Monster Shark (1984) review

MONSTER SHARK 1984 aka SHARK: ROSSO NELL'OCEANO (RED IN THE OCEAN) aka DEVIL FISH aka RED OCEAN aka DEVOURING WAVES

Michael Sopkiw (Peter), Valentine Monnier (Stella), Gianni Garko (Sheriff Gordon), William Berger (Dr. Donald West), Lawrence Morgant (Dr. Davis), Iris Peynado (Sandra Hayes), Cinzia De Ponti (Florinda), Paul Branco (Miller), Dagmar Lassander (Sonja West), Dino Conti (Dr. Hogan), Darla N. Warner (Dr. Janet Bates)

Directed by Lamberto Bava

The Short Version: When it comes to JAWS inspired movies riding the waves of its success, MONSTER SHARK is usually placed well below the depths in its sub-genre. Like Spielberg's movie, you see very little of the Monster Shark; but unlike Spielberg's movie, this doesn't play in the film's favor. Looking like a giant shuttlecock with oversized chompers, the blunderous creation is seen mostly in quick flashes at infrequent intervals--denying B-movie lovers of an abundance of low-rent entertainment they've paid to see. Released on American shores as DEVIL FISH, this version had more monster shots but was horribly re-edited by someone apparently high on recreational drugs. Superior in its original European cut, it's still an overly talky, low budget fish fry with little flavor. Fans of Italy's lost art of bandwagon movies will be the most attentive audience for this MONSTER SCHLOCK.

Scientists working on illegal genetic experiments for the West Ocean International corporation create a monstrous creature and hire an assassin to keep their nefarious plans a secret. Combining DNA of an octopus and the prehistoric Dunkleosteus fish, the beast gets loose on the Florida coastline and proceeds to eat the locals. Scientists soon learn the monster is asexual and that any time it loses cells it will form into another sea beast. An electronics expert and a dolphin specialist try to stop the thing before local authorities blow it up, creating potentially thousands more Monster Sharks.

With the success of JAWS in 1975, it was only a matter of time before similar movies (or outright rip-offs) began breaking the surface. Italy, then famous for producing shameless bandwagon pictures modeled on moneymaking American films, wasted no time sinking their teeth into underwater creature features. The limited sub-genre of Italian aquatic horrors began with Ovidio Assonitis's TENTACLES in 1976 and peaked with an absurd level of plagiarism in Enzo Castellari's THE LAST SHARK in 1981 (released briefly in America as GREAT WHITE). 

Lamberto Bava's MONSTER SHARK is less a clone of JAWS than it is merely inspired by it. There's no thriving resort with plentiful opportunities for human food in the water; nor any scenes of a concerned sheriff to close the beaches. It's all down to a script that's much bigger than the budget allows to breathe; and an unnecessarily stacked cast of characters made up of doctors, an electronics wiz, and a hired killer used to cover up the mess created by an unscrupulous scientist. There's even that old mainstay of the evil corporate entity that wants the creature for some nefarious purpose. That's not to say Bava's movie doesn't contain elements of the JAWS films, because it does. The main problem is the movie spends way too much time on mystery as opposed to the main attraction. The whodunit portions of the film lags when the monster isn't onscreen. Boasting that the beast moves at 30 knots, it's a shame the film doesn't move as fast.

The numerous characterizations end up muddled in the simplistic script that, for whatever reason, required a multitude of writers. After its initial story idea and script were handled by Sergio and Luciano Martino and Luigi Cozzi respectively, it eventually fell to four additional writers--Gianfranco Clerici, Dardano Sacchetti, Herve Piccini, and Vincenzo Mannino--to finalize what ended up on screen in 1984. Everyone used pseudonyms, including Bava, directing as John Old Jr., a nod to his dad's old alias.

Italian sources of the film's production suggest it was a chaotic shoot with Sergio Martino and his brother Luciano devising the idea and asking Luigi Cozzi (STARCRASH; HERCULES) to write and direct but with the film originally set in Venice, Italy. For whatever reason, the Martino's decided to abandon the picture to make another movie--returning to the sea monster story a few months later. Upon returning, Cozzi streamlined his initial script; reportedly inspired by the 1961 novel 'Creatures of the Abyss' written by Murray Leinster (William Fitzgerald Jenkins). With the Martino brothers handing the film over to producer Mino Loy, Lamberto Bava was then hired to take over directing duties. 

