''Monster Shark'' ( it, Shark - Rosso nell'oceano) is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

- horror film directed by

Lamberto Bava Lamberto Bava (born 3 April 1944) is an Italian film director. Born in Rome, Bava began working as an assistant director for his director father Mario Bava. Lamberto co-directed the 1979 television film ''La Venere d'Ille'' with his father and in ...

. It was also released in various countries as ''Devil Fish'', ''Monster from the Red Ocean'', ''Devouring Waves'' and ''Shark: Red in the Ocean''. The script was co-written by

Dardano Sacchetti Dardano Sacchetti (born 1944 ) is an Italian screenwriter who often worked with Italian directors Lamberto Bava and Lucio Fulci. Screenwriting Sacchetti was born in 1944,in Italy. His first screen credit was for Dario Argento's film ''The Cat o' Ni ...

, based on a story idea contributed by

Luigi Cozzi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

and producer

Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...

. released in Italy from September 7, 1984, later in United States as ''Devil Fish'' in November 14, 1986, this was the final film distributed by Cinema Shares International Distribution.

Plot

The film takes place along a stretch of coastline somewhere in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where a local tourist spot has become plagued by a mysterious marine creature. Unbeknownst to them, the monster is the product of a secret military experiment; it is a genetic hybrid mutated from a

common octopus The common octopus (''Octopus vulgaris'') is a mollusc belonging to the class Cephalopoda. ''Octopus vulgaris'' is one of the most studied of all octopus species, and also one of the most intelligent. It ranges from the eastern Atlantic, exte ...

and the prehistoric ''

Dunkleosteus ''Dunkleosteus'' is an extinct genus of large armored, jawed fishes that existed during the Late Devonian period, about 382–358 million years ago. It consists of ten species, some of which are among the largest placoderms to have ever lived: ...

''. Unfortunately, the creature has broken loose and is now feeding on swimmers and tourists swimming or sailing along the coast. As the monster is only an infant, it 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; meanwhile, a group of military scientists are trying to stop the scientists, as the experiment was classified military business. The creature slowly picks off both groups while they try to track it down. They eventually find it hiding in the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

, corner it in shallow waters, and kill it with repeated blasts from

flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...

Cast

Michael Sopkiw Michael Sopkiw is an American former actor who starred in four Italian B movies in two years. He was born in 1954 in Connecticut. Sopkiw took modeling jobs, and he was employed in Italy by filmmaker Sergio Martino to star in '' 2019, After the ...

as Peter * Valentine Monnier as Dr. Stella Dickens *

Gianni Garko Gianni Garko (born Giovanni Garcovich; 15 July 1935), often billed as John Garko and occasionally Gary Hudson, is an Italian actor who found fame as a leading man in 1960s Spaghetti Westerns. He is perhaps best known for his lead role as Sartana ...

as Sheriff Gordon * William Berger as Professor Donald West * Iris Peynado as Sandra Hayes * Dino Conti as Dr. Bob Hogan *

Cinzia de Ponti Cinzia Fiordeponti, best known as Cinzia De Ponti (born 3 October 1960), is an Italian actress, model, television personality and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Italia 1979 and second runner-up to Miss Universe 1982. Life and ...

as Florinda * Paul Branco as Dr. Davis Barker *

Dagmar Lassander Dagmar Lassander (born as Dagmar Regine Hager on 16 June 1943) is a German actress. The character of Lassander Dagmar in the Italian-influenced 2015 horror film '' We Are Still Here'' is named after her. Early life and career She was born in ...

as Sonja West

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' called it "wholly amateurish" and criticized the film's unconvincing monster. Star Michael Sopkiw attributes the film's flaws and negative reviews to the production's limited budget, saying that Lamberto Bava was a great director.Monstermovietv
/ref>

''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 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

'', on which it was spoofed for its poor acting and erratic editing. One scene of this film contains a brief glimpse of a male character's genitals, the show censored by superimposing the ''MST3K'' logo, and two key death scenes were removed.

Footnotes

References

External links

* * * {{Lamberto Bava 1984 films 1984 horror films English-language French films English-language Italian films 1980s Italian-language films Films about cephalopods 1980s science fiction horror films 1980s multilingual films Films about sharks Italian science fiction horror films Italian multilingual films Films about shark attacks Giant monster films Natural horror films French multilingual films French science fiction horror films Films directed by Lamberto Bava Films set in the United States Films scored by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis Films scored by Fabio Frizzi 1980s Italian films 1980s French films