Piranha: Movie Review

I have to be honest, when I heard about this movie I thought it was a huge joke. When it came out last summer we were making fun of it because we do have piranhas at work and every time we walked by them we had a nice laugh thinking people would freak out over these fish.

I also find it funny that in the summer we put out movies like this to make people afraid of the water, when that is one place you want to be because it's so hot, especially if you live in hell like I do here in Phoenix. I am sure Jaws had this same affect when it came out.

Synopsis: The plot for this movie is pretty simple. An underwater earthquake release a prehistoric piranha that is in a feed frenzy. Lake Victoria is not only invaded by these creatures, but sexy co-eds who are on spring break. Now a group of strangers have to try to fight these beasts to survive.

Review: Now before you think you will know my response please read my words carefully. If this movie was an action movie it would be a decent one. Yes, I actually said this. The action bits were good and if this movie was about oh I don't know the Mafia or something it would have been better. 


Now with that said the horror bits and aspect of the movie were half assed in my view. The opening scene showed some potential with it's striking resemblance to Jaws, but once the feeding frenzy began the horrible neon red water ruined it. The lake is murky so a clear neon red color is not going to happen. I honestly think the budget for this movie was the 3 well known actors, red food coloring and robotic skeletons. Yes, when you saw the victims getting eaten you saw metal skeletons with big eyes. This was a huge let down. I rather see bones magically appear after being devoured this these skeletons. It just made the movie not feel like a horror movie at all. 


Also, the huge draw to movies like this that is scares you from wanting to go swimming. This part of the movie was lacking. Maybe because I know that prehistoric lake piranhas do not exist and that I have nothing to really fear when I go into the water of a lake or ocean. I thought the few scary scenes were half assed like the gruesome horror special effects. 


There is also a penis alert. Yes, in the movie like this you expect to see lots of boobs and sometimes you will see bush, but not a penis. This scene seemed a bit pointless and I think was thrown in to give a gross factor and make the guys feel bad for all the boobs they had been watching. 


The acting was good despite that the only actors I recognize was Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd and Jerry O'Connell. The rest of the cast could be anyone and I think the movie would be the same. The big name actors who basically had cameos seems to play roles that are either normal for them and not what I am use to seeing. Christopher Lloyd's role was boring. He does a better job playing a crazy old man, than some fish store owner. I know they needed someone who knew what kind of fish these were, but could they not come up with a better way for this to take place. 

So if you want a movie with some great actions scenes then yes watch this movie. If you want a great horror movie, go someplace else. Heck Jaws would even be a better horror movie than this.