Jane (Janet Agren) is working in her lab, when she notices two caged rats going at each other and an alarm goes off. The alarm signals a breach in the lab's security of a possible viral contagion. Her chemical company and the local government near London want to keep the breach hush-hush to prevent a public panic. Meanwhile, a cute young couple are shagging in their automobile. The couple is attacked, mutilated, and killed. The cops investigate the murder and call in Captain Kirk: no, not William Shatner but my main man, David Warbeck. Kirk learns of the breach in the lab and when he follows up with Jane, he learns that Professor Adams is missing, the brilliant scientist who was working on a new project. Is there any link between the contagion, the murders, and the recently-missing Professor Adams in Tonino Ricci's Panic (1976)? 
Panic is a patchwork quilt of would-be plotlines. For example, when Kirk visits Jane on his initial investigation and learns that Professor Adams is missing, the two go to Adams's retreat out in the country to search for clues. Finding the professor's dead bodyguard at his hideaway, the sequence, at first blush, looks like the beginning of a mystery and blossoming romance between Kirk and Jane, as the two exchange jokes and stumble upon clues. The murder scenes are shot like a slasher flick: Ricci uses the camera's p.o.v. to mimic the monster stalking, slowly and creepily upon his victims. Around the end of the first act, the film kicks into panic mode, as scenes are shown of soldiers in trucks roaming the streets in their gas masks and hazmat outfits. Kirk, however, donning a tan raincoat is still investigating the murders, like a old-time private eye. He and a police officer head underground to look for clues of the monster; while above ground, in a fantastic sequence, the monster attacks in a full movie theatre. Grabbing a young lady and throwing her over its shoulder, the monster finds solace in the projection room where his dinner can be eaten. By the time the final act begins, the government has quarantined the English town and the citizens have moved into the titular panic and begin rioting.
Ricci has seemingly never had a fondness or a patience for plotlines. Ricci loves the action sequences and the more the merrier. For example, his best film, The Big Family (1973) is really a series of exciting mob hits tied together with the most perfunctory plot line. When he tackles tiburons and aliens in The Shark's Cave (1978) or aliens in an underground kingdom in Encounters in the Deep (1979), Ricci could care less why his characters are in the water, just as long as the sharks are in a willing frenzy or the aliens are ready to take over the world. I love the man's cinema, so if Ricci can give me some seriously enthusiastic sequences, I'm sold. Yes, I'm a cheap date, and Ricci delivers. The monster in the movie theatre is standout: to watch the rubber-suited monster writhe in pain as the awful film plays on the screen, only to claw through the screen and scare the hell out of the patrons is true B-movie gold. When the monster attacks in two sequences unsuspecting families, the viewer thinks that it's Ricci in the monster suit, because there is so much enthusiasm. To his credit, Ricci actually links all of these disparate scenes together with a very thin visual cue but linked nonetheless.
Janet Agren's Jane is sorely underused. Agren as an actress has been underused in her career. Often just eye candy, as in Giuseppe Bennati's underrated giallo, The Killer Reserved Nine Seats (1974), or as a collateral character, as in Carlo Vanzina's Mystère (1983), as Carole Bouquet's friend, Agren briefly gets to show her charisma and range. When Agren is given a substantial role, for example, as the pretty lady who runs the truckstop in Sergio Martino's Hands of Steel (1986), she often steals her scenes and shines brightly. This is the second film that I can recall where Ricci doesn't use Agren enough, and I wish there were more scenes with her. 
