Kino Lorber
As Steven Spielberg broke through the mainstream and truly made a name for himself with 1975’s Jaws, the film’s success not only made people terrified of swimming in the ocean, it also made studios hungry for revenue like, well, sharks smelling blood in the water.
It was therefore inevitable that imitators would soon surface, and thus the dubious subgenre of Jawsploitation was born, and to say there has been an onslaught of Jaws ripoffs in the 50 years since Spielberg’s masterpiece would be an understatement.
The majority of the films that have followed in the gilded slipstream of Jaws have often been obvious copies of the original, and while these films are rarely good, there are nonetheless a few gems worth revisiting.
In 1977’s Orca, the tables are somewhat turned in the waters off Newfoundland, as the eponymous aquatic creature only sets its sights on humans thanks to the reckless actions of Captain Nolan (Richard Harris), which results in a female orca being fatally wounded, leaving her bereaved mate intent on revenge.
As the clever whale stalks Nolan and his crew, limbs and lives are lost to its relentless quest, and Nolan must join forces with cetologist Rachel Bedford (Charlotte Rampling) and Mi’kmaq hunter Jacob Umilak (Will Sampson) if he wants to outsmart the orca and live to tell the tale.
Harris and Rampling need no introduction thanks to their illustrious careers, both delivering solid performances that elevate the film in general, and Harris’ portrayal of Nolan in particular is written and performed with enough ambiguity and depth to allow the viewer to invest in him in spite of his carelessness being the catalyst for the mayhem that ensues.
There are good set pieces here, offering pockets of suspense and spectacle, and while orcas indeed are incredibly smart mammals, some suspension of disbelief is still required, however, as the relentlessness of the orca and its meticulous approach to revenge gives the film a much needed air of madcap.
Outside of the set pieces, however, the film does occasionally drag due to its contrast between serious character moments and the unhinged behavior of the orca, and this imbalance results in Orca not possessing the same timeless quality as Jaws due to the filmmaking techniques utilized, just as the production design leaves a bit to be desired at times.
The choice to include voice-over throughout the film is also to its detriment, as it dates the film somewhat, just as voiceover in general seldomly has a positive effect on viewer engagement.
Other than that, the film’s biggest issue is that it takes itself a little too seriously in spite of flirting with camp throughout its duration, and it would have suited it better to wholly commit to either one or the other.
As such, when you hold Orca up against Jaws, the latter easily wins out in terms of suspense and filmmaking prowess, which hardly comes as a surprise considering the pop cultural longevity of Spielberg’s opus, however, Orca is still a perfectly good candidate if you want a nautical adventure thriller that is more Jaws than Sharknado.
Extras include commentaries and trailer.
6 out 10
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