Just got through watching this on the recent two-fer Shout Factory disc. I appreciate seeing a late 70's horror flick with a killer fish as much as the next guy, but this one really seemed poorly done as a final product. I wish I knew if the blame lay with the direction (poor coverage of the action) or with the editing (not constructing the flow of sequences well).
The first 3rd is roughly a pretty good film - giant monster killing folks as the people on the island become more aware of what is happening. It doesn't really build tension, but there are a few mild scares.
The middle of the film is more like a comedy. A really broad, MAD-esq satire on the part in films where a giant monster attacks a resort and the regular people, after getting promises of $1000, grab whatever they can in whatever boat to risk their life killing the creature.Watch in amazement as drunken hotel guests grab decorative spears off the wall of the hotel to hunt, or prance around with swords, or fire flame throwers into their own boats, or take a pistol and a few drinks on a water safari, as bizarre Harvey Kurtzman dialogue spills all over the place.
The end of the film is a flat out mess. It doesn't even have the humor of the middle. Instead, what you get are poorly edited together far shots or extreme close-ups of action where you wonder narratively just what is going on.
It's not a total loss, and certainly the main female lead is quite cute, but I have to imagine with a little more effort on somebody's part this film could have been a cult favorite instead of a curiosity. Has anything ever been written about why this film came together in such a bad way? I couldn't believe this film was directed by the guy who wrote so many great Corman pictures (at least I assume it's the same Charles Griffin).
The first 3rd is roughly a pretty good film - giant monster killing folks as the people on the island become more aware of what is happening. It doesn't really build tension, but there are a few mild scares.
The middle of the film is more like a comedy. A really broad, MAD-esq satire on the part in films where a giant monster attacks a resort and the regular people, after getting promises of $1000, grab whatever they can in whatever boat to risk their life killing the creature.Watch in amazement as drunken hotel guests grab decorative spears off the wall of the hotel to hunt, or prance around with swords, or fire flame throwers into their own boats, or take a pistol and a few drinks on a water safari, as bizarre Harvey Kurtzman dialogue spills all over the place.
The end of the film is a flat out mess. It doesn't even have the humor of the middle. Instead, what you get are poorly edited together far shots or extreme close-ups of action where you wonder narratively just what is going on.
It's not a total loss, and certainly the main female lead is quite cute, but I have to imagine with a little more effort on somebody's part this film could have been a cult favorite instead of a curiosity. Has anything ever been written about why this film came together in such a bad way? I couldn't believe this film was directed by the guy who wrote so many great Corman pictures (at least I assume it's the same Charles Griffin).
