Piranha DVD Movie Review
Piranha DVD Movie Review
"The piranha - they're EATING the guests, sir."
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Just when they thought it was safe to back in the water, kids of the 70s had something new to fear with Piranha, the directorial debut of now horror icon Joe Dante. He'd half-helmed a dually-directed pic prior, but when "King of the B's" producer Roger Corman hired him to make this bloodbath — it was on. To hear Dante talk about the hook-or-crook techniques they employed as newbies (along with the now Oscar-winning Phil Tippett and then veteran actor Kevin McCarthy) on the commentary track is a delight.
But how's the movie? Well, to be honest I only had vague memories of seeing it as a kid and I thought for sure it would not have aged well — if figured it would probably look like a SyFy Channel $1.98 original to my sophisticated, much-practiced eye — but I was wrong. Like most Corman-produced fright flicks, there is real talent behind the camera and actors in front who actually seem to be giving a damn.
As mentioned not all of the cast were fresh-faced kids, but even the oldies-but-goodies (McCarthy, Paul Bartel and Keenan Wynn) are actually working it and not just going through the motions. The light but just-believable script, by John Sayles (who actually has a funny bit part in the famous boobie-baring "distraction" scene… listen to the commentary on that!), is entertaining, humorous, and quite suspenseful. Suspense, in place of actual attack scenes which weren't in the budget, is bolstered by FX ingenuity, super-quick edits, and a stirring original score by Pino Donaggio.
The story's pretty simple: It follows a frenzied school of genetically engineered piranhas who escape into the general population's water playground… just in time for summer. Like the red-blooded stepchild of Jaws, this little movie uses many of the same techniques to tell the gory fish story — to great success. Certainly Piranha doesn't have the legacy of Jaws, but with the big-budget 3D remake coming to theaters soon, it's well worth a look in prep. It's pretty tame compared to some other Corman movies of that era (Humanoids From the Deep comes to DVD along with Piranha on 8/3) but it really is great fun. And there is that nipple-nipping scene… hm, maybe it's not so tame after all. Some kids get eaten, too. Yep, it still has bite, 20+ years later!
The extras are fantastic, but the making-of portion does tend to drag and sag towards the middle… aside from seeing new interviews with some of the actors, I found most of it extraneous in comparison to the lively and informative commentary by Dante and producer Jon Davison. They have some wonderful stories about the actors (Wynn, plus Barbara Steele, etc.), the techniques used to create the feeding frenzies, a few well-placed self-deprecating jokes here and there, and detailed memories.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson