
Piranha
1978, Horror, 1h 32m
26 Reviews 10,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
Performed with a wink and directed with wry self-awareness, Piranha is an unabashed B-movie with satirical bite. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Paul Grogan
Maggie McKeown
Dr. Robert Hoak
Jack
Buck Gardner
Dr. Mengers
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Critic Reviews for Piranha
All Critics (26) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (8)
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Of all the late '70s-early '80s Jaws knockoffs, none balanced tongue-in-cheek humor with out-and-out gore as deftly as Joe Dante's Piranha.
January 10, 2006 | Rating: B+ | Full Review… -
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January 1, 2000 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
The actual attack sequences are fairly convincing, using rapid cuts, panicked thrashing, inserts of toothy fish picking at flesh, lots of blood, and frenzied sound effects.
August 30, 2020 | Rating: 5/10 | Full Review… -
Even Jaws director Steven Spielberg counts himself among the film's fans.
October 10, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review… -
Fans of the recent retreads should check this out to cover their grounds.
June 4, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review… -
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April 4, 2011 | Rating: 4.5/5 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Piranha
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Jan 24, 2018Not a terrible film, but there was a remake in the 90s with the exact same story featuring better acting and better effects, so you can probably skip straight ahead to that one. Now I know that if I had been around when that remake came out, I'd probably be the first in line to complain "Why'd you even bother? It's just the first movie over again!", but seeing as I watched them both in retrospect, I can ignore the fact that I'm being a total hypocrite and move right ahead to recommending you just watch the remake.Gimly M Super Reviewer
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Jul 27, 2014Despite showing early signs of Dante's peculiar sense of humor (the ululating sound made by the piranhas is a hilarious example), this spoof of Jaws (or as Roger Corman put it, his "homage" to that classic) did not resist well the effect of time, looking pretty trashy and silly today.Carlos M Super Reviewer
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Jan 20, 2013You can tell it's a rip-off of Jaws, but it's got some of it's own charms. The story is about some genetically modified piranhas that were supposed to be used during Vietnam war but after the war finished most of the specimens were destroyed, but few survived and bred and are heading towards a summer camp. It has some great fun and nice use of special effects. Although majority of the film was spent on talking, there are still some great actions and shocks. The acting was terrible, lots of clichés were used despite knowing that they could be avoided. Campy but quite well done thanks to the witty dialogues.Sylvester K Super Reviewer
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Jun 02, 2012Feeling like a replica of Jaws at times, Piranha takes all the fun out of suspense horrors, but having terrible actors at their disposal and a script that anyone could have written. The kill setups are atrocious and the piranha attacks are filmed very unevenly, but it can be fun to watch at times. Once the iconic massacre scene happens, the movie picks up a bit of steam, but overall, it is a very poorly put together film. I feel that it is meant to be a bad film, spoofing these types of movies, but that didn't help the fact that I laughed during ever death. This film had too much going for it, for what it turned out to be. "Piranha" is one film that I will never forget, but for all the wrong reasons. Joe Dante hit a speed bump in his career with this film. Everything about this movie screams bad, but I think that is what they intended, so I will cut it some slack. It's a fun watch one time around, but that is all!KJ P Super Reviewer
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