Review of Octopus 2: River of Fear

"Octopus", released one year before, was a bad movie that wasted an hour and a half of my (not-so) precious life, so why the hell would I bother to see a sequel? Actually, I don't know why but I did bother. And I'm somewhat glad I did, because part two is definitely a slight improvement over the first! "Octopus" was a really boring underwater monster-movie and, in the end, a ridiculously over-sized sea creature ate an entire cruise ship! At least here the action is more spread, the pace is faster and the script is less ambitious. Part two is more like a silly & cheesy "Jaws"-rip off that can easily be enjoyed by horror fans as long as they switch off all brain functions. A couple of days prior to the big 4th of July celebration, there are an unusual amount of accidents happening in New York's East River. An over-enthusiast diver cop quickly suggests that a flesh-eating octopus made the river to his territory but, of course, no one in his force or at City Hall takes him serious. Apparently none of the characters ever watched any 70's creature features, as it takes several more casualties before the Captain acknowledges there really is an octopus swimming in his river. The phony sea-critter is pretty damn huge, yet the screenplay never attempts to give a reason for its enormous proportions. No water pollution theories, genetic mutations or leaking barrels of toxic waste here… Just a mean big squid sightseeing the Big Apple for no reason! Quite clever, actually! At least this way they're not making things any worse! The heroic scuba-cop and his fresh love interest eventually blow up the eight-armed monster (twice!!) just in time to enjoy the Independence Day fireworks. I love happy endings. The special effects are okay, I guess, considering it's a typical Nu-Image production. The acting performances are pretty weak and there should have been at least a bit of nudity. Near the end of the film, the story really exaggerates with the use of embarrassing clichés, though! An entire bus of foreign children trapped in an underwater tunnel? C'mon