Tag Archives: giant octopus

Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

August 25, 2025 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Jason Statham versus megalodons and other aquatic monsters! Yay!

Starring Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Shuya Sophia Cai, Cliff Curtis, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta and Skyler Samuels. Written by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber and Dean Georgaris. Directed by Ben Wheatley.
Apelles Entertainment/China Media Capital/Flagship Entertainment Group/Gravity Pictures

Jonas Taylor (Statham), when he’s not doing eco-warrior stuff like exposing illegal radioactive waste dumping, is a committed single parent dad, who tells his daughter Meiying (Cai) that she can’t go on the upcoming submersible exploration of the prehistoric world that exists at the bottom of the nearby deep sea trench. Meiying stows away on one of the two mini subs anyway, so Jonas must do his best to keep her alive after their submersibles are put out of action by explosions triggered by an illegal mining operation overseen by a villain called Montes (Peris-Mencheta).

Jonas, his brother-in-law Zhang (played in a no-nonsense manner by Wu Jing), Meiying and the other sub survivors must now leave their wrecked craft and trudge across the ocean floor to seek a means of escape within the mining operation’s undersea base. This portion of the film is really enjoyable, with the scriptwriters throwing a lot of obstacles in the way of the characters, forcing them to exit their smashed-up subs after it’s disclosed that their backup rescue sub has been sabotaged by unknown betrayers, leaving them with no option but to don reinforced diving suits and start walking through a bioluminescent zone in the hope that the brightness will hide their helmet beams from the enormous megalodons swimming above them. After encountering a toothy eel/lamprey and other denizens of the deep, they find themselves having to take a risky shortcut through a dark valley as their air runs perilously low.

It’s then a race against time to get inside the secret base before prehistoric sharks or some equally prehistoric, toothy amphibious beasties get them! Even inside this base the threats continue, as Jonas has to battle the vicious Montes, water starts pouring into the place, and a supposedly friendly workmate at HQ jettisons escape capsules before the protagonists can use them to get to the surface. At one point Jonas even swims outside the base without a suit! One of the characters explains how it is possible for Jonas to do this (he has to expel all the air from his nostrils, etc), but I think the main reason Jonas can survive the powerful pressures at the bottom of the trench is because of one very important factor: he’s played by hardman Jason frickin’ Statham!

At one point Statham kicks a giant shark in the face! Yes!

As the story unfolds, MEG 2: THE TRENCH presents us with giant prehistoric sharks and other critters escaping into the upper ocean after explosions cause a breach in the cold water barrier that usually seals off the undersea lost world. The movie also mixes in armed merc bad guys, a semi-trained captive megalodon, and underhand characters who’re willing to kill their colleagues to cover up the fact they’re running a rare minerals mining set-up in the trench.

Toothsome amphibious salamander-critters are encountered in the trench, and they later reach the surface

Many critics and viewers have mercilessly ripped into this movie, but I think it’s a really enjoyable, fun creature flick! Any movie that begins with a prologue set in the Cretaceous Period, showing a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex getting munched by a megalodon (okay, I know megalodons didn’t exist during the age of the dinosaurs, but so what?) is obviously letting viewers know that they need to sit back and enjoy the monster antics coming up!

The movie starts off in the Cretaceous Period, and why not?

Director Ben Wheatley, better known for off-kilter, sometimes quirky, sometimes psychedelic low budget horror pics like KILL LIST (2011), SIGHTSEERS (2012), A FIELD IN ENGLAND (2013), and IN THE EARTH (2021), here goes into full blockbuster mode, presenting us with a mega-enjoyable third act that sees the tourists at the holiday resort of Fun Island getting attacked by super-sized sharks, a huge octopus, and swarms of smaller amphibious predators! There’s a fun shot seen from the inside of a megalodon’s mouth as it chows down on hapless swimmers, and there’s a gag where a tentacle disrupts a waterside wedding!

Statham on a jet ski, chased by monster sharks!

