Movies
The Devil’s Advocate #6: ‘Tentacles’ (1977)
There’s an old song by Crosby, Stills & Nash which sagely urges that “if you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” With so many horror films in recent years failing to deliver the sort of thrills that made us genre fans in the first place (Consider the bulk of this year’s theatrical output, if you need proof!), the Schlockfinder General has long labored to heed the advice of those old hippies and try to love even the least lovable of contemporary scare screeners. Of course, some movies are just so awful that they’re destined to be shunned and ignored until they fade from existence. Another old song declares that “you’re nobody until somebody loves you,” and some celluloid stinkers wholly deserve to remain nobodies forever. But often, even the most seemingly indefensible clunker has merits which can be appreciated – and even savored – by an open-minded, fun-loving fright fan. For this reason, I give you THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE… today’s defendant in this court of public opinion? TENTACLES!
THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE #6: TENTACLES (1977)
I believe that sometime between creating the heavens and the Earth and kicking Adam and Eve out of paradise, God decided to make a monster. In His infinite wisdom, He decided that this monster should live at the bottom of the ocean, in the murky shadows of the planet’s darkest recesses. He opted not to give the creature a skeleton, so that no matter how large it grew, it could squeeze its hideous form through openings a fraction of its own size. He chose to make it extremely intelligent – so intelligent, in fact, that it can solve problems, open doors, and even operate simple devices. He imbued it with the ability to change both the color and texture of its skin, so that it could completely blend into its surroundings. In the unlikely event that it ever encountered a predator more dangerous than itself, God gave the monster the power to spew a billowing cloud of black, viscous ink. Finally, just to ensure that it was deadlier and more horrifying than every other beast in Creation, the Almighty gave this aquatic abomination eight long, powerful arms and a razor-sharp beak.
Regardless of your views on intelligent design, it’s hard to argue that the octopus is anything other than a genuine sea monster. Let me reiterate – it’s got a friggin’ beak! Small wonder it’s still referred to as a “devilfish” in countries around the world. Of course, no real octopus is quite as versatile or dangerous as the one featured in the 1977 Italian JAWS rip-off TENTACLES. But, after watching the film again, I wouldn’t volunteer to put one to the test.
TENTACLES kicks off with an angry cephalopod cruising around the shores of Ocean Beach, snatching babies from strollers and peg-legged sailors from rickety fishing boats, to the haunting strains of spaghetti western music. When the slimy bugger rescues a nerd from the amorous attentions of an overweight admirer with a well-placed, half-eaten corpse, Sheriff Claude Akins and reporter John Huston show up to trade grim scowls. Huston then shares some sappy banter with his wild-oats-sowing sister Shelley Winters, while greedy corporate exec Henry Fonda glowers and orders his underwater tunneling project to continue no matter the cost. It’s this enterprising endeavor – specifically, the high frequency radio transmissions involved – which has the octopus in such a crappy mood, so it goes right on eating fat Italian guys and shapely bikini babes. Only after it munches on some mop-haired kids during the town’s annual sailboat race do the powers that be realize they have no choice but to send marine biologist/fishermen Bo Hopkins and his pet killer whales out to turn the beast into calamari.
I should point out here that JAWS is, in my opinion, the greatest movie ever made. By all rights, I should instinctively resent any movie that rips it off so egregiously – especially one as ridiculous as TENTACLES. But it’s not easy to hate a subgenre that includes cult classics like PIRANHA, ALLIGATOR, GRIZZLY, and the delightfully idiotic ORCA. It’s even more difficult when one has always had a deep-seated, irrational (because one lives in the Midwest) fear of any aquatic life form larger than a crappie.
Laugh if you must, but I find the countless shots of an obviously tiny octopus in extreme close-up to make it look enormous absolutely terrifying. Indeed, even the rubbery octo-head that defies physics and mollusk physiology by cruising along the surface like a bloated, bug-eyed shark fin scares the crap out of me. Matt Hooper might not be fooled by the stunning special effects in TENTACLES, but a landlubber who switched from baths to showers at a very early age thanks to scenes like the climax of POPEYE and the pre-credits sequence of WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS is bound to avoid beaches for a good long time after a single viewing of this Italian epic.
