Monster Shark

Monster Shark
Directed by	Lamberto Bava (credited as John Old Jr.) Bruno Mattei (2nd unit director) (credited as Gilbert Roussel)
Produced by	Mino Loy
Written by	Gianfranco Clerici (screenplay) Lamberto Bava (additional material)
Starring	Michael Sopkiw Gianni Garko William Berger
Music by	Guido De Angelis Maurizio De Angelis (credited as Antony Barrymore)
Cinematography	Giancarlo Ferrando (credited as John McFerrand)
Editing by	Roberto Sterbini (credited as Bob Wheeler)
Release dates	September 7, 1984 (Italy) January 23, 1985 (France) November 14, 1986 (USA)
Running time	90 minutes (USA) 94 minutes (Germany)
Country	Italy
Language	English / Italian

Monster Shark (original Italian title Shark: Rosso nell'oceano; also known as Shark: Red on the Ocean, Devouring Waves and Devil Fish)^[1] is a 1984 Italian natural horror film, and one of several environmental disaster films to emerge following the success of the 1975 film Jaws, including films such as: Great White, Orca, Piranha, Tentacles and Tintorera.

Plot

The film takes place along a stretch of coastline somewhere in Florida in the United States, where a local tourist spot has become plagued by a mysterious marine creature. Little do they know, the monster is the product of a secret military experiment — a genetic hybrid mutated from a common octopus and the prehistoric super-predator Dunkleosteus. Unfortunately, the creature has broken loose, and is now feeding on swimmers and tourists swimming or sailing along the coast. Also, the monster is only an infant, and will continue to grow if it is left to hunt much longer.

A team of scientists led by a scientist named Peter and his colleague, Dr. Stella Dickens, are trying to find the creature and stop it, but a group of military scientists are trying to stop them, as the experiment was classified and is military business. Both groups are slowly picked off by the creature while they try to track it down. They eventually find that it is hiding in the Everglades and manage to corner it in shallow waters and kill it with repeated blasts from flamethrowers. At the end, Peter tells Stella that he has finally decided to take a vacation. When she asks where they are going, he tells her "the mountains". The ending is a freeze-frame shot.

Full cast

• Michael Sopkiw – Peter
• Valentine Monnier – Dr. Stella Dickens
• Gianni Garko – Sheriff Gordon
• William Berger – Professor Donald West
• Iris Peynado – Sandra Hayes
• Lawrence Morgant – Dr. Bob Hogan
• Cinzia de Ponti – Florinda
• Paul Branco – Dr. Davis Barker
• Dagmar Lassander – Sonja West

Reception

Monster Shark has received generally negative reviews by critics. As of January 2013, the IMDB rates the film in 61st place on their Bottom 100 list,^[2] but later it came out of the rankings. Popcorn Pictures only gave the film marks for its artwork stating that "it could be a cure for insomnia".^[3] The Bava's directed, however, was praised, and in the subsequent years, the film has received more positive reviews by critics and fans alike, in particolary in the DVD version.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

On August 15, 1998, Monster Shark, under its alternative title of Devil Fish, was featured on an episode of the movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, on which it was spoofed for its poor acting and erratic editing.^[4]

See also

• Sharktopus

References

External links

• Monster Shark at the Internet Movie Database
• Review of Monster Shark at The Hotspot Online
• Review of Monster Shark at Popcorn Pictures