Sadly Over-hyped

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The same giant octopus that was partially destroyed in the first (laughably bad) instalment, returns. This time, New York Harbor is threatened by its tentacles, at least until they stick some dynamite into its mouth (again). Well, that proves to be a bad idea, because the explosion causes a tunnel to collapse and trap a group of children inside. The heroine (obviously not trained for emergency situations) does everything she can to ensure they stay and die there, but then the hero emerges from the air vent she had been staring at blankly for minutes, and evacuates the children.As you could guess from the above summary, the filmmakers tried to spice up the paper thin plot (plodding forward without any ideas whatsoever) with disaster-movie clichés for the last ten minutes — to no avail. Of course, we watch a Z movie like this for the amusingly lame effects and to laugh wholeheartedly at some particularly ridiculous scenes. Unfortunately, Octopus 2 never really goes over the top, apart from a dream scene in which the octopus eats the Statue of Liberty, so we're simply left with a very bad movie. It's only the pathetic finale that somewhat makes up for the time wasted. The octopus that was previously blown to pieces returns again (you didn't expect that, did you?), so we finally get to see a whole string of dreadfully executed special effects.The editor (who must have been working blindly like Woody Allen's character in Hollywood Ending), however, deserves an award. It must have been a gargantuan task to stitch the action scenes together so that there is absolutely no connection between the shots. And the effects team should get a bonus point, too, for successfully avoiding any integrity between the raw footage and the randomly placed effects.

Talented director Yossi Wein gives this powerful second entry in the Octopus franchise verve and intelligence as he helms this production with imagination and vision. Octopus veteran Boaz Davidson contributed to the story of Octopus 2 and his trademark wit, sensitivity, and talent for penning powerful, deeply moving sequences is clearly seen in the remarkable results. A fine cast does some extraordinary work and there are some superb performances given by the stars. Michael Reilly Burke and Meredith Morton are particular standouts with Fredrick Lehne giving an absolutely inspired performance in the role of Walter. The atmosphere is appropriately dark and forbidding and the almost surrealistic environment almost unendurable. The suspense could be cut with a knife as this horrific creature stalks the population of New York and terrorizes the harbor. The closing sequences may be some of the most emotionally draining and deeply moving ever committed to celluloid. With tremendous thrills, deep emotions, and overwhelming power, there is no denying the haunting horror and heartfelt emotion that is Octopus 2: River of Fear.

Released in the US in January, 2002, "Octopus 2: River of Fear" is a sequel in name only. Whereas the original "Octopus" (2000) had a highly creative storyline involving terrorists, a submarine, a cruise ship and a bizarro-James Bond, "Octopus 2" takes the tried-and-true "Jaws" route. The setting here is New York City. A giant octopus decides to make the East River his home and people inevitably start dying. Two harbor patrol officers discover the cause of the deaths, but are ignored and ridiculed. The city is preparing for its biggest Independence Day celebration ever and the mayor doesn't want the officers' preposterous monster 'story' getting out and causing a mass panic.As you can see, the basic plot mimics "Jaws" to a 'T.' Regardless, I was pretty impressed with the first half. You could tell the filmmakers and cast really put some thought and effort into making a quality Grade B creature feature, reminiscent of "Kolchak - The Night Stalker." Where "Octopus 2" takes a wrong turn is the last act, which morphs into a disaster film involving a school bus of kids and other vehicles trapped in a river tunnel. Not that it was a bad idea, especially since it gives evidence that the creators wanted to deviate from the basic "Jaws" plot, which I respect, but they failed to execute it. The last act seems rushed and sloppy, like the filmmakers were just trying to get the film done and over with, with almost zero effectiveness. In other words, they started with good intentions and quality vigor, but somewhere along the line they lost their focus & enthusiasm and decided to just go through the motions and collect their paychecks. It's unfortunate because the first half is a solid creature-on-the-loose flick in the manner of "Kolchak." For a good example of what I mean, check out the scene near the end where the monster -- thought to be dead -- rises up for another attack; this scene is so poorly presented it's hard to believe it was done by the same team that produced the first half.BOTTOM LINE: The first half is a well-done nature-runs-amok flick featuring a quality cast, particularly the two officers who investigate the killings and the mayoral worker who befriends them, but when the film attempts to morph into a disaster flick it inexplicably falls apart. Yet it's still worthwhile if you like movies along the lines of "Kolchak." The film runs 94 minutes.GRADE: C

I purchased this film on DVD for £4, but it was a waste, the film is very bad. The plot is your average monster film, where it kills a few people, the mayor/chief doesn't believe it, and they fight it at the end.On the plus side, the film quality is very good, and the setting of New York is impressive for a budget film - as opposed to a small coastal town. The acting is reasonable too.However, the special effects, mainstage in a monster film, are laughable and the addition of a random bus load of kids to the plot half way through just gets weird. The ending is just bad.In summary, whenever you have a chance to see this, don't - there WILL be something better on.R-T-C "True horror films don't have a PG rating"