Very well executed

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Despite starring no less than three Oscar winners (John Huston, Henry Fonda and Shelley Winters), this Italian Jaws rip-off is still an almighty crap-fest, the name players, clearly uninspired by the derivative plot, going through the motions for an easy paycheck (Fonda even stumbles over his lines a couple of times, but soldiers on regardless).Director Ovidio G. Assonitis opens his film with the mysterious death of baby Billy, followed by the equally strange demise of peg-legged boat skipper Bill, both bodies stripped to the bone and sucked dry. Unperturbed by the fact that his name is very similar to both victims, oceanographer Will (Bo Hopkins) investigates, discovering that the culprit isn't someone with a hatred of people called William (and variations of), but rather a giant octopus that has been disturbed by tunnel construction beneath the sea bed.With zero tension or scares, but lots and lots in the way of dull chit chat, this is film-making at its most ham-fisted: what should have been a fun slice of B-movie nonsense is made interminably dull thanks to a dreary script, cruddy special effects, lifeless direction from Assonitis, and clumsy editing by Angelo Curi, who completely botches the film's two big scenes—an attack on a sailboat race and the climactic fight between the octopus and a pair of killer whales. A bizarre choice of score only adds to the overall effect of sheer ineptitude.2.5 out of 10, rounded up to 3 for the film's only spot of gore, a brief shot of a mangled corpse with its eye hanging out.

The acting, the dubbed English, the script...all lousy and somehow makes the movie watchable. There are lots of cameos and it's really fun to see these stars show up (obviously for a vacation in Italy) that make sense. But best of all...it appears they tortured some octopus by poking whale dolls at it.Beware: sort of spoiler ...Somehow it appears that cutting off an arm of an octopus kills it, But worst of all...an Octopus is attacked and there is no "ink" to be seen. They should have used ink and that would have blocked the obvious puppetry...or better yet...blocked the visuals altogether.

Shoddy picture is a complete rip off of "Jaws", as a coastal community is terrorized by a mysterious aquatic creature, right before a big sailing race, only here it is a giant octopus, rather than a shark. Only a marine biologist can save the town, with the help of his killer whales...Strange to see actors like Henry Fonda, John Huston, and Shelley Winters in the cast, as well as Claude Akins and Bo Hopkins. Poor octopus effects and direction, uninspired and derivative script, though has one effective scene at night when a yacht is destroyed, and an unfortunate woman is lifted in the air by the octopus, but otherwise, a waste.

Move over, Spielberg, because there's a new aquatic horror in town! Released in the same year as "Orca", this film is essentially the poor man's version of "Jaws", having the same basic idea as the hit blockbuster but using a giant octopus instead of an over-sized shark.The story takes place at Ocean Beach, a tourist spot where an underwater excavation disturbs a massive tentacled terror on the ocean floor and it soon goes on a rampage. Victim after victim, everyone becomes baffled by how these horrible events are occurring, until finally scientists and reporters alike deduce the eight-armed culprit and its cause for such violence. It all leads to an underwater battle of titans.The movie has an overall decent cast such as John Huston, Bo Hopkins, and Henry Fonda. Music is sorta hit-and-miss, sometimes being creepy and suspenseful and other times being silly and dated. The setting is good and some of the underwater scenes are interesting to watch. On the downside, a few of the human characters are somewhat uninteresting, certain dialog is a tad hokey, and a scene or two have the tendency to drag a little.The octopus is definitely the biggest highlight of the movie. The way they did the creature is pretty clever (you'll have to see for yourself how). The beast is actually more of a threat than the shark from "Jaws" is, being more elusive, intelligent, has a higher body count, and is less conspicuous. It's also quite merciless as it's not as picky with whatever human victim is in/near the water as the shark is. This coupled with the great climax is what gives the majority of points I give this creepy creature feature.All in all, this is an overall decent movie. Not as spectacular or groundbreaking as "Jaws", but at least worth a watch once or twice. Check out Tentacles and enjoy!