As the likeable main characters deal with gun-toting killers as well as the berserk beasts, lots are exciting (sometimes verging on silly) incidents are thrown at the screen: Statham hurling homemade spear-bombs at the monsters as he pilots a jet ski! A megalodon-vs-kraken fight! Undulating tentacles assaulting a helicopter! And, best of all, Statham using a broken helicopter rotor blade to skewer a megalodon through its open maw! Sweet!

Jonas lifts up a broken rotor blade... — Jonas lifts up a broken rotor blade…

...and he rams it through a megalodon's head! Sweet! — …and he rams it through a megalodon’s head! Sweet!

Don’t listen to the naysayers: just get a beer (or two), switch off your brain, and enjoy the on-screen antics! Colossal prehistoric sharks, a killer kraken, Statham being Statham, hordes of salamander monsters, and generous doses of action: what’s not to like?!

Tentacles (1977)

September 7, 2023 Ken Miller 2 Comments

Directed by Ovidio G. Assonitis, written by Jerome Max, Tito (ALIEN FROM THE DEEP) Carpi and Steven W. Carabatsos, starring John (THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE) Huston, Bo (MUTANT) Hopkins, Shelley (PETE’S DRAGON) Winters, Henry (THE SWARM) Fonda, Delia Boccardo, Cesare (VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS) Danova, Sherry (ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST) Buchanan and Claude (BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES) Akins.

People are being killed near a seaside town and marine biologist Will Gleason (Hopkins) and journalist Ned Turner (Huston) discover that the Trojan company, run by Mr Whitehead (Fonda), has been using ultrasonic drilling techniques, which have disturbed and enraged a giant octopus. With the death toll rising, Gleason, whose wife has been killed, finally uses two trained killer whales to take down the huge cephalopod.

TENTACLES, which was one of the many animal attack movies to come out after the success of JAWS, is laughed at and derided by many reviewers, who claim it is a really awful production.

A dead victim is pulled through the water with his feet in the air

But, and I really don’t fully know why, I (quite) like this cheese-tastic creature feature! I did see it in the theatre when it first came out, so I guess I’ve always retained a soft spot for it.

The score, by Stelvio Cipriani, is really nifty: full of harpsichords, plus some electronic music. To be honest, this soundtrack is far too good for the film!

Somehow the producers of this American-set Italian monster movie managed to snag John Huston, Henry Fonda, Shelly Winters and Bo Hopkins to appear in the film, with Hopkins and Huston coming across better onscreen compared to the others (though Huston does refer to the creature as a squid in one scene, rather than an octopus.)

Henry Fonda plays an unscrupulous businessman

The octopus attacks a boat — The octopus assaults a boat

Director Ovidio G. Assonitis, who also did uncredited work on PIRANHA II: THE SPAWNING, is no great talent, that’s for sure, but he does come up with some interesting stylistic choices, such as using still frames in a yacht attack sequence and doing some sequences without sound effects. He also manages to make the widescreen film look pretty good, considering it was produced on a low budget.

There’s an okay diving bell scene that has the giant octopus’ eye suddenly peering through the diving bell’s porthole, a decent nighttime attack on a boat stands out as one of the film’s better set pieces, plus an early sequence, where a child in a pushchair is unknowingly put in jeopardy, is pretty effective.

On the negative side, some plot threads are left dangling and most of the time the filmmakers merely use a real, normal-sized octopus to represent the monster, though prop tentacles and a prop octopus head & eye are featured sparingly. The film is also not very gory, unfortunately, and it ends with shots of a dead, real octopus being ripped to pieces by model killer whales!

So, if you go into this knowing it certainly has (a fair few) flaws, you might actually find the film watchable.

Here are various TENTACLES assets…

UK quad poster: I saw this double bill in the cinema!