Not one to candy-coat things, Bava has stated his dissatisfaction for the film, citing the poor special effects and monster built by Ovidio Taito, a crewman who has very few credits behind the camera and only one in front of it--as an actor in another Italian monster flick, PANIC (1982); a film that's even schlockier than MONSTER SHARK.

In some shots looking like a big balloon and others resembling a giant shuttlecock with teeth, views of the life-sized critter was purposely kept to a minimum. Two smaller versions of the monster were built and reportedly got the bulk of the screen time. With the shoot already troubled by a disagreeable sea beast, the Italian cast grew homesick for Italy and their families as summer was approaching. Italian audiences got to see the result in September of 1984. It would be two years before the MONSTER SHARK would surface in America as DEVIL FISH. 

The US version is a re-edited cut of the film that does feature additional shots of the monster not found in the Italian original. Examples being the daytime chase just prior to the finale when Peter is luring the monster into the canal. He leaps from his boat and the thing, giving chase, swims underneath it. This isn't seen in the Italian version. The same goes for a shot of the Sharktopus trying to snatch Peter as he's being hoisted into the Coast Guard helicopter. As Peter goes up into the air, we see the monster descend below the depths.

Aside from the additional bits of the sea monster, the US version's erratic editing moved scenes around or chopped them up--wrecking havoc with what little suspense Bava was able to create. For example, an attack scene that occurs nearly 40 minutes into the movie is placed at the beginning. This was likely done because nothing much happens till over 20 minutes into the picture. By comparison, the original cut of the movie is superior to the ineptly edited, more widely familiar DEVIL FISH release.

Fabio Frizzi's unremarkable score doesn't even sound like a soundtrack for a movie about a man-eating shark with tentacles. There's one cue that resembles the main theme from JAWS but it's heard fleetingly in the original cut of the film while it dominates the soundtrack in the inferior, drunk edit for the US. It was released on CD in 2016 through Beat Records. 

Michael Sopkiw stars as the womanizing electronics expert who creates a device to track the monster. He's top-billed but the screen is so crowded he never fully takes hold as the film's hero nor does he figure significantly in the finale; it's more of an ensemble affair.

This was Sopkiw's second of four Italian exploitation pictures. He began his 4-picture deal under Sergio Martino's direction in 2019: AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK (1983); then moving on to MONSTER SHARK for Lamberto Bava and BLASTFIGHTER (1984), again for Bava and both shot in Florida and Georgia respectively. Sopkiw's last was the penniless in budget but million dollar titled MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY (1985) for Michele Massimo Tarantini.

If you're a fan of Italian westerns MONSTER SHARK is made more tolerable for the tumbleweed set by the participation of William Berger and Gianni Garko. The Austrian Berger famous for such six-shooters as FACE TO FACE (1967) and SABATA (1969); while Croatian Garko garnered international fame for the SARTANA series of trick gunslinger movies among several others.

As obscure a title as it is, MONSTER SHARK is on the list of movies that got an unacknowledged remake of sorts. Whereas it was inspired by JAWS (1975), Bava's SHARK influenced the Roger Corman produced SHARKTOPUS (2010)--an irrefutably asinine movie that gleefully piles on the typically shoddy CGI of all your finer SyFy Channel fodder. Remarkably, the quality isn't much better than Lamberto Bava's quasi-shark fest. The Corman one is played for laughs and the Italian original (there's something you don't hear very often) is unintentionally so.

The filmmakers do get a lot of mileage out of the Florida locations. It's not totally ocean-set, some of the most important sequences take place in canals such as the finale when the Coast Guard assail the monster with flame throwers. Italian genre pictures were taking full advantage of US locations for their movies during this time period. Both Georgia (Margheriti's CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE) and Arizona (Martino's HANDS OF STEEL) were popular states where these types of movies were shot.

