Orca: The Killer Whale (1977)

Director: Michael Anderson

Starring: Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson

A hunter squares off against a killer whale seeking vengeance for the death of its mate.

Well, if there’s too many shark movies around, I suppose you opt for a killer whale movie instead, making ‘Orca’ feel like a cross between ‘Jaws’ and ‘Moby Dick’.

When a female killer whale is shot and captured and her unborn fetus dies, the male killer whale is out for revenge. I suppose one could therefore view this as a vengeance movie. For animal lovers, some scenes are disturbing and heartbreaking to watch. (I just hope no whales were harmed during the making of this movie!).

Richard Harris is the film’s heroin, Captain Nolan, but I found him too passive a character. Charlotte Rampling as Rachel was a much stronger character. Being super intelligent, the whale ‘marked’ it’s victim, and started terrorizing him, even when ashore. This lead to a few very good scenes and action sequences, as the whale wreaked havoc on the harbour, and I found the film’s first and second act exciting. The destruction of the seafront house was amazing.

Unfortunately the third act slows down significantly, as we follow Captain Nolan, Rachel, and some crew members pursuing the whale, who leads them to the icy waters of Canada. Even the fact they were running out of fuel, did not convince Nolan to stop pursuing the whale. This was selfish, inconsiderate, and downright immature considering he was a sea captain, with no consideration for those along for the ride. It was clearly a suicide mission and not believable.

This last act was slow with the characters making questionable decisions. The film also didn’t have the ending I was hoping for. If you’re into these sort of films, rather watch ‘Jaws’.

Would I watch it again? No.