Japanese poster painted by the late, great Noriyoshi Ohrai

Blu-ray cover art by Graham Humphreys for 88 Films

Impactful Brazilian artwork — Brazilian asset using Noriyoshi Ohrai’s artwork

One last look at the octopus…

The octopus sneaks up on a victim... — The octopus sneaks up on a victim…

Warlords of Atlantis (1978)

July 8, 2022 Ken Miller 2 Comments

British archaeologist Professor Aitken (Donald Bisset) and his son Charles (Peter Gilmore) hire Captain Daniels (Shane Rimmer) to take them to a particular area of the ocean so that they can use a diving bell designed by beefy engineer Greg Collinson (Doug McClure) to search for proof that the fabled city of Atlantis exists.

US one sheet. This is a pretty dynamic-looking poster!

Greg, Charles and several members of the ship’s mutinous crew end up deep down in a vast undersea cavern system, where they discover the lost civilisation of the Atlanteans, who are actually Martians that arrived on Earth, via a comet, back in prehistoric times.

Beast-battler supreme Doug McClure and Peter Gilmore — Beast-battler pro Doug McClure and Peter Gilmore

Written by Brian Hayles, who worked on numerous episodes of DOCTOR WHO, this period fantasy film has some quite interesting ideas hidden amongst the pulp-adventure action. The aliens, we discover, are influencing mankind, causing them to edge closer to devastating world wars in order to fast-track scientific advancement: one of the main characters (Gilmore) has visions of events that are yet to be, including marching Nazis, mass warfare, atomic bombs, and so on. A pretty cool scene.

The Atlantean elite try to persuade Charles to join them

There are some crude-but-nice matte paintings and the Atlantean warrior dudes in shiny helms that completely cover their faces look damn cool, but the main reason anyone tunes in to watch WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS is, let’s face it, to see the mutant monsters featured in the movie.

A trek through the (matte painting) caverns

The swamp-dwelling mogdaan, a kind of huge, finned eel-creature, is my favourite beast, bursting up through the muddy waters to menace the heroes.

The mogdaan lurks on the other side of the standing stones — The mogdaan lurks in the swamp on the other side of the standing stones

The lumpy-skinned, club-tailed, ankylosaur-like zaargs are also fun to watch as they attack one of the Atlantean cities.

A zaarg starts climbing up the city-fortress walls — A zaarg starts to scale the city-fortress walls

Zaargs must be good at climbing because these walls are pretty damn steep!

A zaarg gets up close and personal with some of the city's defenders — A zaarg gets up close and personal with some of the city’s defenders

The serpentine plesiosaur-type monster that menaces our heroes in the diving bell earlier in the story works better in close-up, when a full-scale model is used, rather than in long shot, where it looks rather unimposing.

The eel-like plesiosaur creature is far less effective seen in long shot... — The eel-like plesiosaur creature is far less effective seen in long shot…

...but the plesiosaur-beast works better as a full-scale monster when it pokes its head inside the diving bell — …but the plesiosaur-beast works better as a full-scale model monster, when it pokes its head inside the diving bell

There are some snapping fish too, that blast from the water to nibble at the escaping protagonists. These piscine predators are quite rubbery-looking, unfortunately, though there’s a briefly-seen, toothy critter that is also featured during the fish sequence: and that creature, though we only see its head, is rather more effective.

Toothy critter latches onto a character's leg — Toothy critter latches onto a character’s leg

And, of course, there’s the giant octopus that makes several appearances in the film. It has a well-textured skin and ain’t half bad to look at, especially when it attacks the ship at the end of the movie, to retrieve a stolen artefact.

The octopus retrieves the gold artefact…

...and trashes the ship — …and trashes the ship

John Richardson supervised the visual effects, which boast some really quite decent miniature work, and Roger Dicken created the movie’s menagerie of monsters. Actually, you can see Roger in the movie, playing one of the men defending the city’s ramparts during the zaarg assault!

