[HorrorScience] Orca, the killer whale (1977)

In 1975 Shark (Jaws) by Steven Spielberg was a monumental success, winning 3 Oscars (editing, soundtrack and sound), in addition to being nominated for an Oscar for best film, which One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest finally won.

When something is successful it is inevitable that copies will appear and with Shark That was no exception, since even today the “aquatic horror” genre that was practically born with that film continues to be exploited (at least on a large scale).

Orca, The Killer Whale (Orca: The Killer Whale) appeared in the summer of 1977 trying to follow in the footsteps of Jaws, and obviously didn't get too far. I remember seeing this movie available in the video store as a child and that it was sometimes shown on television (in the summer, of course), but I never decided to watch it, considering that it was ridiculous to see a copy of Jaws (something that unfortunately did not stop me from watching the Jaws sequels and many other similar films). For some reason this movie was always a pending account until today, when I decided to see it for the first time, to see if I was faced with something decent or a piece of garbage that would steal a couple of hours of my time.

The film begins with Captain Nolan and his crew trying to capture a great white shark for an aquarium, something that will earn them a large sum of money. When it finally seems that it is going to capture its prey, the shark is attacked by an orca that easily destroys it in front of the entire crew.

Impressed by the animal, Nolan decides to take classes from a biologist named Rachel, who seems to specialize in marine animals. Nolan will try to overcome his ignorance about the animal, although he also does not believe that orcas have as many capabilities as Rachel makes her believe. Eventually Rachel will discover that Nolan plans to capture an orca to make money, and warns him not to do it, as it is too high a risk for everyone.

Finally, Nolan and his crew find a group of orcas and catch one of them, which, trying to free itself, is cut by the ship's propeller, revealing in front of everyone that she was pregnant and about to have her calf. Terrified by that image, Nolan throws the calf overboard under the watchful gaze of the male and tries to take the female orca, which, despite being badly injured, is still alive. Shortly after, his boat will begin to suffer attacks from the male orca, who seeks revenge for the previous events. Because of this, Nolan decides to free the female orca, but after doing so a member of his crew dies from the attack of the male.

The female orca dies, and appears on the shore of the beach near where Nolan leaves his boat, which makes the fisherman begin to believe that the animal not only recognizes him, but wants to take revenge on him.

With the orca prowling the coast, fishing begins to become scarce and due to the violent nature of the animal (which does not hesitate to hole boats) the town's fishermen find themselves out of work, so they pressure Nolan to finish what he started. At that moment, Nolan feels afraid of the animal, which does not hesitate to stare at him from the beach, but he also begins to feel sorry for him, since Nolan also lost his wife and son years ago due to an accident.

Nolan decides to ignore the pressure (and threats) of his colleagues and stay on the ground, but the situation becomes untenable when the animal destroys his house and attacks his crew.

Finally, Nolan assumes that even if he doesn't want to, he has to make the animal stop harassing him and attacking his loved ones and decides to go with his boat to the same point where he killed the pregnant orca to, finally, have the final duel with his nemesis.

There is no doubt that this film is a product created to try to follow in the footsteps of Shark (1975) and obviously it is very far from Spielberg's film. However, I do find it much better than some of its sequels, such as Shark 3 (1983) and Shark Revenge (1987). Curiously, the latter has a very similar story Orca: Killer whale.

Yes in Shark we had three protagonists totally opposite to each other: Brody (a police chief who moves to an island for the well-being of his family, despite the fact that he is afraid of the water), Hooper (a boy from a rich family who has studied at the best universities and lived among cotton) and Quint (a foul-mouthed and lonely sailor who holds a huge grudge against sharks) who finally put their differences aside to collaborate, in Orca the entire plot focuses on Nolan, who begins the film as a kind of light version of Quint (foul-mouthed, arrogant), but who, after seeing the Orcas in action, decides to go to a professional to learn about them (and there goes the small bit of Hooper) to finally "skin" himself layer by layer in the face of the unusual situation he is experiencing, which in addition to affecting his loved ones, has brought out his fears, to the point that he does not dare to go hunt the animal until the situation is unsustainable, because after all it is his responsibility (just as it was with Brody). Nolan goes one step further and reaches the point where his sanity is doubted, not because he is facing the Orca, but because from the beginning it seems clear that he knows that he is not going to return from that duel.

