Piranha

Name: Piranha
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror, Comedy
Released: August 3, 1978
Duration: 94 min
Rating: 71
Cast: Barbara Steele, Barry Brown, Belinda Balaski, Bradford Dillman, Bruce Gordon

1978

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Ratings

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Piranha

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Movie Details & Credits

New World Pictures | Release Date: August 3, 1978 | R

Starring: Barbara Steele, Barry Brown, Belinda Balaski, Bradford Dillman, Bruce Gordon, Dick Miller, Heather Menzies-Urich, Keenan Wynn, Kevin McCarthy, Melody Thomas Scott

Summary: When flesh-eating piranhas are inadvertently released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.

Director: Joe Dante

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 94 min

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Critic Reviews

John Lingan

Dante makes films that Spielberg’s id might make, movies that double down on pop cultural know-how and riotous thrills without pausing for anything so unentertaining as an earnest assessment of humanity. Read full review

Craig Williams

A delight; a silly B-movie with a smart script and an amusing anti-authoritarian undercurrent. Read full review

Empire Kim Newman

Like all the best exploitation flicks, Piranha is driven by a ruthless desire to entertain and, in this non-pretentious ambition, it succeeds magnificently. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Engaging tongue-in-cheek exploitation pic. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

The silliness of the whole concept is handled with a sly sense of humor by director Dante, with some tongue-in-cheek appearances by Keenan Wynn, Kevin McCarthy, Paul Bartel, Barbara Steele, and Dick Miller adding to the fun. Read full review

Cindy White

Whether Piranha was made as an intentionally cheesy spoof of Jaws or a cynical bargain-basement imitation, the fact remains that it's just bad enough to qualify as good. As long as you don't take it too seriously (after all, the filmmakers clearly didn't). Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

This is one film where the fish win. Read full review

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User Reviews

Computey18

Dec 24, 2022

Probably the best Jaws Rip-Off/Knock-Off ever put to screen and since it's directed by Joe Dante (He Directed The Howling and Gremlins) You know it's gonna be entertaining fun!

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TheQuietGamer

Oct 4, 2018

Master of pop culture mischief Joe Dante helms this low-budget Jaws ripoff/parody with the same "eff-the-man" mentality that would later become one of the defining factors of his career. The kills are rather disappointing as it's mostly just watching people get nibbled to death byMaster of pop culture mischief Joe Dante helms this low-budget Jaws ripoff/parody with the same "eff-the-man" mentality that would later become one of the defining factors of his career. The kills are rather disappointing as it's mostly just watching people get nibbled to death by fast-moving fishy shapes that we never really get a good look at. Of course part of the reason I may be so letdown by this likely comes from having watched Alexandre Aja's gore-tastic remake Piranha 3D beforehand, but given that one of the main appeals of these kinds of flicks comes from the bloodshed I don't feel wrong for expecting quite a bit more.

The real entertainment value comes from the wacky hijinks the protagonists get themselves involved in as their quest to stop the mutant aquatic terrors they inadvertently released is constantly hindered by a corrupt colonel who wants to keep things quiet at the risk of innocence lives in order to line his pockets. Hence the anti-authoritarian undertones. It's a pretty funny movie. The leads are always ready with a quip and some out-of-the-box thinking to save the day. A midday prison break and an attempt to distract a soldier on guard are particular highlights and great examples of how the film never takes itself seriously at all.

Now just because the movie is keen on having fun with itself and the premise doesn't mean it's automatically a poorly made or lazy experience that tries to coast by on chuckles alone. In fact it's quite more imaginative than I expected it to be. The scene where the main characters explore the semi-abandoned military installation's lab in particular really impressed me. Dante and crew went out of their way to fill it with some other imaginative little critters in tanks. Even one that runs around in an amusing and cutesy manner while they do their snooping. It's a moment where you can tell the people involved went the extra mile with Piranha to give it a quirky charm all it's own. It's that kind of thing that makes this goofy B-movie worth watching even if it fails to live up to it's gorehound satisfying potential.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

NickTheCritick

Nov 4, 2021

Joe Dante shots this B movie that turns out to succeed in its main aim : entertaining. This is the best of all the Piranha movies.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

JLau

Sep 25, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Military-issue mutated piranhas are released into a river that flows past a kid's summer camp and the female scientist distracts a security guard by flashing him.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Broyax

Apr 24, 2022

Cette vieille daube fatiguée et périmée depuis longtemps déjà est un navet foireux dont même un piranha affamé ne voudrait pas : il ne voudrait pas tomber malade ou pire, devenir con ! car même un piranha a sa dignité, il ne bouffe pas n’importe quelle saloperie, non, non. D’ailleurs, ilsCette vieille daube fatiguée et périmée depuis longtemps déjà est un navet foireux dont même un piranha affamé ne voudrait pas : il ne voudrait pas tomber malade ou pire, devenir con ! car même un piranha a sa dignité, il ne bouffe pas n’importe quelle saloperie, non, non. D’ailleurs, ils ont fait une réunion et ont voté à l’unanimité : on ne mange pas des merdes pareilles ! Car en effet, difficile de faire pire dans le genre ou le sous-genre de ces vagues produits qui tentaient à l’époque de singer le fameux Dents de la Mer !… Expand

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