Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Barracuda (1978)



Name an aquatic life form with a fearsome reputation, and chances are the critter got a starring role in a schlocky horror movie after Jaws (1975) revealed there was big money to be made from soggy shockers. Alligators, killer whales, octopi, and piranhas all got the big-screen treatment, and—thanks to this stinker—so did the sharp-toothed barracuda. Yet while most Jaws rip-offs concentrate on scenes of people getting eaten while submerged, Barracuda is actually a conspiracy movie that happens to feature a handful of watery deaths. However, if that description gives the impression that Barracuda rises above its brethren, perish the thought—chances are the reason this flick spends most of its time on dry land is that the producers didn’t have enough cash to fulfill the promise of their movie’s title. Set in a generic American beach town, the picture kicks off with the usual tropes: Mysterious deaths lead an investigator to put the blame on a pack of barracudas, blah-blah-blah. Thereafter, the intrepid leading man discovers the real villain is the owner of a chemical plant whose industrial dumping has driven local fish crazy. Had this movie been executed with any humor or style, the basic plot elements could have cohered into something moderately amusing. Alas, the writing/producing/directing duo of Wayne Crawford and Harry Kerwin fill their movie with dull scenes of people standing around talking, a narrative shortcoming exacerbated by amateurish acting and bargain-basement production values. Extending his reach in front of the camera, Crawford cast himself in the lead as a marine biologist who solves the story’s mystery—while romancing pretty sheriff’s daughter Liza (Roberta Leighton), of course—and the biggest “name” in the cast is Bert Freed, the prolific but undistinguished character actor who plays the villain. All of this narrative sludge is accompanied by a disco-synth score that sounds like a pale imitation of similar work by Giorgio Moroder, so even the movie’s music is a rip-off.

Barracuda: LAME

2 comments:

Unknown said...

totally misleading poster,the barracuda was practically a sub-plot. a time waster at best

Jocko said...

God how I hated this movie as a kid. Got suckered into watching it, because of the Jaws-like advertising, when I was around seven years old. It might have been featured on Svenghoulie. Pickings were slim back in the old days and any other young man in this day and age would have turned it off after 5 minutes to play video games.

Not only was it boring, but if memory serves me all those years ago, the main hero and either his sidekick, or possibly his son, were both shot and killed by evil government agents at the end. So it was also a downer. Orca was depressing to me as a kid as well but at least I didn't find it boring. I tried looking it up on other blogs and Wikipedia but no one reveals the spoiler ending so I could be wrong. I certainly hope that's due to disinterest and not out of any respect for the movie and potential future viewers.

If anybody wanders on here, that hasn't seen the movie, I don't apologize for possibly ruining the ending.