Rating: 
Summary: silly but enjoyable movie that brings back memories for me
Review: I used to love this movie when I was little. One of the things that fascinated me most about it was that it was filmed in San Marcos, Texas, at a riverside resort called Aquarena Springs. My grandmother and I used to vacation there every spring and summer for years. It was a lot of fun. If you went on the glass-bottom boatride, the guide would tell the story of how and where the piranha attacks were filmed. He would also point out how in the same exact river, the underwater scenes for THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON were filmed, and also how Johnny Weismuller, the screen's first Tarzan, swam to the bottom of the deepest spring (years before the resort itself was built). Ralph the Swimming Pig, who makes an appearance in this movie, was still around when I would go (although I doubt it was the original pig as seen in the movie). We would even see the submarine show, which is also featured in the movie. I had a lot of great times at Aquarena Springs, and since the place has now been closed down and its hotel converted into an office building, this movie is my only means of revisiting that place that gave me so many good memories over the years. It's upsetting that the place can no longer be enjoyed by real people, and that it's now just a place where the suits do more of their money-mongering. A real shame. Oh well. Silly but enjoyable movie, great memories for me. R.I.P. Aquarena Springs.
Rating: 
Summary: FOR A ''JAWS'' RIP-OFF, THIS ISN'T HALF BAD
Review: IN THIS ONE, A SCHOOL OF PIRAHNA FISH ARE TERRORIZING A SUMMER CAMP AND A WATERFRONT AMUSEMENT PARK. AND IT'S UP TO A MOUNTAIN MAN [BRADFORD DILLMAN] AND A ROOKIE DETECTIVE [HEATHER MENZIES] TO STOP THEM. VERY THRILLING AND FUNNY AT TIMES TOO. FOR A MOVIE THAT RIPS OFF ''JAWS'', THIS ISN'T BAD AT ALL. A GOOD FUN TIME FOR HORROR FANS. FOLLOWED BY A SEQUEL AND WAS REMADE FOR TV IN 1995.
Rating: 
Summary: Sweet
Review: It was, in a word, sweet. One of the greats as cheesy horror flicks go.
Rating:
Summary: "Terror, horror, death. Film at eleven."
Review: Jaws (1975) frightened a whole generation of people out of the water. Why? Because of the very real elements within the film, being that there are sharks in the oceans, and occasionally they do attack people. Do they ever get as large as the one in the film? Possibly...regardless, the fear was real enough...fast forward to 1978...prolific B movie director/producer Roger Corman, in an effort to capitalize on the immense popularity of the film Jaws, released Piranha, directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins, Innerspace, The `burbs) and written by John Sayles (The Howling, Wild Thing), which, while didn't elicit the response anywhere near that of the film it borrows from, still provides us with a great deal of entertainment (genetically altered super fish just didn't come across with the same level of realism as a giant man-eating shark).The film stars Branford Dillman, who, along with his extensive television credits, appeared in scores of films like Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and The Swarm (1978), to name a couple. Also starring is Heather Menzies, who appeared in films like The Sound of Music (1965), SSSSSSS (1973), along with various television shows throughout the 70's. Rounding out the cast are Kevin McCarthy (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), Paul Bartel, Barbara Steele (Caged Heat and Shivers), Melody Thomas Scott, and character actors Dick Miller and Keenan Wynn. The film opens at night with two victims, er...I mean backpackers in a hilly area (somewhere in Texas, as we find out later), who happen to come across a seemingly deserted facility surrounded by a large fence, and signage stating `Military Testing Facility' and `Keep Out' (it seemed pretty clear to me, as I could read it, but these two knuckleheads completely missed it, bringing to mind the old adage, `if it was a snake, it would have bit you'). Anyway, lunkhead number one and lunkhead number two, looking for a place to camp for the night, decide this looks promising, and make their way past the fence to find a large, in-ground cement pool. Do you think it contains piranha? And do you also think said piranha are hungry? I do, on both counts, especially given that it's the title of the film. Anyway, they decide to go swimming and quickly discover the pool contains more than water. We also learn the facility isn't entirely deserted... Apparently someone cares about these two now missing backpackers, enough so to hire private investigator Maggie McKeown (Menzies) to look for them. While initiating her search in the general area, she find a shack occupied by Paul Grogan (Dillman), a divorced, reclusive, mass alcohol consuming (every five minutes he's swilling from a canteen, but never actually seems to get drunk) outdoorsman type, who she basically enlists to aid her, despite his protests, in her search. They find the deserted military facility, which was once some sort of breeding farm for fish, and decide to drain the large pool in hopes of finding clues. As they throw the switch, they get attacked by a wily old man (his name is Dr. Robert Hoak, played by McCarthy) as he freaks out learning that the fish have been released into the river system. The manage to subdue him, and he speaks of his experiments, specifically his genetic experiments for the military in creating a super breed of piranha, meant for use during the Vietnam conflict, but since the war ended, the program was terminated, but apparently no one told Dr. Hoak. So now the highly aggressive and carnivorous super fish are in the local river system. And they're hungry...and breeding... For a B movie, this tends to one of the better ones I've seen. Even here you can see that