a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Going by the year of its release, the title, the director and the gloriously over-the-top promotional art, one might reasonably expect ¡Tintorera! to be little more than a mindless, exploitative rip-off of Jaws, but while certain elements of the film have undoubtedly been inspired by Spielberg's '75 summer blockbuster, the film is surprisingly free of massive man-eating fish action for much of the time, focusing instead on the liberated sex lives of two men living life to the full in the Caribbean.Hugo Stiglitz plays businessman Steven, who is recovering from a nervous breakdown; Andrés García is gigolo Miguel, who trades sex for cash. Initially love rivals, both vying for the interest of the same woman, the men eventually become pals and, after sampling the delights of two care-free American girls (whose morals are so loose that they actively encourage a pair of rapists), they enter into a love triangle with sexy blonde Gabriella (Susan George). All is going swimmingly until Miguel is eaten while hunting sharks; after that, Gabriella ups and leaves (one man clearly not being enough for her) and Hugo dedicates himself to killing the fish that ate his friend.Steven and Miguel's constant womanising mean that the film is loaded with enough gratuitous nudity and sexy shenanigans to keep the viewer entertained until the chomping of not-so-innocent swimmers begins in earnest. And for those who like their films extra exploitative, and who aren't of a highly sensitive disposition, the film also features lots of real animal killing (purportedly stock footage, but I'm not so sure) which, although not quite as disturbing as that in Cannibal Holocaust, is still quite callous, with a cute manta ray bleeding from its gills being particularly unsettling.As far as the attacks on humans by the tiger shark are concerned, the first is fairly tame (a weak copy of the opening scene from Jaws), and a later feeding frenzy on a group of skinny dippers leaves the water bright red with blood, but it is Miguel's death that packs in the gnarliest gore, the poor guy having his legs torn off and his head left rolling around on the ocean floor. Tintorera was either extremely annoyed at the number of sharks that Miguel had killed or seriously disapproved of his philandering ways.

Horror always manages to find the secret fears of a generation, and this snapshot of the dying tail of the 70's senses something dangerous in the waters the fashionably hedonistic elite had jumped into - beautiful beaches, frank sex, blue waters, and an all devouring emptiness swimming up from beneath, all teeth and dark eyes.Three times in this film main characters decide they will enjoy a rational, comfortable, idyllic, liberated and jealousy free relationship, and each time their relationship is torn apart by... well, a big shark. As a metaphor goes it's a bit on the nose, but as a stand in for all the messy jealousies, rivalries, hurts and disease that circle the lifestyle portrayed, a big hungry shark does bring a certain simplicity - it certainly saves on dialogue. The characters may believe they are in paradise, but reality has no such illusions. The disinterest and offhand violence of the characters let's us know all is not right with them, and the world around them reflects these traits back in it's purest form. A hungry fish.None of this is to say this is a GOOD movie, which it is not by any means. It does, however, capture something greater than the "soft core with a shark" tag indicates... which explains the perhaps otherwise inexplicable fact that people still talk about this film today.

How idiotic was this film? How is this film even a Jaws rip-off? Jaws had a story, hell, Barracuda had a story - this film has real footage of a meandering Tiger Shark and it's NOT scary.The best part of this film was Susan George and Fiona Lewis, both looked stunning when they wear nothing.As for the 'plot' - 2 guys hang out, pick up women, have 3-somes, and hunt sharks - why? Does it matter? And the way these guys act when they pick up women - WOW - you know you're in a movie as this stuff would never work in real life.If you like beaches, boats, real shark footage, and Susan George pouting, watch it....but if you are expecting a good 'fish' film...steer clear...very clear...

"Tintorera" is a rather sleazy shark film with some big flaws.**SPOILERS**Stuck in Mexico, Esteban, (Hugo Stiglitz) is able to heal up before going back out to the beach after Miquel, (Andres Garcia) his long-time rival. After several missed opportunities, the two realize that they are each going after the same women, but soon enough they decide to meld together to be able to help themselves more. Mentioning that they are both avid fisherman, a recent spate of Tiger Shark sightings nearby prompts them out to search for it. Meeting up with Gabriella, (Susan George) an American tourist in the area, they are soon struck by more attacks by the shark. When one of them is a victim, the remaining members decide to hunt down the shark to avenge their death and help out with the area.The Good News: This one here does have some good moments. Most of this is taken up with the rather enormous helping of nudity in the film. This one has plenty of women in various states of undress, including full nudity from some as well as some really exciting sexual encounters. From threesomes to mixed versions and plenty of other forms of action. Not a whole lot is really that explicit, but the fact that it features a lot of nudity will certainly please. There's a lot of really great underwater scenes in here, as the snorkeling scenes and the hunts for the shark at least look rather interesting from time to time. Even the travelogue footage of the islands aren't that bad, and make it look like a fun destination. Of course, the real reason for the film is the shark attack scenes which, for what its worth, sit very nicely into the sex-on-the-beach backdrop and feel realistic when they're pulled off. While relying on tried and tested slight of hand style trickery, the attack scenes are not only extremely bloody but remarkably well staged, and mixed together with genuine shark footage and excellent underwater photography, they are actually quite convincing. Therefore, despite the fact that they take up just a tiny percentage of the ludicrous running length, gore-hounds may find the attack scenes worth persevering through the film for. The main one that kick-starts the film's last half is an excellent sequence, as it's a tightly handled, exciting set-piece that plays off wonderfully and contains the most shocking moment in the film, where the shark attacks two surfers in the water and bites off a leg, leading to a mad rush to shore with the still-bleeding victim leaving behind a massive amount of blood in the water. Then the shark turns back and attacks the fleeing troop, taking the victim away in an even more massive blood cloud than before. It's a brutal scene and is handled expertly, becoming the film's non-nudity highlight and a great reason to give this one a viewing.The Bad News: This one here doesn't really have a whole lot wrong. The fact that is a thinly-veiled gay love story set against the backdrop of the wild animal kingdom is the biggest flaw in the film. The fact that the real story here is the relationship between the two star-crossed perverts who find one another really comes out on the wrong end due to the fact that so much time is spent with this storyline that it really becomes more like a relationship drama than a shark film. Not that the segments are all that bad, but that so much of it happens in the film that it becomes aggravating at several points. This also has the extra flaw in exposing the fact that there isn't a whole lot of shark action in the film at all,.leaving most of it to the end of the film and making the beginning completely dull and lifeless. This really should've been trimmed up by a large margin, as there's no real reason why a film with this little shark action takes this long to get through. Several of the sexual shenanigans are a little hard to believe, such as the love triangle that happens or the fact that they actually agree to share women together is a little hard to believe. The last big flaw in the film is the fact that there's a large amount of actual animal deaths in the film. They kill about a dozen sharks in this movie on screen, in long, sustained takes which show every detail. This isn't all that fun to watch, especially the huge massacre scene where dozens upon dozens are slaughtered, and is an obstacle in itself to get over without the other features. The last flaw is that it is also hamstrung by the fact that the dialog switches constantly and rapidly from English to Spanish. These make it hard to understand and lower the film somewhat significantly.The Final Verdict: As a hedonistic travelogue of the countryside, it's not bad, but as a killer shark movie, it's too long without enough shark action. See this only for the rampant nudity or beautiful scenery on display, while killer shark fans should look elsewhere with so much time spent away from doing what it should.Rated R: Full Male and Female Nudity, continuous sex scenes, Graphic Violence and Language