Tentacles

PG

1977

1 hr. 30 min.

Horror

List

0%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

11%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

When numerous people go missing in a seaside resort town, reporter Ned Turner (John Huston) helps to uncover the reason -- a gigantic rampaging octopus. As the eight-legged monster continues to terrorize the coast, marine biologist Will Gleason (Bo Hopkins) attempts to devise a way to stop the octopus before more tourists fall victim to the creature. Meanwhile, it appears that a corporation headed by Mr. Whitehead (Henry Fonda) may be connected to the cephalopod's violent behavior.

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nick s

The movie was trying to hit all the same beats as Jaws but failed miserably. The tension wasn't there in the action scenes, the nerve jarring music score was missing, the characters were forgettable, and the octopus looked aquarium sized. Fun to see the noir starlet again though.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/20/24

Full Review

SIMON T

Inept unapologetic Jaws rip-off, featuring three Hollywood A-listers cashing cheques. All the best sequences from Spielberg's masterpiece are reproduced very very badly, with no sense of pacing or even coherence. And the cherry on the omelette is the truly awful music.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

Full Review

Stephen C

Boring flat Jaws Rip off with a giant octopus instead of a Shark. Cast is wasted and the film is about as scary as a suchi resteraunt

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/26/23

Full Review

DanTheMan 2

Tentacles is a pretty standard movie, it sets a challenging tone by opening on the death of a baby then just kind of sinks into a pattern of repeating beats from Jaws just with a giant octopus rather than a great white shark. However, on land, it's rather pretty and on water, it's kinda funny; thanks largely in part to the direction of Ovidio Assonitis it hits this weird stride of decently built tension with horrible effects that seemingly cut back and forth from obvious stock footage to obscuring angles, although the moments where the said octopus attacks a few boats are pretty compelling. The music by Stelvio Cipriani is mostly this annoying harpsichord riff though there's occasional brilliance in its attempt to emulate the works of Goblin. But how this film managed to land talents such as John Huston, Shelley Winters, Bo Hopkins and a completely immobile Henry Fonda is a mystery to me.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/09/23

Full Review

Billy S

A guilty pleasure? Maybe…

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/13/23

Full Review

This was actually really funny! I laughed aloud at some scenes and snickered at most. It had a sail boat race that caught my attention as a sail instructor, but the whole scene left me to question what drugs the people were on who did the audio, the cinematography and direction, but hey it was '77, so anyone's guess. The end was hilarious and right out of an early sixties syfi show with toys used as props. Definitely a two joints flick, maybe three.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/17/22

Full Review

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Ovidio G. Assonitis

Director

John Huston

Ned Turner

Shelley Winters

Tillie Turner

Bo Hopkins

Will Gleason

Henry Fonda

Mr. Whitehead

Delia Baccardo

Vicky Gleason

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Adam Nayman

eye WEEKLY

Rated: 1/5

Nov 14, 2002

Full Review

Bill Brownstein

Montreal Gazette

More lamentable than this snacking squid is watching Shelley Winters, John Huston and Henry Fonda earn a living by going through the motions in their respective roles.

Mar 7, 2023

Full Review

Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

As Jaws‘ Mayor Vaughn might say, ‘you yell “barracuda”, everybody says “huh? what?” You yell ‘octopus’… everybody probably still says ‘huh? what?’

Rated: 3/10

Jan 8, 2023

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A Jaws rip-off from prolific producer Ovidio G. Assonitis (The Exorcist rip-off Beyond the Door, The Omen rip-off The Visitor).

Rated: 1.5/4

Apr 16, 2022

Full Review

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

Like so many films of its ilk, Tentacles feels cheap and lazy, belying its healthy budget.

Rated: 1.5/4

Apr 15, 2022

Full Review

Jesús Fernández Santos

El Pais (Spain)

The movie sacrifices three great actors that are worthy of better enterprises. [Full Review in Spanish]

Jul 24, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

When numerous people go missing in a seaside resort town, reporter Ned Turner (John Huston) helps to uncover the reason -- a gigantic rampaging octopus. As the eight-legged monster continues to terrorize the coast, marine biologist Will Gleason (Bo Hopkins) attempts to devise a way to stop the octopus before more tourists fall victim to the creature. Meanwhile, it appears that a corporation headed by Mr. Whitehead (Henry Fonda) may be connected to the cephalopod's violent behavior.

Director: Ovidio G. Assonitis
Production Co: American International Pictures (AIP)
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 17, 2017
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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