@simian_ninja said:

I remember watching this as a kid. Gonna check it out again a little later.

I watched this as a kid too. Not too long ago it came on tv so I watched it again as an adult. It's still a creepy movie. When I was a kid I felt sympathy for Richard Harris character because I didn't quite understand the concept of poachers. Now I do and I definitely didn't feel sorry for the characters at all. It is still a creepy movie though. Orcas are very intelligent predators that have emotions so the concept of the story isn't that far fetched. The director did a good job because still was afraid of that Orca. That tight shot of the Orca staring at Harris, just those glaring eyes was still an unnerving moment.

You could really see the emotion in the male's eyes. I thought the scene where he pushed his mate to shore was both tender and sad. Nolan brought it all on himself. If he had not tried to capture the orca then everything would have been okay. Granted it would not be much of a film but still. I thought it was interesting when it came to the killer whale saving the guy in the zodiac raft from the great white considering the events that unfolded later. I got a little Ahab vibe from Nolan. In his mind he wasn't doing anything wrong. The aborted fetus scene still kind of gets to me. It's part of the plot device yet but sheesh. Then the poor female orca tried to kill herself by running into the boat's propellers. I wasn't aware of that fact until Charlotte Rampling's character said it. The ending still makes me wonder. Did the orca drown himself but not coming up to air or simply swam away. I think that may be left to interpretation. On a side note I wonder if the half eaten killer whale in Jaws 2 was in response to the orca killing the great white.

I don't for sure but I think that the Orca did die as it was swimming under the thick ice at the end. Perhaps b/c after killing Nolan there was nothing left. The female Orca screaming in pain, trying to kill herself via the boat propellers, and the miscarriage are intense and frightening.

This movie was very good.

A great white shark will always be crushed, annihilated and killed by an Orca in just 2 seconds. It's not even a contest.

SPOILERS NEXT!

I don't understand why some people think at the end the Orca just killed himself at the end. He was just swimming beneath the ice because... there was a lot of ice in that area. That's the Arctic.

There has been a lot of debate about the ending. I think it was left up in the air intentionally. One could interpret the ending as the Orca did not have any reason left to live. His mate and unborn child were dead due to Captain Nolan's actions even if that had not been the intent. With Nolan dead there was nothing left so the orca drowned himself by not coming up for air. Or you can look at it as this. The orca was in fact attempting to break through the ice but couldn't b/c it was too thick. Or as you mentioned in your post he simply swam away perhaps to resurface later.

The last option is the only one reliable in my view.