Octopus 2

The Details:
Director: Yossi Wein
Runtime: 94 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Sound Mix: 5.1 Dolby Digital
Certification: USA:R (but don't ask me why)

The Review:
Octopus 2 is a rather misleading monster-shlock. After reviewing the B-lariously awesome Octopus I confidently picked Octopus 2 out of the lineup of hack-jobs and Aliens / Predator / Abyss / Terminator amalgamations. However, much like the opening 20 minutes of the original Octopus, I found myself watching instead of pointing and laughing.

The major difference between the two movies is that this lack of giggles and guffaws never came to an end with 'pus 2. Even though the story is much simpler in 'pus 2, where we follow Nick, a member of New York's scuba police squad, as he tries to make sense of a mysterious drowning / murder, this movie throws so much
character development at you that you never get the chance to laugh at anything (which is a GOOD thing, trust me). Not that there's much to laugh at anyway, as the performances are stellar from everyone in the cast (especially from Fredric Lehne as Nick's partner and long time mentor, Walter) and the production value towers over the films I'm used to viewing, making it hard to even call it a B movie.

Voices are dubbed where they're needed, and they can cause you to snicker. However, besides the obvious reuse of nearly every single computer generated effect from the first Octopus, the narration simply isn't senseless enough to entertain us camp-fans. It is possible to chuckle at some of the tentacle attacks if you visualize the filming process. The idea of a dozen or more people being paid to stand around someone with a piece of latex wrapped around their necks screaming at the top of their lungs always makes me smile.

There are a few unlikely coincidences of course, and the Octopus is far too intelligent, but the characters are interesting and the plot moves along so quickly one can hardly take notice. For instance, the Octopus is smart enough to know when a boat is about to blow, so it's sure to submerge at the last second before it lights up like the Fourth of July. (By the way, the boat is about 5 inches long, which will produce a definite B-ellow of laughter)

One complaint I have about this movie as a standalone flick would be the tension in the action sequences. Several scenes are supposed to be extremely tense, and instead fall a little flat because there isn't a terrible amount of action going on which forces the editor to simply cut back and forth between reaction shots. The music and camera work still achieve their goals, however, and as long as you know the difference between a bad movie, and a truly BAD movie, you should manage to enjoy Octopus 2. Just... not as a campy, schlocky, poorly-edited, horrendously produced Guy-in-a-Rubber-Suite movie. Ah well...

I will, however point out that the cg effects are abysmally poor, either being recycled from the first, or used to enhance latex. This could cause one to shriek with laughter, but, it's not enough to sustain any sort of giddiness.

When it comes right down to it, is Octopus 2 a bad movie? Perhaps, perhaps not. Is Octopus 2 a good-bad movie? Unfortunately, the answer is no. It's much more of a budget-less good movie.

I'm going to give this movie a 3 out of 5 brain removal, because I can't predict how anyone might feel. It's somehow rated lower than Sasquatch Hunters, which is the least entertaining film I've ever had the pleasure of reviewing. I had a great time watching Octopus 2, but I have a feeling most people out there are going to hate it, thinking it's the worst of the worst. You can all take my word for it, it's oscar-worthy in comparison to the garbage I've seen.

Special note: At the very least, check out the box at the video store. It's the first dvd case I've ever seen that actually uses an unfinished special effect shot as one of it's teaser screens - a man being strangled by a tentacle with a green screen background! What an awesome blunder.





THE GIRL: Gorgeous starving artist, need I say more?
THE BEAST: Barely seen, but nothing like JAWS
THE DREAM: Made it onto the box (click), it's that good.