One can easily surmise by the title alone what this film is most likely about and they would be absolutely correct with perhaps the finer details being the only thing to be ironed out. Thankfully, it does not ruin the experience but it does let one know what they are getting into and if they want to proceed.

To spell it out, the movie is about a giant octopus who has been set loose upon the public thanks to some underwater shenanigans by a corporation headed up by Henry Fonda. His project engineer wanted to speed up the tests they were performing and so cut some corners which would result in numerous deaths, not that he would have known when he started to break the law. Said octopus would start off with the murder of a baby, effectively showing the audience just how dangerous the creature would be going forward and from there, it takes down boats and people aplenty. There is an intrepid reporter who tries to get to the bottom of the story while also warning the public and soon it all falls to one man, a marine biologist and his pet orcas to save the day.

Directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis, the man offers only star power, as if that were enough to make a movie a movie. The story is not so much a jumbled mess as it is unfinished. The entire plot about the evil corporation creating this mutated octopus somehow just disappears by the time the film hits the third act, like it meant nothing at all. There was no payoff and nothing would come of it. As for Fonda, the man was basically sleeping while delivering his lines. There are better actors in Corman pictures than what Fonda brought to the table in this instance and that was a shame given what Assonitis must have paid the guy. John Huston was pretty good as the reporter, and Shelley Winters was present with little to do other than fill a role that anybody could play. Bo Hopkins would also star as the scientist with the pet killer whales and he makes for a decent hero, though his whales would do all the work while he simply hoped they would not swim away on him. Altogether, the cast was able and it was nice to see them in a picture such as this but the material would not live up to their talent and that was a bit of a shame.

The special effects, when needed, were good enough to make viewers believe that there was indeed a giant octopus and that would work in the movie’s favour. Assonitis would move things along at a decent enough pace that even given the weaknesses in the story, viewers would never find themselves bored or wondering what might come next. That being said, it was fairly obvious what was going to happen next in the film as the killer mollusc would continue to seek out victims who were disturbing its waters. One of the better scenes during the entire affair were those in the final act where the killer whales and the octopus were battling it out. It was not high art by any means but it was fun and sort of made up for all that came before it.

All of that being said, one has to forgive any deficiencies in the film as one knew exactly what they were getting into when they sat down to watch the movie. This is a picture about a giant octopus and if one wanted an Oscar-winning film, they came to the wrong place. Ultimately, it was not great but Tentacles was fun which in the end, is enough.

2 out of 5