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From Amazon.co.uk
As a producer, Roger Corman has always loved to make low-budget rip-offs of hit movies, and Piranha is his typically cheeky take on Jaws--and, as so often with Corman, in many ways it's funnier and more entertaining than the original. Directed with gusto by schlock-horror specialist Joe Dante and sharply scripted by John Sayles, it replaces one huge underwater toothy monster with dozens of little ones and ups the body count by a factor of 10 or so. Two hapless teenagers, hiking in a remote mountain region, stumble on a secret US military research lab. They don't last long, but their intrusion leads to the release into the local river system of a huge shoal of super-intelligent piranha, originally specially bred for use in Vietnam. Downstream from the virulent little munchers lie a kiddies' holiday camp and a tacky new waterfront theme park. Lunch time, fellas!
Sayles, with his staunch left-wing credentials, slips in some mordant political satire at the expense of the military-industrial complex, and authority figures of any kind come off pretty badly, but the satire never gets in the way of the gleeful black humour. The two leads, Bradford Dillman and Heather Menzies, are fairly pallid, but there are ripe cameos from such cult horror-movie icons as Kevin McCarthy, Dick Miller and Barbara Steele. Pino Donaggio's score impudently borrows aspects of John Williams' famous Jaws theme while never quite infringing copyright. The movie was successful enough to spawn a much-inferior sequel, Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), which marked the inauspicious directing debut of one James Cameron.
On the DVD: Piranha on disc comes with just the theatrical trailer as an extra. The transfer is a respectable job, reproducing the original's full-screen ratio. --Philip Kemp
Product Description
This lake-bound horror film, spawned in the wake of 'Jaws', is an early production by future 'The Howling' collaborators John Sayles and Joe Dante. Two teenagers going for a dip inadvertently stumble upon a government secret weapon: deadly piranha fish, planned for use in Vietnam. Accidentally released, the piranha make their way to the site of a children's summer camp resort, and the watery carnage begins. James Cameron cut his directorial teeth on the sequel in 1982.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape
This will remind you of Jaws. It is funny and suspenseful and will make you want to watch it again and again. With a great cast including Dick Miller from Gremlins it has everything. Joe Dante directs and it has a great story to it. Its also not very dated and wont go out of date very quickly. Its fx for some of the dead bodies is very funny actually but also gets pretty scary and serious near the end. By the look of the End though you know there will probably be a sequal and there is. It is a class piece of film though and will have you reeling to watch it again.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Neil B
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
PIRANHA is regarded as the best of the myriad JAWS clones that emerged in cinemas after 1975. This film never takes itself too seriously and tongue is firmly in cheek all the way through. A top notch cast includes PAUL BARTEL and horror veteran BARBARA STEELE as a villanous scientist. The low budget effects are delivered very well and the attack sequences are directed extremely well. It will be interesting to see what the 2010 remake will be like in 3D.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Wayman
Format:DVD
A spoof of 'Jaws' this is a highly entertaining film. It's got a good cast and great director, Joe Dante (who also made 'The Howling' and 'Gremlins 1 and 2').
Not particulary scary, it has a few moments where you cringe for the characters, but the film is mostly humourous, and is meant to be.
The plot is basically genetically-modified Piranhas escape from where the government was breeding them (to use in future wars!) and go on a rampage on a lake by a children's summer camp.
Great fun!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape
We all know that producer Roger Corman made "Piranha" to exploit the success of "Jaws"--just look at the poster art for Spielberg's sake. But what was intended to be a low-budget knock-off became a classic B-movie because John Sayles produced a clever script and Corman assigned Joe Dante to direct. Dante would later go on to direct "The Howling" and "Gremlins," as well as "Rock and Roll High School" and "Amazon Women on the Moon" (the man does not forget his roots). Ultimately, "Piranha" is every bit as much of a spoof as it is a ripoff, which raises it to the highest level of B-Movie grandeur. The story, such as it is in such things, has flesh-eating piranhas being released into the river of the Lost River Lake resort. Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, and Keenan Wynn are the most recognizable faces trying to avoid being eaten by the wee beasties, although you horror film buffs will also recognize not only Kevin "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" McCarthy but Barbara Steele, Queen of the Italian Horror Films. The DVD extras clearly reflect a grand affection for this film with commentary from Dante and producer Jon Davison, deleted footage, theatrical trailer, a "making-of" featurette for this 1978 film, material from the film's press kit, and more. When you have a classic B-Movie with A+ extras on the DVD, you have to give it five stars. Ironically, "Piranha II: The Spawning," the 1981 sequel, was the first film directed by James Cameron, who also went on to some notable successes in his later films.
