Orca (1977)
I don't know if you guys are familiar with a little film called Jaws but... Kidding, everyone knows about the iconic shark movie. When Jaws came out, it spawned an era of animal/natural horror films that were attempting to cash in on the popularity of the film. Most failed spectacularly, and Orca is no different. I feel bad because I know star Richard Harris had a wonderful time making this movie and it's not exactly a copy of Jaws or anything, it's just awful, and reaaaaallly has not aged well.
The film follows a marine hunter, Captain Nolan, who is on a mission to capture a great white shark for an aquarium to get enough money to return to his home in Ireland. While attempting to catch a shark, one of his crewmates is thrown overboard and targeted by the shark, only to be saved by a female Orca whale. Instead of being thankful for the whale's help, Nolan decides to try to capture her for the aquarium. Bringing her aboard their ship causes her to miscarry and die. As Nolan's crew released the corpses back into the sea, the heartbroken mate/father is watching and attempts to kill the crew. The whale begins sinking ships in the area and causing trouble for the town. This results in a battle between man and whale.
So as heartbreaking as the beginning is, and you really do feel for the whale and despise Captain Nolan, the rest of the film is so non-sensical and corny that it's hard to take it seriously. It's like how in Jaws: The Revenge, the shark follows the family to the Bahamas; it's so hard to believe that this animal is going to follow a specific person around and attempt to murder them. I know whales are exceptionally emotionally intelligent, but there's a limit. It's so hard to believe that it really makes the whole movie just... not scary.
This movie isn't even so-bad-it's-good worth watching; it's just bad. I do know of people who enjoy this movie for its badness, but I am not one of them. If you're into crappy animal horror movies, maybe check it out, but I think this one is a reasonable skip.
Netflix available: No
Hulu available: No
Xfinity available: Yes, for a fee
Amazon prime available: Yes, for a fee
Rating: 1.5/5