Barracuda (1978)

User Rating:

3.5/10   

Directors:

Harry Kerwin
Wayne Crawford

Writers:

Wayne Crawford (writer)
Harry Kerwin (writer)

Release Date:

January 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

You Can Almost Hear The Screams! as the water below becomes a CHURNING DEATHBED of FLASHING TEARING TEETH!

Plot:

Little coastal town is being terrorized by deadly Barracudas. |

Plot Keywords:

Barracuda | Coral Reef | Drinking Water | Chemical | Jail Cell

Cast

Wayne Crawford	...	Mike Canfield
Jason Evers	...	Dr. Elliot Snow
Roberta Leighton	...	Liza Williams
Cliff Emmich	...	Lester
William Kerwin	...	Sheriff Ben Williams
Bert Freed	...	Jack
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Scott Avery	...	Toby
Wayne Hackett
Harry Kerwin	...	Agent Arriving #1
Matt King	...	Agent Leaving
Bobbie Ellyne Kosstrin	...	Maggie Snow
Ray Michel	...	Second Arguing Man
Robert G. Noe	...	Hotel Clerk
David Renier	...	Arguing Man on Street
Jerry Rhodes	...	Bubba
Rick Rhodes	...	Agent Arriving #2
Burt Richards	...	Security Guard
William Roundebush	...	Boy Student
Bob J. Shields	...	Floyd
Dick Sterling	...	Second Guard
Denise Taylor	...	Girl Student
Leigh Walsh	...	Girl Student

Also Known As:

Barracuda: The Sea Horror (Australia) (video box title)
The Lucifer Project

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-12 | Italy:T | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Company:

American General Pictures

So-so "Jaws" ripoff with government conspiracy thrown in

First off, "Barracuda" is now available on DVD (aren't YOU excited?) with "Island Fury", as part of Dark Sky Films "Drive-In" series. And this film was definitely worthy of being a drive-in feature, maybe the opening film for something at least marginally better.

There is a lot of beautiful underwater photography, I can't fault that. But it's not a very EXCITING film, although the occasional barracuda attack does spice things up a bit.

Seems as though swimmers & divers near the little town of Palm Cove, Florida, have been getting torn up and eaten by something, and nobody is sure exactly what or why. Along comes Wayne Crawford, possibly the blandest excuse for a hero in a movie, who has come to test the quality of the water in this area, which is near a chemical plant that may be being used for something other than what the locals think. Of course, the crusty old dude that runs "Jack Chemical", Papa Jack, has his goons harass these folks & Mike Canfield (Crawford) ends up in the local jail. Lucky for him though, Sheriff Ben Williams (William Kerwin, from Blood Feast, 2000 Maniacs, etc) is a nice guy & doesn't give him much trouble & lets him go. But the town doctor, well, he seems rather interested in why Mike is there and what he's doing.

Also it seems as though the town's people have been getting a bit strange lately, lots of outbursts and odd behavior. And as Mike continues to investigate he finds that the fish responsible for the attacks are barracudas, and manages to snag a couple to check out in the good doctor's lab...which is remarkably well-equipped for a small town, but for reasons other than may seem obvious. And of course, Mike finds something that links the fish attacks & the townsfolk's strange behavior. There are also some shady-looking "developers" hanging around town, all menacing polyester and bad intentions. And as Mike and Sheriff Ben Williams eventually find out, things are not what they seem & there's something sinister going on.

This is entertaining to an extent, and the conspiracy stuff helps raise this a notch about the usual sort of "Jaws" ripoff, of which there were many. Unfortunately, a rather plodding pace and not terribly interesting characters don't help a lot. Still though, I enjoyed this and it's not all that bad. 5 out of 10.