Tintorera: Killer Shark

Tintorera: Killer Shark (1977) 

Runtime: I saw the 85 minute version rather than the 126 (!) minute one

Directed by: Rene Cardona, Jr.

Starring: Hugo Stiglitz, Andres Garcia, Susan George, Fiona Lewis, Eleazar Gonzalez

From: Concacite Uno/Productora Filmica Real

A film about two cads cavorting around a seaside Mexican town... where a Tiger Shark shows up once in a blue moon.

For years I have known of this movie; the fact that there are different cuts of it all there (some over 2 hours long!) and most of the ones on YouTube looked poor and/or were in the wrong aspect ratio. Eventually I figured this would be given a shot; after all, Scorpion Releasing put it on Blu. Well, last night on MGMHD they showed the 85 minute cut so this was the opportune time, and... if only the titular killer shark would have been present more often. The director was Rene Cardona, Jr. so of course the star was obvious; those two have made more movies together than Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.

Much of this is Hugo Stiglitz (a Mexican playing an American) and Andres Garcia (a Mexican playing a Mexican) feuding then suddenly starting a bromance in what seemed like a few days as they both sleep around and bed several women-at times even developing a polyamorous relationship-including Susan George. There is plenty of nudity, male and female; it was not the plan to see two motion pictures in a row that had a copious amount of this, but it happened. There's also disco music, Stiglitz cooking eggs in the morning while being buck naked except for an apron... and once in a long while a shark shows up. There is much more of those two cads than the aquatic horrors; that's the case until this nears the end. At least the shark footage doesn't look bad-and the same goes for the underwater footage-yet the finale comes across as... limp & out to sea... to its credit, one of the attacks was done quite well.

It did start to drag in the back half so this only gets a “meh” rating from me. That said, there are no regrets finally giving this a shot; besides there being plenty of worse shark films out there, I could laugh about the disco music or all the debauchery the two lead men engaged in or how many scenes had one or both in Speedos. All the moments where aquatic life is either shot with a spear gun or clubbed... I could have done without that and you have been warned.