New to DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K in the UK this week, courtesy of StudioCanal, is the adventure-horror movie, Orca: The Killer Whale. Directed by Michael Anderson, and originally released in 1977, the movie stars Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling and tells the story of a killer whale on a murderous rampage.
In the movie, Captain Nolan and his crew hunt and capture marine animals for money. During a recent hunt for a great white shark, one of Nolan’s crew gets into trouble and is nearly killed.
The man is saved by an orca, who intervenes and kills the shark. This suddenly switches Nolan’s attention to whales, which he sees as a more profitable pursuit.
After tracking down a pod of whales, Nolan attempts to harpoon a male orca, but injures a pregnant female instead. Bringing her on board his ship, Nolan and his crew watch as she miscarries, angering and upsetting the male orca in the process.
Enraged, the male orca locks eyes on Nolan, makes him a target, and seeks blood-thirsty revenge. Meanwhile, Nolan becomes traumatised by what has transpired and begins to question his work.
Released two years after Jaws, and put into production to essentially cash in on the shark movie’s success, it is fair to say Orca: The Killer Whale has never reached the same heights as the Steven Spielberg classic. Not only did Orca: The Killer Whale not make the same kind of money as Jaws, nor did it have the same cultural impact, but in comparison it is a largely forgotten movie which is only remembered by dedicated film fans.
Yet, while Orca: The Killer Whale may not be the Citizen Kane of killer killer whale movies, the film is not without its charms. It looks good, features some decent special effects, and doesn’t hold back on the horror.
The scene involving the female orca is particularly gruesome and is accompanied by some ear-piercing sounds that remain in the mind long after the scene ends. So, purely from a horror point of view, Orca: The Killer Whale has its moments.
It’s also fair to say the film benefits from some strong visual effects. All of the whale scenes hit their mark, and the underwater photography is great.
Where the film falls down is in the obvious comparisons to Jaws and the simple fact the plot of Orca: The Killer Whale is completely bonkers. The story positions the orca as a sort of aquatic version of Paul Kersey from Death Wish, and this alone is frankly quite bizarre.
Orca: The Killer Whale also lacks any real suspense, which is odd considering how closely aligned with Jaws it is. If that movie could manage suspense in boat loads, then this one should at least offer a dinghy-sized amount of suspense, but alas, no.
Thankfully the lack of suspense doesn’t impact the finale, which is pretty good regardless, and after an hour-and-a-half it all comes down to a battle between man V fish. It’s visually appealing stuff, which is ultimately the big selling point.
Orca: The Killer Whale is flawed, and there is no getting around this, but it is enjoyable in places and if you’ve watched Jaws 975 times since 1975, then it might make a change to watch something different.
Extras on this home video release include an interview and four art cards. The DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K is in the shops now!
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