Tentacoli (1977)

User Rating:

2.7/10   

Director:

Ovidio G. Assonitis

Writers:

Steven W. Carabatsos (writer)
Tito Carpi (writer)

Release Date:

15 June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Each year 10,000 tourists visit Ocean Beach. This summer Ocean Beach has attracted SOMETHING ELSE!

Plot:

Several people disappear from and at the sea. Their bodies are found gnawed to the skeleton, even the marrow is missing...

Plot Keywords:

Octopus | Ocean | Sea | Harbor | Children

Cast

John Huston	...	Ned Turner
Shelley Winters	...	Tillie Turner
Bo Hopkins	...	Will Gleason
Henry Fonda	...	Mr. Whitehead, President of Trojan Construction
Delia Boccardo	...	Vicky Gleason
Cesare Danova	...	John Corey
Alan Boyd	...	Mike
Sherry Buchanan	...	Judy
Franco Diogene	...	Chuck
Marc Fiorini	...	Don
Helena Mäkelä	...	Jane's Mother
Claude Akins	...	Sheriff Robards
Alessandro Poggi
Roberto Poggi
Giancarlo Nacinelli

Also Known As:

Tentacles (USA)

Runtime:

Germany:92 min | USA:102 min

Country:

Italy | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

The film's distributor offered theatres a promotional poster that listed several points about octopuses - including the fact that they can reach sizes of over 38 feet from arm to arm.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When they are discussing what to do about the giant octopus, Turner incorrectly refers to the beast as a giant squid.

Quotes:

[Tilly Turner says that she'd like to join her two boys in a sailboat race]
Little boy: Then we'd need a tornado to move the boat!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Aquanoids (2003)

Soundtrack:

The Octopus First Victim

Animal nature run amok has octopus attacking Ocean Beach!

Rating 2** star out of four

Tentacles is not all that bad of a nature flick right after Jaws. No it is not a classic like Jaws or Grizzly. Nor is it the likes of Orca, Day of the Animals and The Pack but does have an interesting point- Never do harm to mother nature.

Henry Fonda portrays Mr. Whitehead a construction president to build an under water tunnel under the ocean at Ocean Beach. However it disrupts an enormous and angry 35 foot octopus who grawns and devours several beachers. Bo Hopkins portrays a young news paper reporter who has no clue what is doing the damage to Ocean Beach and John Huston and Shelley Winters protray a former biologist and his wife who witness the horror of Tentacles. However the creature may look least frighting of foam rubber to ever be plopped in front of a camera but it has a few scares along the way. The killer whales who go out to discover the creature are actually taken from Orca which was another 1977 film being shot during the same time. Yes Claude Akins plays Captain Robards a drunk fisherman who believes the octopus is cursed.

Director Oliver Hellman who had been responsable for the 1974 film Beyond the Door did several other rip-offs and including Beyond the Door III in 1990.The music is adequate. But the lighting and lack of film editing is inept. Samuel Z. Aroff manager of American International deserves better than this averange animal film but at least he needed the money. Tentacles is a good fun and cult 70's film.