Customer Reviews

Piranha [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A remake that actually surpasses the original classic! This one has it all: thrills, chills, laughs, movie in-jokes! A terrific ride. Kudos to all, especially the writer and director, who do justice to the material while putting their own original spin on it. Check it out!

The original "Piranha" was an entertaining cult classic but the decision by Roger Corman to remake it, nearly twenty years later, must have entirely been for finacial reasons because this straight-to-video retread is about as half-baked as it gets. Aside from a few changes of some character's ethnicities and gender, this is almost an exact copy of the first film.

As was the case in the original, two troublesome kids decide to go swimming at a government test site and end up "fish food". Enter Alexandra Paul as a very butch-looking P.I. who is hired by one of the kids' legal guardians who also happens to be the owner of a new resort that is opening up. With the help of overacting hillbilly hermit, William Katt, she ends up at the test site and drains the pool causing the piranha to run amok in the local river system. Of course, the greedy resort owner isn't going to let something like giant man-eating killer fish ruin his plans to open his resort.

This new "Piranha" offers very little added value aside from possibly a little bit more gore and nudity but not even enough to really make it worth your while. Of course, we get to see a grown-up "Punky Brewster" as Soleil Moon Frye shows up as a summer camp counselor with Mila Kunis (many years before she broke out on "That 70's Show") as Katt's hydrophobic daughter. Alex Simon's screenplay should barely qualify as a "studio rewrite" as it is practically a word-for-word duplicate of the original John Sayles script. Even worse, the severe overacting of the cast really kills the memorable dialouge. Only Roger Corman would save production costs by recycling the underwater photography from the original for a remake. Needless to say if the producers of this film wouldn't waste their money on it then you probably shouldn't either.

When a mutant school of Piranha are accidentally unleashed into the calm waters of northern Texas, all hell breaks out as tourists at a lake-front resort and kids at a nearby camp are savagely devoured by the monstrous fish.

The movie has a good cast, a good plot, good special effects (except that the fish don't actually move their fins while swimming), and tons of blood & gore. You'll definitely like this new spin on the tired "Jaws rip-off" genre.

I baught this film for Soleil Moon Frye only and she does an excellent job in this cheesy horror film that is not scary and the pirahnas a little rubbery, also bad acting by William Katt.

Some of you may think that it is a terrible film, but i think it is so funny!! It's such a good film....

An exellent remake of Roger Cormans old horror film about a bunch of mutated piranha that work there way down the river killing everyone in the water along the way to the ocean. Soliel Moon Frye has a superb death scene. A must for your collection.

A community is terrorized when hundreds of spawning genetically-mutant piranhas are accidently released from an isolation pool and into a river used by the community for boating, fishing, and SWIMMING!!! These things are so violent and aggressive, they may as well be consitered "Mini-Jaws's". They attack anything that moves and chews it up until it's practically gone!

I really love this movie for one reason: I was in it. I play one of the kids in the summer camp (I'm wearing green and blue shorts). I've even got pictures with Solie to prove it. The funniest part about making this movie was that in the trailer that I would get dressed in, they kept a bloody skeleton prop that looked like it was eaten by piranahs. Everyday as I would change into my wardrobe, that stupid thing would be staring right at me. I really hated that.

As good as this made for TV remake was, I still think the original Piranha was a bit better even though I rate both this and the original 5 stars. I thought the prettiest female in this movie was Kehli O'Byrne (who did the part of the boss at the kids camp Gina Green). Too bad she was killed by the Piranha. Soleil Moon Frye (who did the part of the Gina's employee Laura) was also very pretty. Too bad she was killed by the Piranha, too. Oh well. If you liked the original Piranha, see this remake as well. Even if you don't like this movie it will be worth the time. Too bad it was never in the movie theater. Oh, well.

Wow, I was'nt too impressed with most of the actors in this film but the guy who plays the forest ranger about forty minutes in, now that was good! I want to see more of him. What a babe! And the way he winces while turning the water valve... Now that's Oscar quality acting! I would love an entire movie or series of movies just with that guy. MORE FOREST RANGER PLEASE!