4 Star

Deadly Regretful Actions.

Following the success of the Jaws, executive producer Dino De Laurentiis (Flash Gordon, La Strada) green-lit the project and handed the directing reigns to Michael Anderson (Logan’s Run, Around the World in 80 Days (1956)), who takes us out to Newfoundland where Orcas roam the open seas, living their lives in the family pods.

The cold waters of the open ocean, and Orca whales frolic in the low light, the social marine mammals travel around in their extended family pods. But when you introduce a man with a mortgage on his boat, ‘Bumpo’, things turn out bad for the marine mammals. Captain Nolan (Richard Harris, Unforgiven, Gladiator) wants to capture a great white shark and sell it to a local aquarium, to help pay off that mortgage and hopefully pay his crew, Annie (Bo Derek, 10, Tarzan the Ape Man), Novak (Keenan Wynn, Annie Get Your Gun, Song of the Thin Man), and Paul (Peter Hooten, The Inglorious Bastards (1978), Dr. Strange), before he returns home to Ireland. Today, they are concentrating on spotting the tell-tail fin poking out of the water. Nolan up in the crow’s nest lets out a wail, as he spots a huge one. What he doesn’t see is the small dingy containing Ken (Robert Carradine, Escape from L.A., Revenge of the Nerds) who is keeping an eye out for his colleague Rachel Bedford (Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years, Melancholia) who is below the surface, but is aware of the great white shark and trying to hide from it.

In his efforts to stop Nolan, Ken’s outboard motor stalls, and for some reason he decides to swim-for-it as the Great white approaches. At the last moment an Orca rams the shark sending it flying and killing it. Momentarily stunned, Nolan suddenly sees a greater opportunity, to capture an Orca. Jeez, this guy is crazy.

With his harpoon in hand, he fires at the Orca, but he only nicks the dorsal fin, the harpoon carries on and hits the male pregnant mate, fatally wounding it.

The crew of the Bumpo work furiously to get the orca on-board. This is the start of the tragic events to come, as the male Orca watches as his mate miscarries, and dies at the hands of Nolan.

Let the revenge begin.

Later Rachel Bedford educates Nolan on the similarities of Orca and humans and that they search out the people that has wronged them, this story is backed up by Jacob Umilak (Will Sampson, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Outlaw Josey Wales), an original race Mi’kmaq hunter.

But Nolan is a complicated man with a tragic history that affects the way he handles this incident, it’s him versus the Orca, and him against the superstitious fishing community.

Orca may have suffered from being a Jaws clone back in the day, but after fifty years it certainly deserves another chance, especially on 4K UHD.

Orca, The Killer Whale (Cult Classics) is available on Blu-ray