Retro Review: Piranha (1978)
Piranha (1978)
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: August 3, 2010
Directed By: Joe Dante
Cast: Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Belinda Balaski & Barbara Steele.
Review By: Prudence J. Figgypudding
It should be distinctly clarified that the piranha, whose correct genus species classification remains somewhat of a muddle amongst even the most brilliant minds in the field of ichthyology, is not the supernormal predatory flesh shredder that urban legend has made it out to be. Piranha are omnivorous and the members of the Pygocentrus nattereri family (in layman’s terms: the red-bellied piranha) have been known to attack and devour live the fauna native to South America who have the grave misfortune to wander into their territorial waters. However, at best the piranha is a scavenger, a hyena of the water if you like, feasting upon the flesh of the dead, dying, and injured. Rarely do they attack humans, and it is generally believed that such attacks are instances of poor judgement on behalf of the piranha.
However, when crafting an action driven film geared specifically towards the young, sexually licentious moviegoer, it is much preferable to “bait your hook” with more sensationalistic fare than the standard text book definition of a fairly mundane fish. Director Joseph Dante Jr. (Joe to his cohorts) therefore decided it would be in his best interest to “mutate” the piranha, as it were. His 1978 cinematic offering entitled “Piranha” offers us a species of Characidae that can flourish in both fresh and salt water, tolerate colder temperatures, and dilacerate a body within seconds.
Dispatched to locate two missing hikers, lovable scatterbrain Maggie has no way of knowing that the young couple have been digested during the pre-credit sequence by a school of mutated piranha, in whose breeding pool they foolishly decided to skinnydip. Said breeding pool is the pièce de résistance of an abandoned military outpost situated high in the isolated mountains. It is here where Maggie’s search begins in earnest after a perfunctory search turns up the missing couple’s camping gear. Assisted with great reluctance by the reclusive and oft-inebriated Paul Grogan, Maggie’s reckless enthusiasm results in the accidental release of the piranha into public waters, including the lake where Paul’s young daughter is currently attending summer camp.
Realizing the magnitude of the impending disaster, Paul and Maggie join forces with Dr. Hoak, a man driven mad by his own foolhardy venture into God’s Domain. Impeded at every turn by corrupt officials and sinister government agencies, Paul and Maggie heroically persist in their efforts to somehow stop and perhaps destroy the school of savagely serrated Serrasalmus.
Monsieur Dante, much lauded in the world of B-grade horror for such finite and sublime classics as The Howling, Gremlins, and Amazon Women on the Moon, kicked off his long and lucrative career with this lurid little shocker, which was fortunate enough to find itself graced by the presences of such matinee idols as Kevin McCarthy, Barbara Steele, and Keenan Wynn. Capitalizing on the rampant success of the Jaws movie, released just three years earlier, Dante saw his fish-phobic tale elevated to cult status before the decade closed. With a remake in the works, due to hit theaters in August of this year, now is an opportune time to re-familiarize yourself with this jovial gem. If you cannot wait for its proper reissue on DVD and Blu-ray format on August the 3rd, mere weeks before Alexandre Aja’s re-imagining (director of the French gore film Haute Tension), you may view it in serialized form on YouTube.
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