With more budget and time this could've been an immensely entertaining picture regardless of how lousy the special effects are. Just a few more attack scenes would've been beneficial. One wasted opportunity could've seen the toothsome, tentacled monstrosity latching onto the helicopter Gianni Garko is firing from and pulling it into the water, a la JAWS 2 (1978). GREAT WHITE homaged that famous sequence as did the Corman distributed DEMON OF PARADISE (1987); itself a remake of another Corman pick-up, UP FROM THE DEPTHS (1979). There's simply not enough of the Monster Shark to hold viewer attention. Tolerable in its original European version, it still pales to similar movies made in American waters. Simply put, as an underwater monster movie the MONSTER SHARK Is Not Working.

This review is representative of the Code Red bluray. Specs and Extras: Brand new HD scan done in America; 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen; audio commentary with Michael Sopkiw; trailers; reversible artwork; running time: 01:33:47

Yakuza Wolf: I Perform Murder (1972) review

YAKUZA WOLF: I PERFORM MURDER 1972

Sonny Chiba (Gosuke Himuro), Koji Nanbara (Izumi Shojiro), Ryoji Hayama (Ishiguro), Tomoko Mayama (Saeko), Toura Rokusho (Shimaoka Mitsuo), Hideo Murota (Yasuo Onuma) Yayoi Watanabe (Kyoko Himuro), Makoto Sato (Jun Eguchi), Hirohisa Nakata (Tsukahara), Goto Rumi (Izumi Mayako), Kobayashi Akira (Shimizu), Akira Kuji (Yano)

Directed by Ryoichi Takamori

The Short Version: A transitional film in Sonny Chiba's career--going from quirky, comedic cop thrillers to brooding anti-heroes and high-flying Karate fighters. Packed with sex and violence, ample nudity and machine gun battles, YAKUZA WOLF is easily one of the trashiest and bleak films on the JAC founder's resume. Chiba's vengeance-seeking assassin definitely does a lot of killing in what amounts to a modern day samurai western modeled on Kurosawa's YOJIMBO (1961) and Corbucci's Kurosawa influenced DJANGO (1966). Sleaziness aside, director Takamori adds some artistic flourishes and a Euro-western aesthetic to his Yakuza wasteland. Highly recommended for fans of classy looking Japanese trash movies and those wondering what Sonny Chiba would be like playing the strong, murderously silent type.

***WARNING! This review contains images of nudity***

Gosuke Himuro returns to Japan from Okinawa to settle things with the Yakuza gangs responsible for his father's death and the selling of his sister into prostitution. Pitting the various factions against one another, Gosuke silently slashes his way to get to Izumi, the big man running the syndicate. Meanwhile, Detective Shimaoka wishes to smash the gangs and makes a deal with Gosuke, allowing him to have his revenge.

The samurai film and the Italian western influenced one another in their respective genres. One of the most famous examples being Sergio Leone adapting Akira Kurosawa's YOJIMBO (1961) into A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964). Another Italian western director inspired by the Japanese who subsequently left his mark on them was Sergio Corbucci; his two most indelible pictures on Far Easterns are DJANGO (1966) and THE GREAT SILENCE (1967). DJANGO (itself influenced by YOJIMBO) and the Kurosawa-affected FISTFUL were clearly inspirations for Ryoichi Takamori's stylish, demoralized crime thriller.

Director Takamori worked with Chiba on a variety of television programs and movies; one of the most famous being Chiba's big breakout on the popular KEY HUNTER (1968-1973) series. On the big screen, he guided Chiba through two of the four YAKUZA DEKA pictures; those being YAKUZA DEKA 3: POISON GAS THREAT and YAKUZA DEKA 4: NO GRAVE FOR US (both 1971). In 1973, Takamori would get experience directing JAC's founder in two Karate movies, BODYGUARD FANG (BODYGUARD KIBA) and BODYGUARD FANG: DEADLY TRIANGLE. In between these cops and Karate films, Takamori and screenwriter Konami Fumio put Sonny Chiba in a role that was darker, more violent than anything he'd done up to that time. 

Sonny Chiba's Gosuke Himuro is akin to the Underworld's Grim Reaper. Virtually untouchable till the last 30 minutes, he's humanized when--in a nod to DJANGO's coffin dragging avenger--Gosuke's hands are smashed by two separate villains in two separate scenes. At the end, during the settling of accounts, Gosuke's ingenuity returns the use of his hands by utilizing a steering wheel and a tire for a gun mount to take out Izumi and his gang. In another ode to Corbucci, a gangster ambushes his enemies by firing a machine gun from inside a coffin. 

