Customer Reviews

Barracuda [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This film was released amid a spate of similar films that flooded the market shortly after "Jaws" became the highest grossing movie of all time. "Orca", "Piranha", "Tentacles", "Tintorera", "Blue Water, White Death", and the deplorable "Up From the Depths", as well as three "Jaws" sequels, overloaded theaters with "Don't go in the water" movies in the late 70s. Some of them were halfway decent, others were downright pitiful. "Barracuda" falls in at about the middle of the scale; better than some, worse than others. It concerns a town experiencing vicious attacks by these toothsome fishes, caused by the dumping of waste from a chemical factory. But when an intrepid group of young people discover this, they learn that the chemical has been deliberately engineered to cause this hyper-aggression, and expose a plan to disperse it among the human population. If you like killer-fish movies, then "Barracuda" is for you. If not, then don't waste your time.

A good B-movie which unfortunately gets dumped on because it was made during the post-Jaws "another killer fish" hype. Warning, spoiler ahead. But instead of churning out another flick about being eaten by fish, what we get is a sinister government plot with some very likeable characters that eschew typical stereotyping.

Granted, the basic plot is nothing new, it was done in many b&w monster movies of the 50's and 60's.

Ok, so the acting and dialogue aren't top notch but hey, it's fun, low budget, and an ending which would make an amateur Fox Mulder proud.