the sharks. Since the film is PG-13, the attacks are not as gruesomely entertaining as last summer’s B-movie masterpiece, “Piranha 3D.” Ellis and his writers, however, come up with several entertaining ways for the sharks to introduce themselves mouth-first to the meaty students.

Unfortunately, the sharks only make up about 10 percent of the final product. The other 90 percent would be more accurately titled “Conversation Night 3D.”

Ellis, who was at the helm of the infamous “Snakes on a Plane,” seems to have a habit of overpromising and under delivering when it comes to his B-movies. He continually allows himself to get bogged down with tedious characters and dialogue instead of giving the audience the ridiculous thrills they want. There is some fun to be had with “Shark Night 3D,” but most of it bites.