Piranha (1978)

 

At a certain point in time, a little film called 'Jaws' was a humongous success. Such a big success even that from that point onward the term 'summer blockbuster' would be used forevermore. Maybe nowadays it's more difficult to imagine, but films didn't make that much money. They made money, sure, but not to the extent that 'Jaws' did, which also made studios focus their biggest releases for the summer from then on.

So it stands to reason that other studios wanted a piece of the action and seeing as films about hungry fish were now the craze, a lot of people made their own version of this. A lot also went for sharks, but Roger Corman went for something else: piranhas. But Corman was also smart enough not to repeat the formula of the shark-film beat for beat and this makes 'Piranha' an entirely different beast altogether, especially as it was directed by Joe Dante and had a script by John Sayles. You'd almost forget this was a fairly modestly budgeted flick.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, there's an abandoned military research station. Two teenagers venture in, have a swim in what looks like a pool and die. A while later, a private investigator is sent to try and track down the teenagers. She enlists the help of a perpetual drunk known as Grogan, who pretty much has had it with humanity, except for his young daughter who is staying at a summer camp down the river. They head up to the facility and unknowingly unleash a school of ravenous piranha into the river. Not only that, but the doctor responsible for the project reveals that these piranha are a mutant strain, capable of reproducing at an alarming rate and able to survive pretty much anywhere. So now the race is on to try and stop these fish from devouring everyone in sight.

Naturally, the military wants to cover it all up and there's also a resort owner who wants to keep everything going and who ignores all the warning signs. 

Then it's fish nibbling on people, panic, mayhem and blood until Grogan thinks of a way to stop the fish once and for all.

Or does he?

The film is a blast from start to finish. There's not a bit of fat here, it's lean, mean and hungry. The dialogue is spot on and the characters are likable or arsehats who get their comeuppance, although I did feel very sorry for one of the camp councillors (Betsy), who really didn't deserve her fate. This film also has the balls to have kids being attacked and killed, which isn't something you see a whole lot.

Granted, the budget shows in the creature department, as the closeups of the fish are obviously puppets and the school swimming does look a bit off at times, but Dante expertly ramps up the tension, as this film can be quite the nailbiter on first viewing. After that, you will learn to appreciate the dark humour that is strewn throughout and this becomes closer to a biting satire. The ending monologue by doctor Menges is especially spot on. 

You know what? This is one of the best creatures-running-rampant films out there. Dismissing this as just a 'Jaws'-knock off is doing the entire project a massive disservice. But by all means: watch it for yourselves. You will be entertained.