Dante has talent in directing, despite what I am sure was probably an extremely tight shooting schedule (Corman always kept this aspect tight). Sayles provides a better than average script for this type of outing, and the actors present enjoyable performances. I do tire of the whole `government and/or big business conspiracy' cliché that is so often used in films of any type to move the plot along, as it tends to indicate a lack of imagination (just look at some Steven Segal movies, specifically On Deadly Ground (1994) and The Patriot (1998), for a couple of examples). I especially liked the scenes with Keenan Wynn speaking of how much the river gives him, and also the scenes with Dick Miller, who plays the sleazy real estate agent and proprietor of Aquarena, an entertainment water park that recently opened along the river. He's got one of the more memorable scenes in the film when his assistant approaches him about piranha in the waters, and he asks, "What about the godd@mn piranha?!", to which the assistant replies, "The piranha...they're EATING the guests, sir". Paul Bartel also makes a great appearance as an uptight director of a summer camp located on the river (do you think a big part of their program involves swimming?). The special effects are quite good (no CGI work here) and there is a good helping of blood and underwater scenes with the fish tearing flesh off hapless victims. Presented here is an excellent looking full screen print (Dante claims this is the original aspect ratio of the film, but the titles appear to be in wide screen format). Special features here are copious, including a commentary track by director Dante and producer Jon Davidson, original theatrical trailer, a blooper reel, a short `Making of' documentary, cast biographies, a reproduction of the original Theatrical Marketing Guide, an eight page booklet titled `The History of Roger Corman, and trailers for some of Corman's other films including Grand Theft Auto (1977) and Humanoids from the Deep (1980), among others. If I learned anything from Piranha, it's that if you are warn authorities about mutant piranha loose in a populated waterway, you're better off crying toxic waste, as they not apt to believe the piranha thing. Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: "Terror, horror, death. Film at eleven."
Review: Jaws (1975) frightened a whole generation of people out of the water. Why? Because of the very real elements within the film, being that there are sharks in the oceans, and occasionally they do attack people. Do they ever get as large as the one in the film? Possibly...regardless, the fear was real enough...fast forward to 1978...prolific B movie director/producer Roger Corman, in an effort to capitalize on the immense popularity of the film Jaws, released Piranha, directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins, Innerspace, The 'burbs) and written by John Sayles (The Howling, Wild Thing), which, while didn't elicit the response anywhere near that of the film it borrows from, still provides us with a great deal of entertainment (genetically altered super fish just didn't come across with the same level of realism as a giant man-eating shark). The film stars Branford Dillman, who, along with his extensive television credits, appeared in scores of films like Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and The Swarm (1978), to name a couple. Also starring is Heather Menzies, who appeared in films like The Sound of Music (1965), SSSSSSS (1973), along with various television shows throughout the 70's. Rounding out the cast are Kevin McCarthy (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), Paul Bartel, Barbara Steele (Caged Heat and Shivers), Melody Thomas Scott, and character actors Dick Miller and Keenan Wynn. The film opens at night with two victims, er...I mean backpackers in a hilly area (somewhere in Texas, as we find out later), who happen to come across a seemingly deserted facility surrounded by a large fence, and signage stating 'Military Testing Facility' and 'Keep Out' (it seemed pretty clear to me, as I could read it, but these two knuckleheads completely missed it, bringing to mind the old adage, 'if it was a snake, it would have bit you'). Anyway, lunkhead number one and lunkhead number two, looking for a place to camp for the night, decide this looks promising, and make their way past the fence to find a large, in-ground cement pool. Do you think it contains piranha? And do you also think said piranha are hungry? I do, on both counts, especially given that it's the title of the film. Anyway, they decide to go swimming and quickly discover the pool contains more than water. We also learn the facility isn't entirely deserted... Apparently someone cares about these two now missing backpackers, enough so to hire private investigator Maggie McKeown (Menzies) to look for them. While initiating her search in the general area, she find a shack occupied by Paul Grogan (Dillman), a divorced, reclusive, mass alcohol consuming (every five minutes he's swilling from a canteen, but never actually seems to get drunk) outdoorsman type, who she basically enlists to aid her, despite his protests, in her search. They find the deserted military facility, which was once some sort of breeding farm for fish, and decide to drain the large pool in hopes of finding clues. As they throw the switch, they get attacked by a wily old man (his name is Dr. Robert Hoak, played by McCarthy) as he freaks out learning that the fish have been released into the river system. The manage to subdue him, and he speaks of his experiments, specifically his genetic experiments for the military in creating a super breed of piranha, meant for use during the Vietnam conflict, but since the war ended, the program was terminated, but apparently no one told Dr. Hoak. So now the highly