Overall, this is one of the man's most provocative roles; and one you scarcely hear anything about. While Chiba's best cinematic representations to international audiences showcase him mercilessly mugging for the camera as deranged Karate fighters, he does none of that in YAKUZA WOLF; he shows zero emotion of any kind. It's an extraordinary role for the actor and one that needs more exposure.

Konami Fumio's script has a few too many characters than necessary and only 90 minutes to explore them all. One of the best his script has to offer is Saeko, a prostitute that falls in love with Gosuke. She leaves that world behind in the hopes he will do the same; but just when she's enjoying her transformation into Suzy Homemaker, she realizes Gosuke must see his vendetta to the end. Saeko's character doesn't come into full bloom as it should since the exploitation and exposition can't coexist equally. The same thing befalls some of the other characters. Since the unsavory elements dominate, the few instances of poignancy gives the impression Takamori's movie and Konami's script wants to be more than it actually is.

Konami also lent his pen to the FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION series--the first of which debuted in August of 1972, seven months after Chiba's dark gangster epic. Like the first two installments of that series, YAKUZA WOLF contains some of those films' style in its color palette and camera placement. It's a strange blend of artistry and trash.

One such instance where art intersects with sordidness occurs when Gosuke finally locates his sister. Sneaking into the sex den she's being forced to sell her body in, he witnesses a mass orgy where drugged-out participants engage in group sex while others indulge in sexual sadism with knives. The years of drugs and sexual degradation having taken their toll, Kyoko doesn't even recognize her brother--believing he's just another customer. In a powerful moment that may raise some eyebrows, Chiba, shortly after saving his drug-addled sister, basically gives up on trying to bring her back to sanity and lets her go off on her own; only moments later she's hit by a car! 

If you've seen Chiba's two EXECUTIONER movies you'll recognize Makoto Sato. As Jun Eguchi, he's a rival gangster who, like Gosuke, desires vengeance against Izumi and his powerful crime syndicate. These two have the most complicated character arc in the movie. Actually, another villain in the movie played by Akira Kobayashi has the same relationship with Gosuke as Sato's character does; both are Gosuke's enemies; both bust up one of his hands; and both characters could've been combined or simply not included at all. 

A former Toho actor, Sato signed with Toei in 1970. This was Sato's first of several works with Sonny Chiba. Obayashi Nobuhiko, a director of TV commercials who made his film directing debut with the delirious cult favorite HOUSE in 1977, referred to Makoto Sato as the Japanese Charles Bronson. Incidentally, Obayashi directed Bronson in the famous 'Mandom' television ads beginning in 1970; Bronson being the first American actor to appear in Japanese TV commercials. Sato and his stone-faced features can also be found in Chiba pictures like THE KILLING MACHINE (1975), MESSAGE FROM SPACE (1978), and SHOGUN'S NINJA (1980).

There are two films in the YAKUZA WOLF series, both released in 1972. Ryoichi Takamori did not return as director for YAKUZA WOLF: EXTEND MY CONDOLENCES (1972). Directed by Buichi Saito (LONE WOLF AND CUB: BABY CART IN PERIL), the tone of that film strangely reverts back to the comic cop shenanigans of Chiba's earlier YAKUZA DEKA series.

As would be the case in many of Chiba's Karate pictures (particularly those of Kazuhiko Yamaguchi), the camera does all sorts of gymnastics during some of the action sequences. Thankfully, Nakao Yoshio creates some stylish compositions for Takamori's modern day samurai western--capturing images of a concrete wasteland standing in for a desert landscape.

With its high level of brutality and dedication to Italian western conventions, YAKUZA WOLF (1972) is an unusual, standout entry on Chiba's voluminous resume. Other than a western photo shoot, this is the only time the actor has portrayed such a role. It's not as gory as his splattery Karate pictures, but is worth hunting down for those seeking something wildly uncultured and stylistically sleazy.

Running time: 01:27:42