Panic is a patchwork quilt of would-be plotlines. For example, when Kirk visits Jane on his initial investigation and learns that Professor Adams is missing, the two go to Adams's retreat out in the country to search for clues. Finding the professor's dead bodyguard at his hideaway, the sequence, at first blush, looks like the beginning of a mystery and blossoming romance between Kirk and Jane, as the two exchange jokes and stumble upon clues. The murder scenes are shot like a slasher flick: Ricci uses the camera's p.o.v. to mimic the monster stalking, slowly and creepily upon his victims. Around the end of the first act, the film kicks into panic mode, as scenes are shown of soldiers in trucks roaming the streets in their gas masks and hazmat outfits. Kirk, however, donning a tan raincoat is still investigating the murders, like a old-time private eye. He and a police officer head underground to look for clues of the monster; while above ground, in a fantastic sequence, the monster attacks in a full movie theatre. Grabbing a young lady and throwing her over its shoulder, the monster finds solace in the projection room where his dinner can be eaten. By the time the final act begins, the government has quarantined the English town and the citizens have moved into the titular panic and begin rioting.Ricci has seemingly never had a fondness or a patience for plotlines. Ricci loves the action sequences and the more the merrier. For example, his best film, The Big Family (1973) is really a series of exciting mob hits tied together with the most perfunctory plot line. When he tackles tiburons and aliens in The Shark's Cave (1978) or aliens in an underground kingdom in Encounters in the Deep (1979), Ricci could care less why his characters are in the water, just as long as the sharks are in a willing frenzy or the aliens are ready to take over the world. I love the man's cinema, so if Ricci can give me some seriously enthusiastic sequences, I'm sold. Yes, I'm a cheap date, and Ricci delivers. The monster in the movie theatre is standout: to watch the rubber-suited monster writhe in pain as the awful film plays on the screen, only to claw through the screen and scare the hell out of the patrons is true B-movie gold. When the monster attacks in two sequences unsuspecting families, the viewer thinks that it's Ricci in the monster suit, because there is so much enthusiasm. To his credit, Ricci actually links all of these disparate scenes together with a very thin visual cue but linked nonetheless. Janet Agren's Jane is sorely underused. Agren as an actress has been underused in her career. Often just eye candy, as in Giuseppe Bennati's underrated giallo, The Killer Reserved Nine Seats (1974), or as a collateral character, as in Carlo Vanzina's Mystère (1983), as Carole Bouquet's friend, Agren briefly gets to show her charisma and range. When Agren is given a substantial role, for example, as the pretty lady who runs the truckstop in Sergio Martino's Hands of Steel (1986), she often steals her scenes and shines brightly. This is the second film that I can recall where Ricci doesn't use Agren enough, and I wish there were more scenes with her. David Warbeck, like Agren, is a Eurocult legend. Warbeck made some phenomenal flicks with Antonio Margheriti, such as The Last Hunter (1980), The Hunters of the Golden Cobra (1982), Tiger Joe (1982), and Ark of the Sun God (1983), which really defined and shaped Italian 80s action movies. Warbeck also appeared in a little-known film by an obscure director during this period, Lucio Fulci's The Beyond (1981) that's really popular with the young folks. Warbeck's good in this role. He can smoke a cigarette and wield a gun with the best of them.
I've probably had more fun with Panic than would most viewers. I absolutely love films that coast on fumes financially but are guzzling an endless supply of enthusiasm and fun. By no means a cinema classic, Panic is a Ricci classic, which is quite all right with me.
I've probably had more fun with Panic than would most viewers. I absolutely love films that coast on fumes financially but are guzzling an endless supply of enthusiasm and fun. By no means a cinema classic, Panic is a Ricci classic, which is quite all right with me. 