Behind the scenes shot of Roger Dicken with one of the octopus models

A zaarg uses its big foot to smash through the wall — A zaarg uses its big foot to smash through the city wall

Directed by Kevin Connor and produced by Connor and John Dark, WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS also stars Michael (LIFEFORCE) Gothard, Lea Brodie, Robert (ONE MILLION YEARS BC) Brown, John (WARLORDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY) Ratzenberger, Daniel (THE VAULT OF HORROR) Massey and Cyd (BRIGADOON) Charisse. This modestly budgeted flick may not be a fantasy-adventure classic, but the film is definitely one of the better examples of the 70’s series of John Dark/Kevin Connor lost world-style productions (all of which featured Doug McClure): the others were THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, AT THE EARTH’S CORE and THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT.

Here are some posters…

German poster... featuring Harryhausen's Beast from 20,000 fathoms! — German poster… featuring Harryhausen’s Beast from 20,000 Fathoms!

A nice lookin' Thai poster — A nice lookin’ Thai poster

UK quad poster: Arabian Adventure/Warlords of Atlantis double bill

Belgian poster... featuring a giant crab, a spike-backed sauropod, the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms... and an Aztec temple! — Belgian poster… featuring a giant crab, a spike-backed sauropod, the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms… and an Aztec temple!

Some lobby cards…

VHS and DVD covers…

German VHS cover, partly based on Tom Chantrell's artwork created for the UK VHS cover — German VHS cover, partly based on Tom Chantrell’s artwork created for the UK VHS cover

Some publicity shots featuring Lea Brodie and the octopus…

She's a sucker for octopi — She’s a sucker for octopi

A tentacle-tastic duo — A tentacle-tastic shot of a girl and her octopus

Finally, here’s some pre-production art created for the film…

Production designer Maurice George Carter produced watercolour concept art for WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS (in 1976).

Initially, it seems, a squid was going to attack the ship, rather than an octopus. But even after the squid was replaced with an octopus in the movie, this squid imagery was used in some of the artwork for various posters and VHS covers (including Tom Chantrell’s UK VHS cover painting).

This watercolour concept of an Aztec-style pyramid-temple ultimately never found its way into the final film, but it did find its way onto some of the poster artwork, including the Belgian poster…

Maurice George Carter's painting of an Atlantean temple — Maurice George Carter’s painting of an Atlantean temple

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)

October 29, 2021 Ken Miller Leave a comment

The atomic submarine Seaview must race across the oceans to fire a nuclear missile into the Van Allen belt, which is on fire and threatening all life on Earth. The hope is that the nuclear explosion will put out the burning belt!

Starring Walter (FORBIDDEN PLANET) Pidgeon, Peter (THE RAVEN) Lorre, Joan (THE WITCHES) Fontaine, Barbara (7 FACES OF DR. LAO) Eden and Frankie Avalon, this Irwin Allen production features silly science (the Van Allen belt catches ‘fire’ and ice blocks sink, etc) but it is full of incident! There’s sabotage, a fight with a squid, an encounter with a giant octopus in the Mariana Trench, a sequence in an undersea minefield and a torpedo attack by a pursuing sub.

The undersea minefield sequence is pretty tense

Peter Lore has a smoke — Peter Lorre has a smoke

Walter Pidgeon and Peter Lore have a smoke — Walter Pidgeon and Peter Lorre both have a smoke

Unlike the TV series that followed, there’s a lot of conflict between Admiral Nelson, Captain Crane and the crew members, with a mutiny narrowly averted. At one point Admiral Nelson does a ‘Patton’ and slaps a junior member of the crew (Avalon) for malingering.

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA is certainly a colourful flick. I especially like the shot of New York bathed in the red hot glow of the burning sky, plus the moody view of the undersea minefield vista looks pretty good.

This film also, of course, introduced us to the super-cool Seaview submarine!

Can Miguel Alvarez (far right), played by Michael Ansara, be trusted?

Barbara Eden and Michael Ansara were a couple in real life

The film’s world-in-peril plot hints at Irwin Allen’s interest in the disaster genre he would become closely associated with in the future, with the likes of THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974) and WHEN TIME RAN OUT (1980).