The classic Jaws (1975) has a lot of things to answer for, people became terrified of sharks but much, much worse people began making poorly made killer fish movies to try and cash in. Not all such movies were awful, Piranha (1978) was a decent movie in my opinion, but Up From The Depths is no Piranha, it is barely a guppy! This is a bad movie, but there is hope, this is so bad it's actually very good, indeed it's quite entertaining!
The plot, such as it is, revolves around a killer fish and a "luxury" hotel run by a man in a pink suit, a man that makes Basil Fawlty appear composed and professional. This killer fish has arisen from the depths due to seismic activity and it is angry and hungry. It begins attacking and devouring people, the remains of which wash up at the luxury hotel much to the chagrin of our pink suited hotel manager. Eventually things get so bad people take the law into their own hands and hunt the man eater. Will anyone survive? Will anyone watching this movie care? Doubtful.
I am not going to mince my words, this is an awful movie but it is not without virtues. The first thing that struck me is that the films sound, namely the actors voices, have been dubbed. According to a reviwer on IMDB who had an involvement with the movie, this was because the sound track was lost. As a result some of the cast had to try and remember lines, with much ad libing being the end result. Whether this is true or not there is no doubting the dialogue is quite often bizarre. The special effects are equally bizarre, the fish looks goofy, and when it kills someone all you see is the water go a cloudy red. The acting is dreadful, the scenery is chewed up, and the best of the worst is the wonderful performance in overacting provided by the pink suited hotel manager.
1 out of 10 (as a horror movie)
7 out of 10 (as a comedy)
Summary: This film is bad, but it's bad enough to be good. Only watch if you are a bad movie connoisseur.