Devil Fish (1984)

A marine biologist, a dolphin trainer, a research scientist, and a local sheriff try to hunt down a large sea monster, a shark/octopus hybrid, that is devouring swimmers and fishermen off a south Florida coast.

Director:

Lamberto Bava (as John Old Jr.)

Writers:

Lamberto Bava (additional material), Gianfranco Clerici (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Sopkiw, Valentine Monnier, Gianni Garko

Cast

Cast overview:
Michael Sopkiw	...	Peter
Valentine Monnier	...	Dr. Stella Dickens
Gianni Garko	...	Sheriff Gordon (as John Garko)
William Berger	...	Prof. Donald West
Iris Peynado	...	Sandra Hayes
Lawrence Morgant	...	Dr. Davis Barker
Cinzia de Ponti	...	Florinda (as Cinthia Stewart)
Paul Branco	...	Miller
Dagmar Lassander	...	Sonja West

Storyline

Gruesome findings in the middle of the ocean and mysterious occurrences off the Florida Coast terrify the locals, forcing Sheriff Gordon and marine biologists, Dr Stella Dickens and Dr Bob Hogan, to investigate. More and more, as the news spreads like wildfire, the two scientists find evidence of a terrible underwater monstrosity that is devouring unsuspecting fishermen and swimmers alike, and that somehow, the West Ocean Institute has something to do with the rogue beast that roams the seabed. But, what kind of aquatic, man-eating terror stains the waters red?

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | trash movie | italian exploitation | z movie | euro trash | 

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Taglines:

Undisturbed for a thousand years, the devil has now awoken.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 1:18:59 Dr. Davis asks "What better way to protect an exploitable area...?" but the English caption has "...protect unexploitable area...".

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Goofs

At time 1:03 and 1:05 the engine sound of the Coast Guard boat is obviously dubbed in after the scenes were shot. The sound is actually that of an outboard motor, not that of a 900 H.P. Coast Guard cutter.

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Quotes

Dr. Bob Hogan: [making a toast] Up the shark's ass.

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Crazy Credits

The "Devil Fish" version shows the title twice at the beginning; once just after the attack on the boat and once during the opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in I Hate Everything: the Search for the Worst: Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2015)

User Reviews

Rubbish Jaws rip-off number nine-hundred and ninety nine.

The monstrous star of 2010 CGI creature-feature Sharktopus is (rather obviously) half-shark-half-octopus, which probably sounds like a fairly unique concept unless you've been unfortunate enough to experience Monster Shark, Lamberto Bava's god-awful movie from 1984, which also features this particular genetic mash-up. Italian horror film-makers are renowned for following US trends, but for once it seems like they actually got there first (and by a whole 26 years).

Don't expect much else in the way of originality from Bava, though: strip away a poorly developed subplot about a shady geneticist out to protect the vicious sea-creature and what you have is just another in a long line of uninspired low-budget Jaws rip-offs, terribly acted, poorly directed, and much more likely to bore than to horrify.

Admittedly, the incredibly bad monster does provide some unintentional giggles, and supplies the film with a few moments of shoddy gore as it chomps down on its prey, and Bava throws in a couple of enjoyably exploitative scenes in which a murderous hired thug (played with gleeful menace by Paul Branco) bumps off a few defenceless victims, but these 'high' points are few and far between; for the majority of the time, Monster Shark is a dull, derivative mess.

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

14 November 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Devilfish

Filming Locations:

Filmatix, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Cinematografica, Nuova Dania Cinematografica, Filmes International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 85 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1