Deep Blood

I like to think of myself as a bad movie connoisseur. I like to think that the films most people label as the worst of all time I can easily withstand.

But...there are exceptions. I can only recall three movies I have had the misfortune to see that I have repeatedly used the fast-forward button for large chunks of the story. Those movies are The Mighty Gorga, Night of the Seagulls, and this little crap, Deep Blood.

In the world of Jaws ripoffs, this falls off the scale. Deep Blood doesn't have the realistic storyline of the original Crocodile, nor the incredible effects of The Sea Serpent, nor the commentary of Tintorera. No, instead we are treated to a handful of teens from any random failed '80s public access sitcom battling bullies and the local sheriff.

Shark attacks are realized by quick cuts of documentary footage with actors thrashing about in the water, occasionally with a bit of what appears to be orange-ish paint thrown into the water. Not a minute of original shark footage exists in this celluloid waste dump.

Normally, I, or somebody like me, would read a dismal review like this one and say "cool, I gotta find a copy of this!" That's the same thought I had when I read another viewer's review on this very site. How wrong I was.

So...from one bad movie fan to another...let this collect dust on the shelf...grab Up From the Depths or The Great Alligator instead to satisfy your need for something evil lurking in the water.

Well... I just finished watching Cruel jaws and this movie popped up good ol' Deep Blood so what the heck, its Summer Time and time for Shark Movies!!!!

Now if you haven't seen the 'masterpiece' that is Cruel Shark, go give that a ride. BUT... do know.... that the end of Deep Blood is EXACTLY the same footage as the ending of Cruel Jaws... I mean EXACTLY!

I mean the Cruel Jaws was bad enough with stolen footage from a number of Jaws movies etc.... and now this movie steals the same ending as that!!!

I mean if you are into simply terrible shark movies, this is something to watch as was Cruel Jaws... but you don't have to watch the ending of this one because you will have already seen it!!!!

Deep Blood (1989)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Joe D'Amato's next to last horror film is yet another Italian rip off of Jaws. After a group of friends take a blood pack, their friendship is put to the test when one of them is eaten by a shark. This is without question the worst of the Italian rips I've seen but I do have two more coming to me. The film has one suspenseful moment, the first attack, but after that everything is pretty dull. There's not a fake shark used throughout the film. Instead we get stock footage of a real shark that naturally never matches up to watch we're seeing in the other footage. Since no fake shark is being used, all of the attacks are rather silly.

I recently watched the Italian film 🇮🇹 Deep Blood (1989) on Tubi. The story takes place in a small ocean town where people mysteriously go missing. A group of friends suspects the disappearances are due to shark attacks connected to an ancient Native American curse. Determined to stop the shark, they venture out to sea-unless the shark finds them first.

The film is co-directed by Raffaele Donato (in his only directorial credit) and Joe D'Amato (Death Smiles on a Murderer) and stars Cort McCown (Teen Wolf), Frank Baroni (Double Exposure), Laura Gemser (Black Emmanuel), Charlie Brill (Silk Stalkings), and Mitzi McCall (Crimson Peak).

Deep Blood is a blatant Jaws knockoff with almost no redeeming qualities. The shark footage is lifted from a National Geographic special, and the attack scenes are embarrassingly bad-basically people flailing in the water with red dye bubbling up around them. There is a mechanical shark that appears at the end, but it's underwhelming at best. The Native American curse subplot is unnecessary and absurd, adding nothing to the film.

In conclusion, Deep Blood is a low-budget Jaws rip-off that's not worth your time. I'd rate it 3/10 and recommend skipping it.

The Jaws rip off is the trashiest of the all the Italian 'genres', and director Joe D'Amato is second only to the great Jess Franco in the trash film production stakes. Put the two together and what do you get? A gigantic piece of trash, of course. Unfortunately it's not trash in the good sense of the word either, as Deep Blood delivers more in boredom than it does in hilarity. To the film's credit, it does actually attempt something bordering on a plot; but to take said credit away from the film - the plot is rubbish. It has something to do with a group of friends taking of an oath (of friendship) and then some Indian curse that manifests itself into a shark. Or at least I think that's what was going on. Anyway, the majority of the film is padded out with boring dialogue and 'drama', and the shark itself - which lets not forget, is the only thing we really want to see - finds itself in merely a cameo role. Or not even that since most the shark is actually stock footage! Despite being a trash genre, there are actually a lot of fun Jaws rip-offs; but with this one, Joe D'Amato makes it clear that he couldn't be bothered to even try, and the result is what must be the worst Italian shark movie of all time. Avoid this dross.