Tintorera - Tiger Shark Reviews

I expected a Jaws clone and got a movie about threesomes. After I got over the initial shock I actually found Tintorera to be a sweet, almost classy, little male fantasy. Tintorera is actually a sex/beach-flick, and thus perfectly captures the feel of the seventies take on sexual revolution; an era of hedonistic disco parties, sexual experimentation and short, loveless sexual encounters. Rene Cardona Jr. regular Hugo Stiglitz looks great as a wealthy boy on vacation, Esteban, who "finds himself" in a three part relationship with the cute Gabrielle and his former sexual competitor Miguel, the Shark hunter. Meanwhile the feared Tintorera, a big-ass tiger shark, is having a feast on the sexed-out beach community. The "f***-and-die" concept, usually seen in slasher films, is clearly visible and you could say that Tintorera's attack on the swimmers are really an attack on the sexual revolution. If you want cheese you'll have no trouble finding it (the Darth Vader-like breathing of Tintorera or the underwater conversations between Esteban and Miguel directly springs to mind...), but don't look to hard since the larger parts of the movie is actually pretty well-made and totally undeserving of its bad reputation (which I think is more due to the whole idea of a shark/sex movie, than the movie itself). Chances are you might actually enjoy it, as I did.

Also, if you are a gay man interested in exploitation cinema you are bound to like it: the homosexual overtones between Esteban and Miguel are painfully obvious and there are numerous shots of Hugo Stiglitz cute little ass.

Like in JAWS and so many other international knock-offs, TINTORERA finds another summer hotspot terrorized by a giant man-eating shark, this time off of the coast of Mexico. Two experienced shark hunters are left to give up their vacationing plans in order to stop the beast before it can make a mess out of more of the locals. René Cardona Jr. directs this questionable Horror film, which is remembered more for its frequent sexcapades and abusive scenes of animal cruelty against live sharks than anything else. The lovely Susan George pairs up with Hugo Stiglitz and Andrés García as shark hunters Steve and Miguel, whose passionate love triangle consumes most of the film. A 5-foot tiger shark is filmed in forced-perspective to give the illusion of our 7-foot killer, ripping the organs out of some convincing-looking dummies in several blood-soaked scenes. The beautiful cinematography both above and below the water adds to the cool island aesthetic. Cardona would head back in to deadly waters in the 1978 shocker CYCLONE, though CYCLONE would suffer from the same slow pace before reaching its gory climax.

OMG! This was terrible. I have seen the Jaws film series and countless ripoffs after that film's success but this is absolutely awful. Director Rene Cardona Jr. who did the exploitation trash Guyana! Cult of the Damned is responsible for this dull ripoff.Tintorera is a movie that moves at a very slow pace and it's under 90 minutes! No real shark action starts after the 20 minute mark where it totally ripsoff the opening sequence of Jaws of the woman swimming naked and being attacked by the shark and her lover is passed out(how original.).The plot, well think of the movie Summer Lovers-sans the shark, mind you. Exotic locale, and switch it from 2 girls and a guy to 1 girl and two guys. The movie spends most of its running time on this menage a trois instead of the shark and a terrible anti-climax. Susan George, a talented actress is here on a paid vacation cause no acting is required(she got a good tan out of this film.)Plenty of T&A to keep the audience awake and for those born in the 80's and 90's here's your chance to see the swinging 70's on film.

Threeomes and sharks. In Mexico! What more could you want from a movie? It is said to be more respected than JAWS in Mexico, not sure if I agree but the film has some of the most realistic shark attacks outside of the CGI world.

plenty of nudity for sure...not much shark and kind of weird bouncing slowpaced storyline

It's pretty bad but it's a Mexican version of Jaws so you won't be disappointed by these countries crossing illegal aliens...Trying to rip-off Jaws in everyway but adding nudity and gore and a shit load of stock footage of sharks prowling the seas.
My DVD came from Sweden not long ago and I have been waiting to finally see it and I have a Mexican poster hanging above my wall next to my original Battle Royale poster, And my first viewing without those annoying Subtitles was okay.

So like all Jaws Rip-Offs there is a giant great white that is killing people off the oceans on the cost of Mexico and there is also a businessman named Steve who just happens to get into the middle of it all...And he and like so many just decide after a few people are killed they need to being down this shark (Tiger Shark that is)

The story kind of drags but interesting to watch and enjoy I wont deny that...And steals every known element from monster movies that's out their to create this low budget monster film. Hugo Stiglitz also starred in Umberto Lenzi's Nightmare City but overall the performances are alright nothing I can argue about but it can be average and to the point were you just can't stop laughing.
The Special Effects are ultra gory with shark attack victims and a shit load of trick photography in shark footage to make him seem BIG!
Here are some facts I found.

Priscilla Barnes, unknown at the time, appeared towards the end of the film as a party girl who is in a group that encounters the shark during night swimming.

The shark in the film was a Tiger Shark; although Tintorera is a common name in Spanish for Tiger Shark, in some countries (Spain) it is a common name for Blue Shark.

The underwater fishing scenes were not simulated and the fish were actually killed.

The underwater scenes showing the Tintorera are stock footage, and the shark is barely five feet long (although it is described as "the largest shark ever seen" at over seven feet long due to trick photography).

The USA original release was heavily edited from the original 126-minute version which eliminates most of the opening sub-plots including Steven in a hospital bed in Houston after falling ill at work and his doctor advising a vacation, and Miguel first meeting and romancing Anita and the introduction of Kelly and Cynthia hitching a ride to Cancun in an orange truck and being attacked by the two occupants.

Overall another Shark picture that one fan should see and my final verdict is recommended (Sort of).

Absoultely TERRIBLE . . . its like it isn't even a coherent movie. Well, its coherent but its like scenes are put together disjointedly to make a film that's lacking any energy.

I remember thinking this wasn't a real movie even though it is a real movie.