It’s also fair to point out that while TENTACLES borrows both the basic plot and key scenes from JAWS, it includes several elements that would later be stolen by Universal for its Great White sequels. The closing battle between the killer whales and the octopus is clearly the inspiration for the dolphins-versus-shark finale of JAWS 3-D – right down to the travel commercial-style shots of finned mammals flipping and frolicking on the surface following a lopsided victory. The sailboat race which wrinkles Shelley Winters’ chubby cheeks with worry is repeated in both JAWS 2 and JAWS: THE REVENGE (sans Ms. Winters, of course). Until the aforementioned REVENGE, Bruce the Shark killed in relative silence, accompanied only by the strains of John Williams’ iconic score. It wasn’t until he followed Lance Guest to the Bahamas that the toothy terror started roaring like Dino De Laurentiis’ KING KONG every time he reared up from the surf. But the octopus in TENTACLES comes out howling with fury from the very start, despite having even less in the way of vocal chords than any thirty-foot-long fish. And while this devilfish never eats a seaplane or a giant, inflatable banana during his single screen outing, Bruce doesn’t manage to snatch a single infant from a landlocked baby buggy without being seen in no less than four feature-length feeding frenzies.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t credit the name actors featured here (with the exception of the rather bland Hopkins) for delivering admirably sincere performances, and thus lending the production a degree of polish uncommon in both JAWS imitations and dubbed 70s imports. No one will confuse Akins for Roy Scheider or Huston for Robert Shaw, but at least both seem to be taking the material seriously.
TENTACLES is available as an MGM Midnight Movie Double Feature with Bert I. Gordon’s EMPIRE OF THE ANTS – a perfect double bill if ever there was one. Better still, you can watch it online over at Hulu. Even if spaghetti sea monster sagas aren’t your cup of tea, a kitschy casserole of pre-Syfy giant monster schlock like this for the low, low price of absolutely free is a bargain for any open-minded horror fan. Whether it scares you to death or makes you die laughing, you can be sure that it’s at least eight times as much fun as your average nautical nightmare.
NEXT ON THE DOCKET: Go ask Alice. I think she’ll tell you why the Schlockfinder General loves the RESIDENT EVIL films!
READ THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE – HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION (2002)
READ THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE – JASON X (2002)
READ THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE – FRIDAY THE 13TH: A NEW BEGINNING (1985)
READ THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE – THE SILENT SCREAM
READ THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE – THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE #5: BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2 (2000)
The holiday weekend means a light week for new horror releases, but it does bring the return of Dark Castle Entertainment to select theaters. It’s being joined by 6 new horror movies.
Here’s all the new horror releasing June 29, 2026 – July 3, 2026!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
You wished for it. The highest-grossing horror movie of the year (so far), Curry Barker’s Obsession, arrived on Digital on June 30.
In Curry Barker’s theatrical debut Obsession, after breaking the mysterious One Wish Willow to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Michael Johnston (“Teen Wolf”), Inde Navarette (“Superman & Lois”), Cooper Tomlinson (“That’s a Bad Idea,” Milk & Serial), Megan Lawless (The Death That Awaits), and Emmy Award-nominee Andy Richter (“Conan,” Elf) star.
Based on a story by director James Kondelik (Behind The Walls) and a screenplay by Canadian writer Victor Rose, survival thriller Pitfall headed home to Digital on June 30. Family is murder in this Cineverse release.
In Pitfall, a young man becomes separated from his friends in the woods and plunges into a ten-foot pit lined with spikes, impaling his leg and leaving him helpless. As reality sinks in and his situation grows dire, he realizes the fall wasn’t an accident.
