Movies / TV
An Exercise in Poor Taste - Octopus
By Edward Robins
Aug 31, 2002, 22:57

Ahoy, mateys! Today I�ll be reviewin� a film about a giant scourge o� the sea! A ways back in the summer, I ordered Trimark�s �Creature Features� 4-DVD box-set, and now I�m finally getting down to reviewing all the discs. I�ll start with the first film in the set, and the only one I hadn�t seen before, Octopus. I don�t have much of an intro in mind today, and since I still have to write up a Velocity recap later, I don�t want to kill myself trying, so is this film a worthy legend o� the sea, or does it bite barnacles? Let�s see�

Octopus (2000)
Nu Image / Trimark Pictures

Film (complete with minor plot spoilers!):
Although the kraken is one of the oldest myths of the sea, it�s been unable to get a break in modern mythos or movies. Whether it�s because an octopus is mysterious but inherently uninterested (really, what�s so spooky about a giant cloud of ink when giant sharks have teeth bigger than your head?), or simply because an octopus� eight arms are difficult to synthesize with models, the only other giant killer octopus in film that I�m aware of is the 1970�s Italian Jaws rip-off Tentacles, which uses a combination of stock footage and a real octopus that was literally torn apart by orca puppets for the finale (!). Thankfully, Nu Image�s 2000 feature Octopus is more ambitious and much more legal.

Instead of the typical �fill in the gaps� creature feature �plot�, Octopus features a fairly strong (though at times thoroughly unbelievable) story. Roy Turner, a long-time informative on his first field mission for the CIA, has to escort notorious terrorist Casper to trial in the United States. Luckily, it should be smooth sailing, since Turner and Casper get a free ride on a submarine. Of course, it�s never smooth sailing � not only are Casper�s terrorist buddies hot on their trail in a hijacked cruise liner, but the submarine�s course goes through �The Devil�s Eye� and the submarine crew get up close and physical with the area�s meanest resident, a mutated giant octopus in a blood-thirsty rage due to iron deficiency. Remember kids, always make sure your mutated giant octopus gets a proper diet!

Composed mainly of CGI, with a few puppet shots, the titular monster manages to look at the same time fake and a credible killer. This is attributed not just to the special effects crew, but to the excellent performances by the human actors in reaction to the octopus. They really do an excellent job of selling the monster, as opposed to the majority of CGI low-budget features, where the actors are inadvertently lazy because, particularly since many of them are new, they don�t know how to work without something physical. Although the actors are excellent at working with the octopus, the storyline falters. The leads are actually pretty good (or at least, not bad), but for a �serious� plot, they�re still nowhere near gripping. The noted exception is Ravil Issyanov, who as Casper is a �perfect� villain. Every time he got away (the guy�s like Houdini, he gets away like 3 or 4 times over the course of the film) or interfered I hated him more and more, and couldn�t wait to see him get his just desserts.

Octopus isn�t anywhere close to Jaws, but it�s more than passable. However, since it�s PG-13, the kills, although technically proficient, aren�t gory enough and its plot, while competent and intelligible, isn�t compelling enough to make this a �must-see�. But if you�ve got time to kill and it�s playing on TV, at least you can watch it knowing it won�t be cut to ribbons for network censors.

ONE Redeeming Scene (Major Spoiler Warning!):
Somehow, despite a giant mutant killer octopus in the way to muck things up, Casper manages to hook up with his terrorist buddies and almost get away. From a helicopter, Casper is about to make his final getaway, but he takes too long to taunt Roy Turner (who, despite having a gun aimed and pointed right at Casper, is too cowardly to shoot) and BAM! CGI tentacle comes right through the helicopter and impales him, dragging him and the whole helicopter to their doom in the water below. Ravil Issyanov (Casper) played such a good villain that I literally cheered when this happen.

Presentation:
The film�s presented in non-anamorphic widescreen (the exact ratio isn�t stated, but it looks to be about 1.85:1), with 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio. For those that are hard of hearing, or just have to watch with the volume down because of roommates or relatives, subtitles are available in English, Spanish, and French.

Special Features:
At first glance, the disc seems a bit light, with only �Trailer� and �Making of �Octopus�� listed on the back. However, the �Making of� featurette, which runs about 25 minutes, is uncharacteristically lengthy and thorough. As opposed to many �Making of��s, instead of focusing on the cast and director, this one gets right to the good stuff � the creation of the giant octopus and ship/submarine models, and how the key action sequences with both were shot. The many �stages� of the creation of puppet octopus arms and sets are shown, and it�s really sad to see all the work that went into these practical effects when the majority of the octopus in the final film is CGI. After the on-set/behind the scenes footage, the final scene is shown, and it�s always a lot of fun on films like this to compare the two. Besides the excellent featurette, the trailer for the film is included along with the trailers for King Cobra and The St. Francisville Experiment. King Cobra is another low-budget giant monster film, which I�ve previously seen on VHS and will review on DVD eventually (it�s another disc in the �Creature Features� box-set) and the other looks to be a Blair Witch rip-off that I�m not touching with a 20 foot pole.

I�ve decided to cut the �overall� section because all I was doing was restating points from my �film� and �special features� section and talking about how cheap the disc was. So� if anyone really misses it, e-mail me and I�ll put it back. One thing I haven�t cut, however, are the cheap plugs for my wish-list. Buy something today! Come on� please? If people can give Karyn $8,000 for her irresponsibility, why the hell can�t anyone spend $15 on a DVD for me? If you want I�ll get a credit card and put myself $20,000 in debt too�

Oh, before I go, I realize that the legendary �kraken� is actually a giant squid, but to my knowledge there aren�t any specific legends about giant octopi. Since octopi and squid share many of the same characteristics, I figure nobody would mind me interchanging the two.

Until next time� is �temporary blood-thirst caused by iron deficiency� an acceptable excuse in court?
Edward Robins
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"To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about... [just] remember there is such a thing as good bad taste and bad bad taste." � John Waters

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