Piranha (1995)

12% of users liked it
(248 ratings)

Joe Dante's original Piranha (1979) was a small gem, a clever parody of and homage to the numerous eco-kill pictures which followed in the wake of Jaws (1975). It featured a witty script by then little-known screenwriter John Sayles (Lone Star) and a great cast including Paul Bartel, Dick Miller,… More Joe Dante's original Piranha (1979) was a small gem, a clever parody of and homage to the numerous eco-kill pictures which followed in the wake of Jaws (1975). It featured a witty script by then little-known screenwriter John Sayles (Lone Star) and a great cast including Paul Bartel, Dick Miller, and Barbara Steele. This made-for-cable remake, however, is an abomination. It was as if director Scott Levy set out to make the original, scene-by-scene, only without benefit of a good cast and script. Screenwriter Alex Simon seems to have intentionally removed any trace of the sly, knowing humor of Sayles in favor of maudlin stock dialogue mouthed by mannequin-like drones. William Katt delivers a tedious performance which makes Bradford Dillman's work in the first Piranha look like art, and the sluggish Alexandra Paul's female lead is only a shadow of Heather Menzies, which is pretty difficult to imagine. The makeup by John Carl Buechler can't hold a candle to the craftsmanship of Rob Bottin's work in the original, either. About the only thing this disaster has going for it is a fairly interesting song called "Killer Mutant Piranhas," performed over the closing credits by Uncle Dog Food. The rest of the film is like watching a dull summary of the original rather than a real movie. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 21 min.
Directed By: Scott Levy, Scott P. Levy
Genres: Horror

In Theaters: Jun 1, 1995 Wide
On DVD: Oct 22, 1996
Studio: Concorde/New Horizons Home Video

No Critic Reviews Found…

Featured Audience Ratings

Ken S

Not as good as the original, but the nudity is better.
Cassandra M

This film is a complete shamble's from start to finish i ahve seen some remakes & thought yep ok not a patch on the orginal but they have tried something different, but this i know the original was made on a shoe string but it looks like titanic when compared to this mess, i… More
This film is a complete shamble's from start to finish i ahve seen some remakes & thought yep ok not a patch on the orginal but they have tried something different, but this i know the original was made on a shoe string but it looks like titanic when compared to this mess, i wont go into the story as most people will be familiar with the original it dosent really detract from the original script aside from a few character changes however the most shocking thing about this film is that the producer's must have thought everyone who would watch this film would have there brain removed on the way in, the performance's where lousy actor's attempting to be tongue in cheek & ironic dosent really cut it, a really bad music score as well which dosent live up to fantastic one by pino donnaggio, but the biggest crime of all is that they have used effects footage from the orginal with the orginal actor's ( like how are we gonna miss that) it's like having Jaws 2, 3 & 4 & just re using all the shark attack footage from the first film Please do yourself a favour Avoid at all cost's & if u really need something to watch go back to the orginal as all this version does is leave a very nasty taste in the mouth

Cast

William Katt
as Paul Grogan
Alexandra Paul
as Maggie McNamara
Darlene Carr
as Dr. Leticia Baines

Soleil Moon Frye
as Laura
Kaz Garas
as Sheriff Carl
Chelsea Madison-Ciu
as Betsy

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Piranha (1995)

No Critic Reviews Found…

Featured Audience Ratings

Ken S

Cassandra M

Cast

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