Barracuda

I would love to hear the story behind how Barracuda got made. My guess is this: someone penned a land-based thriller entitled "The Lucifer Project" (which is the movies' subtitle) that was about a government conspiracy to control the populace through blood sugar manipulation. The film started pre-production, but someone said "hey, this movie called 'Jaws' was really successful three years ago and now I hear this new one called 'Piranha' is also going to do well. How about we change the title to 'Barracuda' and throw in a few scenes of hypoglycemic fish attacking divers to see if we can make more money".

The fish stuff really is that obvious of an afterthought.

If you attempt to watch Barracuda seriously, it's incredibly bad on many levels: cheesy acting, bizarre plot twists, a hilariously inept police force (complete with the fat comedy relief character) and an ending scene that strives hard for the bleakness that was so fashionable in the late 70s but only ends up being kind of funny instead.

But I will say this, if you're looking for a movie to put on with friends, maybe with a little drink, and run your own MST3K style commentary over the top, Barracuda is an absolute gem. My wife and I had a riot watching it. Unlike a lot of the intentionally bad SyFy channel movies (like Sharknado) that come across as manipulative attempts to draw crowds through corniness, Barracuda is an *actual* bad movie, not a manufactured one, and thus is much more charming and fun to experience.

A top secret government experiment leads to fatal barracuda attacks on the beaches of a small coastal town formerly renowned for its lobster. University biologist (Crawford) and sheriff (William Kerwin) uncover a plot involving a mentally unstable former war-medic (Evers) pioneering research into hyperglycemia and the effect on human behaviour. Compelling on a small scale, with some effective shocks and special effects, "Barracuda" unfortunately spends too little time underwater with its title stars; in point of fact, the last third of the film plays out on land, focused firmly on the conspiracy theories and intrigue.

Crawford is affable if unconvincing, and he rejoins regular co-stars the Kerwin brothers to write, produce and direct this b-grade thriller. Playboy bunny Leighton isn't the typical victim-based leading lady, and has her share of the spoils, while veteran tough guy Freed is largely wasted in an underdeveloped supporting role, with a retarded son whose character literally fades out without explanation after being prominent throughout the first half. Evers is the real asset to the acting ranks, portraying a distant, unbalanced patriot whose purpose and conviction is dangerously misguided, leading to his own personal tragedy.

Crawford – who also undertook the underwater directing – does a capable job with the toothy critters, and it's just a shame that they are absent for most of the second half. The scene in which the beach walker's dog retrieves the severed head of a scuba diver is memorable, and there's the occasional dismembered limb amid a watery cloud of claret to satisfy the appetite for gore. Audiences accustomed to upbeat conclusions will be disappointed, although Cliff Emmich does manage some light relief as the lazy, obese and apparently narcoleptic deputy sheriff throughout the film. A potentially interesting idea, just a great pity more time wasn't dedicated to the barracuda themselves, who despite their rather innocuous reputation, still look fierce enough to substitute for sharks in this familiar role.

The main reason why I often enjoy imitations and cheap rip-offs more than the original they're inspired by is because the people behind it are so much more shameless and extravagant with their ideas. Spielberg's landmark classic "Jaws" spawned a copious number of imitations and suddenly nearly every type of sea animal – whether genetically altered or not – at one point during the seventies got depicted as an unstoppable killing machine. Not just every possible species of sharks, but also piranhas, octopuses, whales and even barracudas. This one, however, isn't exactly the "Jaws" rip-off you'd suspect it to be. If anything, it's actually more of a "Piranha" copy and not nearly as trashy and/or mindlessly entertaining as I hoped. The script tries to be a little too clever, creative and mysterious even though the outcome of the story is pretty obvious right from the beginning. I, for one, think the writers/directors duo Harry Kerwin and Wayne Crawford perhaps should have opted for a cheesy good old-fashioned creature feature rather than a pseudo-intellectual piece of eco-horror. "Barracuda" nevertheless opens promisingly with moody underwater images guided by creepy musical tunes, immediately followed by a scene of two divers getting virulently attacked by the titular creatures. There's something fishy – pun intended – going on in a little coastal town. Simultaneously with a couple of bizarre and unsolved diving accidents, a marine biologist discovers dangerous chemicals in the water, probably coming from Poppa Jack's plant nearby. Likely, the chemicals turn the barracudas into ravenous killers and even appear to negatively affect the townspeople that consume locally caught fish. The middle-section is intolerably boring, mainly because you're completely unprepared for the switch towards a slow and talkative film, and "Barracuda" eventually ends as a full-blooded political conspiracy thriller. The killer barracudas don't even get mentioned or shown anymore. This is a textbook case of misleading – or even downright false – advertisement, really. The alternate title for this film is "The Lucifer Project" and at least that one immediately gives a far more accurate small description of what to expect. Of course, the title "Barracuda" accompanied by a bloody drawing of a sharp-teethed fish devouring a human head attracts a lot more horror fans. Shame.

When I put Barracuda on Netflix Streaming after getting home from a long train trip, I was not expecting much, just your basic Jaws rip off with some cheap gore. To my surprise, although it was definitely a cash in on Spielberg's epic, it was still a fun, interesting movie.

The plot, at least initially, is what you'd expect. Killer barracuda suddenly begin attacking swimmers at a Florida beach, sparking an investigation by a local sheriff and a scientist. Things get interesting when the investigation uncovers a conspiracy.

Barracuda delivers all the gore you would expect from a Jaws knock off, but it also features elements that raise it to above average status. In particular, the scientist protagonist acts like an actual scientist, rather than the typical doom sayer we see in these movies. He initially expresses skepticism that barracuda could be behind all of the attacks and looks for evidence, like a real scientist.

Some reviewers have complained that the conspiracy angle crowds out the barracuda in the second half of the film, which has an element of truth. Still, the plot remains interesting, and the gore in the first half of the film more than suffices.

Barracuda: The Lucifer Project is a movie with a social message that has its potentials but fails to realize them due to its pedestrian acting and mediocre directing. The plot is similar to that of Piranha but the suspense is barely existent, not to mention the lame special effects created for the barracuda attacks. Another thing that may make viewers dislike the movie is its downbeat ending, which I personally do not mind. Despite all that, the forbidding music helps to elevate the occasional suspense.

The plot tells about mutant barracudas violently attacking swimmers and divers in the seas near the shores of a US coastal town. A young marine biologist and a local town sheriff try to uncover the mystery that involves shady medical experiments related to government projects.

Viewers expecting to find another Jaws-like excitement will be sorely disappointed. The second half of the film diverts its plot from the barracuda attacks to unraveling the mystery of the attacks. From that point till the end of the film the narrative takes a different route to deliver the "excitement" through lots of dialogues and very little action to the point of leaving the main conflicts in the story unresolved!

With the rather unsuitable title, it was obvious that the film-makers wanted to cash in on the success of Jaws. Who would have wanted to watch this had it been called "The Lucifer Project"? Anyways, the film went into obscurity.

Barracuda belongs to the B-movie category and is watchable enough for those who are into low budget nature-gone-wild flicks. Because of its loose ending, it should have been made into a sequel.