Orca The Killer Whale

This Moby Dick-like movie from 1977 clearly rode in on the high grossing tail fin of Jaws and while it shares the whole ‘aquatic beasty with a bad attitude’ motif, it really is a different story in which the motivations, both human and animal, can’t fully be faulted. Another difference is that while the shark in Jaws was a rogue eating machine, Orca is a grieving mate with a sinister intelligence and a thirst for revenge. A lot of emphasis is put on the smarts of the orca species, at times ridiculously so, which does give the proceedings an eerie flavor. All in all, while fairly dated, this one is actually pretty entertaining. March 13 at 1:28pm