Encounters In The Deep begins with a voice-over and an image montage of natural disasters. The voice-over introduces the theme of UFOs and does not dispute their existence. The only issue of dispute is their origin: Earth or outer space? A chronicle of history is presented of unexplained disappearances, explosions, and sightings. The film cuts to a sequence presumably aboard a naval ship, where the sailors are talking about fear and bad dreams: there's something in these waters, and then all of the sudden, dreaded green light, bubbling up from out of the ocean, attacks the ship with accompanying throbbing audio. Encounters cuts once again to a lovely beach setting to introduce beautiful Mary (
Encounters In The Deep runs for eighty minutes and Ricci spends almost the first half of it with sputtering beginnings and set-up. The paint-by-numbers plot of Encounters becomes a Pollock painting of padding. Like The Shark's Cave, Ricci does not show any real enthusiasm through the exposition. It's the underwater scenes with the sharks and aliens where Ricci shines, but the viewer is going to have to wade quite a bit before getting to those scenes. Gianni Garko appears as Mike on the ship and he does a few tricks with his canine. This expedition still appears more like a pleasure cruise, as Ricci attempts to channel the camaraderie vibe of Shaw, Scheider, and Dreyfuss in Jaws. Peters, over dinner, relates his theory again, as a sort-of low-brow Lovecraft tale: aliens visited the Earth millions of years ago and never left. They went underwater and are responsible for a lot of the recent disappearances. How about the water, fellas? Want to strap on some of that scuba gear and play with the sharks?
Unfortunately, no. Andres Garcia is an extremely handsome man and looks like a runway model in his bikini briefs. Garko puts on a pair of dainty, black bikini briefs, but not even a nibble at the toes by the sharks at these two divers happens. The sharks must have been bored to tears, as well. Mike does mysteriously pass out under the water and comes back on board a little bit changed. Garko manages to stoically sleepwalk through the rest of the film. Peter, Scott, and Ronnie don the scuba gear and go down for an investigation. Who the eff is Ronnie? Ronnie is the auxiliary character who doesn't come back. Peters finds a rock below and says it's full of plutonium. He hands the rock to Garcia who 
Encounters goes on to have a relatively long 
Andres (Andres Garcia) washes up on shore after a six-month absence. Andres does not remember anything about his trip and does not even remember his girlfriend, Angelica (Janet Agren), who has a burgeoning relationship with Andres's brother, Ricardo (Maximo Valverde). Andres decides to take it easy and relax (which includes a date to a cockfight with Angelica) until his memory comes back. However, Arthur Kennedy's Jackson knows who Andres is and he wants something from him. There's little need for concern--The Shark Cave's plot is completely perfunctory, as are the performances. So if you have selachophobia or hate spoilers, then stop reading now.
With a title like The Shark's Cave, there has got be some sharks in a cave, right? Definitely. The film's strong points are its underwater scenes. Andres's past is revealed in a flashback: Jackson hires Andres and his friend to investigate a downed airplane at the bottom of the ocean. While scuba-diving, Andres and his companion notice a large shiver of sharks apparently sleeping at the ocean floor. The sharks appear to be guarding something. Whatever it is, it is not of this earth, and it's also the cause for the plane crashing into the ocean. Andres notices a bright light during his investigation and his memory disappears. The finale of the film is amazing: it involves a massive shark frenzy. It's in these scenes where the viewer gets to see some excitement from Ricci: they are photographed in a very claustrophobic way; the jump scares work; the lighting is terrific; and the shots of the sharks are menacing.
Interestingly, the best sequences of the film involve collateral characters. In one, an unknown group of friends are relaxing on their boat, singing a few songs, and one of them has a tarot deck. A little girl notices a deadly card in the deck and walks, with tattered doll in hand, off the edge of the boat. The group immediately dives in to save her, but in the darkness, the sharks come. Stelvio Cipriani, one of Italy's greatest film composers, delivers the film's score, and it's during this sequence where the music stands out: eerie accompanying wailing sounds and horrifying dissonant notes and chords. The scene is also literally very dark, so when the light gleams off the shark's shiny skin, it's something else.
In another scene, an unknown ship captain tells his tale to Angelica about his ship sinking. The sequence could involve a ship model, because I have no idea. As hokey as the scene plays out, it is very effective.
The scene doesn't further the plot: it just serves to heighten the supernatural aspect about the mystery at the ocean floor and the guarding sharks. A mystery to which the answer is never truly revealed by the end of the film. Really no matter, I was having too much fun while the story was underwater, and by the time any of the characters came up for air or survived a shark attack, the film was over. I think that was Ricci was going for when he delivered his hidden jewel in The Shark's Cave.