By Mr Blonde
Format:DVD
Like one of director Joe Dante's other big hits 'Gremlins' this is more fun than horror, albeit with a fair amount more gore than the christmas favorite. The story and characters are nothing original and it is a simple B-movie picture but like all great B-movies it doesn't take itself too seriously and knows when to be funny, gorey, exploitative or thrilling. In fact where most B-movies are watch once then trade in, this film is an expertly crafted B-movie that is entertaining each time you watch it. The characters are stereotypes but there entertaining and engaging. The dialogue isn't shakespeare but gets the job done and there are no major clunkers.
In fact all aspects of this film, the directing, special effects, action, music ect can all be described thus: not original or award worthy but they always do the job and are entertaining and this is what you feel the production was meant to be. Fun.
So it's not Jaws and it's silly in places but it's a great film and is one of the only Jaws rip-offs (of which there were loads) that has stood the test of time and is still watched today.
In fact all aspects of this film, the directing, special effects, action, music ect can all be described thus: not original or award worthy but they always do the job and are entertaining and this is what you feel the production was meant to be. Fun.
So it's not Jaws and it's silly in places but it's a great film and is one of the only Jaws rip-offs (of which there were loads) that has stood the test of time and is still watched today.
By Victor deBs
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Bought this with Pirahna 3D (for comparison). Kelly Brook is lovely but I had no sympathy for anyone in that 2010 traversty of a re-make. This film, the 1978 original, even if it is a JAWs rip off has it's tongue so firmly in it's cheek and the man chomping killer puppet fish so this side of reality that it's not until later that I noticed that the fish did what fish do what fish do and ate old men, women and kids with equal gusto not just the frat kids of 3D remake.
If you have never seen the film (in cinemas or on TV) get a copy, my only regret on the DVD is there is no "Making of" or background features like there is for JAWs or the 3D remake.
If you have never seen the film (in cinemas or on TV) get a copy, my only regret on the DVD is there is no "Making of" or background features like there is for JAWs or the 3D remake.
By Benminx
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was glad that this has stood the test of time, as my other half hadn't seen it and tends to make it pretty clear if a film is cheesy or tacky. While Roger Corman's genetically enhanced piranha thriller IS slightly cheesy (it's a cash in on the 'fear the water' trend after Jaws) and has lots of horror staples that have since become cliches (the loyal dog that is at risk but wont leave his owner, the determined idealistic female scientist, the grizzled ex-drunk hero, the scientist questioning the morals of what he did etc etc)it's acted and filmed with such infectious enthusiasm, and directed with such talent that it barely matters. It's an exciting ride following the main characters as they race to prevent the next wave of attacks from the lethal shoal as it approaches a new resort. Some aspects are truly 70's horror - how many films these days would allow a large group of young kiddies to get savaged by a shoal of killer fish? (Although this is tactfully filmed with much less grue than the adult attacks). Moments like this really help the tension as you can't make the safe modern horror assumptions that 'they just won't go there'.
The ending does reign in the gore a bit for budget reasons, with plenty of blood in the water but not much in the way of gruesome injuries, and the environmental aspects of the film are a little clumsy. But the sum total is a dramatic, exciting and fairly tense classic horror that remains very very enjoyable. And that classic tension scene of the raft slowly coming apart under the onslaught of a vicious shoal of piranha, yards from shore, is still chilling after more than 30 years...
The ending does reign in the gore a bit for budget reasons, with plenty of blood in the water but not much in the way of gruesome injuries, and the environmental aspects of the film are a little clumsy. But the sum total is a dramatic, exciting and fairly tense classic horror that remains very very enjoyable. And that classic tension scene of the raft slowly coming apart under the onslaught of a vicious shoal of piranha, yards from shore, is still chilling after more than 30 years...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Memory Cheats
I first saw this movie on VHS in the early 80s (I was around 12 - a bit young i suppose but my parents were quite liberal about what i watched). Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2011 by BELLEMODO
1.0 out of 5 stars
Mind numbing drivel
Utter garbage. The film is laughable and forgettable. Bad story, bad acting and there are so many flaws in the plot that it's not even worth going over them. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2010 by yaleey
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great "B" Movie
"Piranha" is a cautionary tale about the perils of genetic engineering , yet it manages to inject an element of humour into it's critique as well as portraying the horror of a... Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2006 by L. Davidson
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