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:

Continuity: In the second scuba scene (the one with the two divers in the diving bell), one of the diver's gear is different when in the diving bell as compared to when he's seen underwater. His wetsuit is different (look at the orange trim on the shoulders carefully). Also in the diving bell, he has just a regular single hose regulator, whereas underwater, his tank also has a double hose regulator setup attached to his tank (though he's still using a single hose regulator for breathing).

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

Fun 70's camp

I guess the actors were excited about being sent to Italy, and the downside is that..it was to be in this movie. I guess the producers were thinking they would make some money doing a version of "Jaws" with an octopus instead.

But the casual moviegoer, who has reasonable intelligence, will either be laughing at the whole thing or bored to death. Either way, the movie is not insultingly awful. At least Shelley Winters is under control, for the most part, but John Huston as a reporter is a riot. Danova had all his dialogue dubbed, which seems strange since he speaks English (he did in "Viva Las Vegas" and "Mean Streets", to name two instances). Henry Fonda & Bo Hopkins are also along for the ride.