The film stars Richard Harmon (Final Destination: Bloodlines), Alexandra Essoe (The Pope’s Exorcist), and UFC champion Randy Couture (The Expendables) as the ruthless killer who stalks his prey in the woods. Marshall Williams (The Ice Road), Jordan Claire Robbins (The Umbrella Academy), and Matt Hamilton (Murder for Sale) also star.
The Amityville IP leans into Jaws with Amityville Shark House, just in time for the Fourth of July holiday too, as it released on Digital June 30.
Will Collazo Jr. (Amityville Thanksgiving) and Shawn C. Phillips (Amityville Karen) co-direct from a script they wrote with Julie Anne Prescott.
In the movie, after discovering an ominous shark idol hidden beneath the decaying floorboards, Richard unknowingly awakens an ancient and savage force. As the entity begins to merge with him, a quiet coastal town descends into blood-soaked chaos.
With each victim claimed, the monstrous predator grows stronger, fueling a cult’s belief that their dark god has been reborn. Now, the race is on to stop the carnage before evil consumes everything in its path.
Phillips and Prescott also star alongside Tasha Tacosa, Maritza Brikisak, Gigi Gustin (The Retaliators), Adam Marino, and Carl Solomon.
Available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD as of June 30 is Jacked, directed by John Fucile from a script he co-wrote with Simon Fraser.
The synopsis: “Set in the summer of 1987, JACKED follows two small-town teenagers whose day at the lake turns into a fight for survival after their car breaks down and they encounter a violent stalker.”
Marla Jean Robison, Tom Koch, Anthony Cipriani, Wynn Reichert, Kam Perez and Bella Marie star.
Get ready to work up a killer sweat and maybe spill some blood with Slashercise, a workout meets slasher hybrid that arrived exclusively on Bloodstream on July 1.
Written and directed by Ama Lea (Deathcember), the retro-styled feature follows “a masked killer known only as Meathead as he stalks the fitness clubs of Los Angeles, turning workout sessions into blood-soaked nightmares. As the city’s top trainers are picked off one by one, a group of determined fitness fanatics must fight back before they become the next bodies on the mat.”
Vanessa Decker (Stiletto), John Bloom (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills), Sarah French (Blind), Kelli Maroney (Night of the Comet), Sarah Nicklin (V/H/S/Halloween), Diana Prince (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Jared Rivet (The Once and Future Smash), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Tiffany Shepis (Victor Crowley), and Lisa Wilcox (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) star.
After a record-breaking box office run, A24 and director Kane Parsons’ feature debut is heading back to theaters with bonus footage. AMC Theatres is unleashing Backrooms: Everything Must Go Editiontoday, July 3.
In the film written by Will Soodik, the owner of Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire discovers a strange doorway in the basement of the furniture showroom. He sets out to explore the mysterious, liminal space, walking headfirst into a creepypasta nightmare.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsvestar.
AMC describes this release as a “theatrically exclusive post-credit” with additional footage from Kane Parsons. Expect 16 minutes of bonus footage, with the new version clocking in at 2 hours and 6 minutes.
The Last Exorcism director Daniel Stamm and Dark Castle Entertainment are back with Lockbox, in select theaters July 3. It adapts Soren Narnia‘s Knifepoint Horror Podcast story “Winthrop” by Emmy-winning playwright Justin Yoffe.
In Lockbox, “Seeking peace after her mother’s death, Ellen retreats to a rural town and takes in her severely traumatized cousin Winthrop. Their fragile domestic balance shatters when an erratic neighbor warns that Winthrop is dangerous. As strange phenomena escalate, Ellen must put everything on the line to defend Winthrop from a dangerous otherworldly entity determined to track him down.”
Lou Taylor Pucci (Touch Me, Evil Dead), Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House, Gerald’s Game, The Fall of the House of Usher) and Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Backrooms) star.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by Lockbox.
Be careful who you let in. Carla Gugino and Lou Taylor Pucci star in Lockbox, only in select theaters this Friday. Get tickets.
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