aggressive and carnivorous super fish are in the local river system. And they're hungry...and breeding... For a B movie, this tends to one of the better ones I've seen. Even here you can see that Dante has talent in directing, despite what I am sure was probably an extremely tight shooting schedule (Corman always kept this aspect tight). Sayles provides a better than average script for this type of outing, and the actors present enjoyable performances. I do tire of the whole 'government and/or big business conspiracy' cliché that is so often used in films of any type to move the plot along, as it tends to indicate a lack of imagination (just look at some Steven Segal movies, specifically On Deadly Ground (1994) and The Patriot (1998), for a couple of examples). I especially liked the scenes with Keenan Wynn speaking of how much the river gives him, and also the scenes with Dick Miller, who plays the sleazy real estate agent and proprietor of Aquarena, an entertainment water park that recently opened along the river. He's got one of the more memorable scenes in the film when his assistant approaches him about piranha in the waters, and he asks, "What about the godd@mn piranha?!", to which the assistant replies, "The piranha...they're EATING the guests, sir". Paul Bartel also makes a great appearance as an uptight director of a summer camp located on the river (do you think a big part of their program involves swimming?). The special effects are quite good (no CGI work here) and there is a good helping of blood and underwater scenes with the fish tearing flesh off hapless victims. Presented here is an excellent looking full screen print (Dante claims this is the original aspect ratio of the film, but the titles appear to be in wide screen format). Special features here are copious, including a commentary track by director Dante and producer Jon Davidson, original theatrical trailer, a blooper reel, a short 'Making of' documentary, cast biographies, a reproduction of the original Theatrical Marketing Guide, an eight page booklet titled 'The History of Roger Corman, and trailers for some of Corman's other films including Grand Theft Auto (1977) and Humanoids from the Deep (1980), among others. If I learned anything from Piranha, it's that if you are warn authorities about mutant piranha loose in a populated waterway, you're better off crying toxic waste, as they not apt to believe the piranha thing. Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: Camp Classic Deserves a Look
Review: Joe Dante's Piranha is a very humorous spoof and a fine homage to Steven Spielberg's classic Jaws. Though plagued with poor acting from Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, and Keenan Wynn, this is definitely not the type of film that you would ever take seriously. The inside film jokes and cinema references add a lot of intelligent spice to the film's proceedings, but it is the cheesy yet effective special effects by Phil Tippett (Robocop) that make Piranha a must see for mosnter movie buffs. Watch out for the obviously fake piranha as they make a spectacular bloddy debacle of a children's summer camp. The DVD edition of Piranha has many elaborate features including a Joe Dante commenty, a making-of-documentary, film bloppers, and other theatrical trailers of Corman films. P.S. Joe Dante would later go on to direct such horror classics as The Howling and Gremlins.
Rating:
Summary: Made me laugh
Review: Perhaps the thing I loved most about this film is its patent disregard for the reality of piranhas. There are piranhas in this movie the size of dogs. Any amatuer fish hobbiest will know that piranhas do not get that big. Also, the movie sort of lends itself to the notion that the piranha, like the shark in Jaws, have a personal agenda. A fish with a personal agenda? That's comedy if I ever heard it. I would highly recommend this movie for someone who wants a good laugh. Nothing is better for a good laugh than a bad horror film.
Rating:
Summary: Tim Correll's Review for Piranha
Review: Piranha is one of my absolute favorite movies ever. It is in the same league as Jaws. There are a lot of Jaws ripoffs; Piranha is the best. The remake was surprisingly entertaining. The sequel to the original Piranha (dubbed Piranha 2: The Spawining; also dubbed Piranha 2: Flying Killers) is one of the worst movies I will ever see. Anybody who likes humor in their horror movies should definately see the original version as well as the remake of this top notch classic "creature feature" sci-fi/horror movie.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: Piranha,a 1970's classic about chemical's getting into the river and making the piranha's much worse than they normally are.Some chick and an old dude try to save people from the man eating Piranha's.Pretty good movie,if you are into this stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Piranha has Bite
Review: Roger Corman's "Jaws" clone is a surprising and effective B-movie thriler. A young detective and an antisocial mountain man freed a school of genetically-enhanced piranha upon a quiet mountain community. Now, both race to stop the beasts from chomping unsuspected bathers. Director Joe Dante (The Howling & Gremlins) adds clever campiness and dark humor to this blood and gore tale. This cult gem contains some good scares and rather impressive visuals. The cast includes Kevin McCarthy (The Invasion of the Body Snatchers), Barbara Steele and Dick Miller as a greedy amusement park entrepreneur. This "nature gone bad" film scores some points in DVD quality. The picture and sound are quite good for a B-movie from the seventies. The animated menus are great. The DVD includes a behind-the-scene featurette, commentary by director Joe Dante, trailers and outtakes. Overall, this DVD scores a "B".
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