Tentacoli (1977)

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

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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:

Factual errors: Although the title of the film is "Tentacoli" ("Tentacles"), and it is about a murderous giant octopus, octopuses do not have tentacles, they have arms. Scientifically, the definition of "tentacle" is commonly accepted as an elongated structure with suckers at the very tip. A squid normally has two tentacles, along with many arms, but octopuses do not have tentacles.

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

another JAWS ripoff

Yes, this one is another cheaply produced flick to capitalize on the market created by THE killer shark movie. The "plot" here concerns a giant octopus eating residents of "Ocean Beach." This is one poor excuse for a movie in the end: The special effects are shoddy, performances are embarrassing, especially considering that there are some big names (John Huston??!?) in this, and overall the movie is terrible. However, to the fan of chessy cinema, this one will not disappoint. I enjoyed this one a lot, but again, don't watch this in a serious mood...if viewed with a straight face, this may well be one of the worst movies of all time. Instead, enjoy it for what it is...another cheesy giant monster flick and pass the popcorn. hehehe.