"Pirahna" is a rather fun and enjoyable, if familiar creature feature.
**SPOILERS**
After an unexplained disappearance, Maggie McNamara, (Alexandra Paul) is hired by real estate developer J.R. Randolph, (Monte Markham) to find his niece. Taking her case up to recluse Paul Grogan, (William Katt) in the mountains, her story eventually takes them up to a closed secret military base in the mountains which they find contains a large pool as well as evidence of their previous appearance there. Despite warnings from Dr. Leticia Baines, (Darleen Carr) they drain the pool to conduct their search, only to find out that it was teeming with a school of ravenous, genetically-engineered piranha created during the Cold War to destroy enemies but have since been put aside for study. As the creatures lead a path of destruction up the lake, they realize that they're heading for a kids' camp and a newly-opening resort, they try to stop them before they're all devoured.
The Good News: This here is a really enjoyable and entertaining film. One of the best aspects in this is that this one flies by with it's pacing. It's barely beginning when the investigation starts, barely fifteen minutes have gone by when they're released out into the open, and it's only a short time after that where the fish are starting their trail of destruction. It has a really superb pace which has a lot of possibilities for it to really ratchet up the action, and by making it fly by so quickly, it's able to do that with flying colors. That is also due to the placing of the action scenes in here to keep the film rolling along, which is mainly the violent and gory attacks. There's several really great ones in here, including one in a small pond that takes out a couple as well as the conclusion, which leads to a rather suspenseful sequence where there ravenously attack the boat to get at a bleeding victim which leads to a rather fun and bloody ending. The sequence with the battle at the camp, which scores more points for having the audacity to have it include children in the attack. This is helped along even more with the attacks coming in as very brutal and bloody. There's innumerable who are bitten around the legs and back, resulting in many bite marks and giant swarms of bloodied water, one is bitten on both legs, stripped of flesh from feet up to the knees as well one that has plenty of bite marks around the back, chest, shoulder, stomach and arms, with much more biting to come from this one. It's bloody and gory enough, and works for the style. The piranhas are really well-designed and come off as appropriate predators, making for some really nice moments with them. It's also really fun and enjoyably cheesy at times, just the way it should be. From the manner of escaping the cell to the creatures and the overly fun, at times creepy opening, this one works for it's cheesy air. All of these here really work for the film.
The Bad News: This one here doesn't have a whole lot of flaws to it. One of the main things with the film is how similar it is to the original. As a remake, this one uses the storyline to the exactness of the original, and it uses them almost in the exact same position as the first one. To see the exact same scene repeated in the exact same manner with the exact same shot placing is something that this one utilizes for it's majority of the time, could give this one the impression of being completely unneeded at times. To have a film already do this one before calls the integrity of this one into question, as it's nearly a shot-for-shot version which is something that could be completely taken against this one. This one also has a hard time trying to justify the ending here, where the pollution angle that made the original work here feels completely out-of-place and stuck there mainly for the purpose of having an ending. Other than these, the film doesn't have that many flaws at all.
The Final Verdict: With only the fact that it's an almost-exact duplicate of the original makes this one feel really fun and entertaining when those are put aside. If those feelings can be done, then this one here should be given a fair shot, but unless that can't be done, then it's better off to just ignore this one.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, children in danger and Language
**SPOILERS**
After an unexplained disappearance, Maggie McNamara, (Alexandra Paul) is hired by real estate developer J.R. Randolph, (Monte Markham) to find his niece. Taking her case up to recluse Paul Grogan, (William Katt) in the mountains, her story eventually takes them up to a closed secret military base in the mountains which they find contains a large pool as well as evidence of their previous appearance there. Despite warnings from Dr. Leticia Baines, (Darleen Carr) they drain the pool to conduct their search, only to find out that it was teeming with a school of ravenous, genetically-engineered piranha created during the Cold War to destroy enemies but have since been put aside for study. As the creatures lead a path of destruction up the lake, they realize that they're heading for a kids' camp and a newly-opening resort, they try to stop them before they're all devoured.
The Good News: This here is a really enjoyable and entertaining film. One of the best aspects in this is that this one flies by with it's pacing. It's barely beginning when the investigation starts, barely fifteen minutes have gone by when they're released out into the open, and it's only a short time after that where the fish are starting their trail of destruction. It has a really superb pace which has a lot of possibilities for it to really ratchet up the action, and by making it fly by so quickly, it's able to do that with flying colors. That is also due to the placing of the action scenes in here to keep the film rolling along, which is mainly the violent and gory attacks. There's several really great ones in here, including one in a small pond that takes out a couple as well as the conclusion, which leads to a rather suspenseful sequence where there ravenously attack the boat to get at a bleeding victim which leads to a rather fun and bloody ending. The sequence with the battle at the camp, which scores more points for having the audacity to have it include children in the attack. This is helped along even more with the attacks coming in as very brutal and bloody. There's innumerable who are bitten around the legs and back, resulting in many bite marks and giant swarms of bloodied water, one is bitten on both legs, stripped of flesh from feet up to the knees as well one that has plenty of bite marks around the back, chest, shoulder, stomach and arms, with much more biting to come from this one. It's bloody and gory enough, and works for the style. The piranhas are really well-designed and come off as appropriate predators, making for some really nice moments with them. It's also really fun and enjoyably cheesy at times, just the way it should be. From the manner of escaping the cell to the creatures and the overly fun, at times creepy opening, this one works for it's cheesy air. All of these here really work for the film.
The Bad News: This one here doesn't have a whole lot of flaws to it. One of the main things with the film is how similar it is to the original. As a remake, this one uses the storyline to the exactness of the original, and it uses them almost in the exact same position as the first one. To see the exact same scene repeated in the exact same manner with the exact same shot placing is something that this one utilizes for it's majority of the time, could give this one the impression of being completely unneeded at times. To have a film already do this one before calls the integrity of this one into question, as it's nearly a shot-for-shot version which is something that could be completely taken against this one. This one also has a hard time trying to justify the ending here, where the pollution angle that made the original work here feels completely out-of-place and stuck there mainly for the purpose of having an ending. Other than these, the film doesn't have that many flaws at all.
The Final Verdict: With only the fact that it's an almost-exact duplicate of the original makes this one feel really fun and entertaining when those are put aside. If those feelings can be done, then this one here should be given a fair shot, but unless that can't be done, then it's better off to just ignore this one.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, children in danger and Language