''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 imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

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, 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, a ...

, 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 and the prehistoric '' Dunkleosteus''. 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 A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point o ...

, 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 Wa ...

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 th ...

as Peter *

Valentine Monnier Valentine Monnier (born 22 October 1956, in Paris) is a French actress, model, and photographer. She appeared on the September 1977 cover of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine, and on the cover art of the album ''Chic'', also in 1977. Monnier had an acting ...

as Dr. Stella Dickens * Gianni Garko as Sheriff Gordon * William Berger as Professor Donald West *

Iris Peynado Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

as Sandra Hayes *

Dino Conti Dino may refer to: Prefix * dino-, a common prefix in taxonomy, meaning "terrible", "formidable" **Dinosaur People * Dino (given name), a masculine given name and a nickname * Dino (surname), a surname found in Albania and Turkey * Diño, a surn ...

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 an ...

as Florinda *

Paul Branco Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

as Dr. Davis Barker * Dagmar Lassander as Sonja West

Reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

'' 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, 1 ...

'', 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