Film Review: BARRACUDA (1978)

Killer aquatic fish movies are nothing new since Jaws (1975) opened the floodgate which is how we got the 1978 film Barracuda.  This oddity has more in common with Piranha (1978) than with Jaws but its influences from both films are all over the place. 

What’s more dangerous – a great white shark, piranha, or barracuda (not to mention the plethora of other aquatic wildlife)?  It doesn’t matter as this film is more concerned with a government conspiracy cover up that causes barracuda to have a taste for human blood.  A lone marine biologist from the university thinks toxic waste is the cause of the barracuda striking out against man and he has only a small amount of time before no one is safe in the waters.

After the wake that was Jaws a lot of knock-off killer animal films were produced of which this one is not memorable. With the dated costumes and hairstyle the film has little to offer to a modern day audience. Even the story has been done better a thousand times over (just watch any Syfy Original film and you’ll see).  The acting is subpar even from the standpoint of a ‘70s film.  The barracuda FX are about on par with that of the original Piranha.

For many, such as me, Barracuda is this oddity from the ‘70s that I’d heard about but never had the opportunity to ever see because of it being over shadowed by Jaws and Piranha (and a few others).   It has been forgotten by most except for those who happen to be aware of its existence but you’re not missing anything if you haven’t heard nor seen this film.  It’s probably better if it stays forgotten.