The movie had a tagline that directly spoofed the one for Jaws 2 (1978), "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water", by saying instead, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water--you can't get to it".
The look of the monster has frequently been compared to that of the subtropical carnivorous plant Venus fly-trap.
One of a cycle of 1980s and mid-late 1970s movies made to cash in on the success of Jaws (1975). The films include Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3-D (1983), and Jaws: The Revenge (1987), as well as Orca (1977), Piranha (1978), Tentacles (1977), Killer Fish (1979), Barracuda (1978), Tintorera: Killer Shark (1977), Blood Beach (1980), Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), The Last Shark (1981), Up from the Last Run (1979), Humanoids from the Deep (1980), The Island of the Fishmen (1979), Devil Fish (1984) and Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976).
According to Time Out, the film's "debt" to Jaws (1975) is implicit from the setting (seaside town loses tourists and trade) to the music (subterranean bass rumbles signal monster's approach)".
The setting was the Santa Monica (CA) State Beach, where the film was shot, but the habitat of the monster in the film also extends to sand at Venice Beach.