Devil Fish (1986)

Just perfect...

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Annoyingly dreadful horror film and another relentless "Jaws" rip-off that is arguably the worst one yet. In fact, they seem to borrow characterizations off each "Jaws" film made at that point! Set in Miami, a marine biologist, a dolphin trainer, a research scientist and a local sheriff who attempt to hunt down a giant sea monster that is described as a hybrid of a shark and octopus, which makes me wonder if "Sharktapous" is a remake of this turd. We never actually see the giant fish, just a lot of awful close-ups of an open mouth that growls a lot. The cast is largely made up of Italians and Latin Americans so watching them attempt to play Floridians is equal parts hilarious and excruciating. The dialogue is groan inducing and the direction and cinematography is done as though no one knew what they were doing. This isn't even so bad it's worth watching. It's just plain awful.

A marine biologist, a dolphin trainer, a research scientist, and a local sheriff try to hunt down a large sea monster, a shark/octopus hybrid, that is devouring swimmers and fishermen off a south Florida coast.This film has an incredibly low rating, and the only explanation for that is because it has appeared on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". After a film is on there, it seems fans of the show come here and give the movies a 1, to ensure the film a place on the Bottom 100.I love MST3K as much as anyone, but I do think this is a bad practice, often because the show is relying on inferior copies. While "Manos" is bad no matter how you look at it, the same might not be said for "Devil Fish". The star of the film has said that Lamberto Bava did a great job and the main problem was the budget. I have met Bava and seen much of of his work -- clearly, he was not the problem.

Marine biologists in Florida discover that a monstrous shark-like creature has been behind some recent deaths and seek to solve the problem.Best known as 'Devil Fish' in America (this film has numerous titles) this rather cheap-looking Jaws take from Italy was directed by none other than Mario Bava Jr and believe me, it's far from his best work! Having said that, Devil Fish is mainly a movie for the schlock or trash horror lovers out there. After all our hero's balls do pop out of his shorts in one low-angle shot!! The film is a bit on the sloppy side as far as story and direction goes. The creature FX aren't bad at times (there's some fairly gory scenes to be had) but over all they are uneven. A decent enough cast and music score does help to redeem the film, even if the cast is dubbed something awful.For those looking for a good Bava Jr film check out Macabrae (1980) or A Blade in the Dark (1983), but those that enjoy trashy Euro-horror might just like this one.** out of ****

The lousiest of all lousy Jaws rip-offs was regretfully made by one of my all-time favorite directors; Lamberto Bava (here under his John Old Jr. pseudonym). You know how it goes in these cheap European imitations, right? They only want their monstrous animal to be be bigger, sicker and more threatening, but this more than often results in the opposite effect. Bava's creature is a humongous sea-devil and it's more than just a shark! We're seemingly dealing with a prehistoric monster here, with the jaws and appetite of a Great White, but it also has tentacles like an octopus! It's up to a couple of dolphin-loving oceanologists to discover how this monster was able to survive all these thousands of years and why exactly he only started his killing spree now. The script of "Monster Shark" makes few to no sense and most of the action takes place on the mainland. The shark itself is an unintentionally laughable creation and it was a wise decision of Lamberto Bava to only show it vaguely and in quick flashes. The acting performances are above average and the underwater photography is surprisingly clear and well-handled. The twists in the plot are predictable and you'll probably have the most fun spotting detailed facts about the characters. For example: count all the cans of beer Dr. Hogan drinks throughout the whole movie!