I think Richard Harris does a good job of showing Nolan as an idiot in the first part of the film, and then humanizing him as the scenes go by. In another film, the sailor would have gone to confront the Orca at the first opportunity. However, Nolan responds in a more credible way, since after assuming the implausible situation he is experiencing, he decides that he is not going to risk his life in a duel that he would obviously lose.

It must also be made clear that, if the film depends on one character, it is because the rest are extremely simple and even ridiculous (the Native American fulfilling all possible clichés). I have to admit, however, that Annie's “accident” hurt my soul.

However, Nolan ends up accepting his responsibility, but not for reasons of self-improvement or revenge, but because the rest of the town does not allow him or his friends to have a normal life, since the animal begins to appear around, since fishing has scared them away and none of them can earn a living. The entire town believes that Nolan has to risk his life to confront the animal, going so far as to threaten to harm his loved ones, something that will end up happening but at the hands of the Orca. The fact of having the entire town against him and giving in to social pressure (and the unpleasant events caused by the animal) reminds me of the pressure that Police Chief Brody had to endure on Amity Island, as he wanted to close the beaches, but the mayor and the influential people in the town did not allow it so as not to lose money.

In Shark It was easy to position yourself in the place of the protagonists. In Killer whale It is much more difficult to take a side. The film positions you on the side of the animal (which is interesting, although it sounds like cheap environmentalism), and keeps you on that side until halfway through, more or less, when we learn about Nolan's past (the loss of his wife and future child) and the economic motivation that led him to hunt animals (pay off the debts he has and that he inherited with his late uncle's boat). It makes you feel sorry for him, since he not only admits his initial mistake, showing a humble and sentimental side, but he bears the contempt of all the fishermen and the death (or mutilation) of his loved ones. When Nolan decides to go in search of the Orca, assuming that it will be his last boat trip (he doesn't say it, but you can tell) it's very difficult to decide on a side and I think that's great.

I have to admit that I not only found the film very enjoyable (despite its simple plot), but that I liked it more than expected. However, there have been some moments where I think it got out of hand, and that can knock you out of the movie. In the film we assume that the Orca can recognize Nolan and his boat, that he is aware that this man has killed his family and that he is seeking revenge. So far so good, it is a necessary part of the story and I can believe it. However, when we see that the orca is capable of knowing where Nolan lives, of collapsing his house and even starting a voluntary fire, I think we have crossed the line between "not credible but acceptable" and "absurd." Curiously, the final part of the film also shows the orca doing things that border on my limit of “voluntary credibility”, but the thing about the fire seems excessively absurd and comical at the same time.

I would also like to mention that the special effects are pretty good. The “fake” orca is well done and the scenes of real orcas taken from documentaries or archival footage, as well as those shot for the film using a real rock, are of sufficient quality to be enjoyed.

Summing up, Orca, the killer whale It's not as bad as I thought, it even has very interesting things. It is one of the most entertaining copies of Jaws that I have seen and that is saying a lot. Any fan of Spielberg's film can have a good time with this film, as long as they accept its premise from the beginning.

Curiosities about the movie.

• The data given about orcas are either false or exaggerated, they are not even whales, as the title says and is constantly repeated throughout the film.
• Richard Harris did his own stunts.
• The fake orcas created for the film were so realistic that some animal rights activists mistook them for real orcas and there were complaints during the filming of the film.
• El tiburón de la primera escena fue capturado por el submarinista y experto en tiburones Ron Taylor, quien ya había trabajado con Steven Spielberg en Shark (1975).