Reviews

Of all the terror-in-the-water movies that followed Jaws, perhaps the best was Joe Dante's Piranha in 1978, which neatly mixed chills with pitch-black comedy.

This loose remake turns up the dial on both, resulting in a very gory but equally funny guilty pleasure with a keen sense of its own ridiculousness.

By David Edwards

When you set out to make a movie about a swarm of killer prehistoric piranhas, you're tongue better be placed firmly in cheek otherwise the results could be disastrous, because let's face it: no one can say "killer prehistoric piranhas" without cracking a smile. Lucky for us, director Alexandre Aja got the joke with Piranha 3-D, a killer piranha movie that takes a bite out of "serious" monster movies (i.e., Jaws) by going completely over the top, shooting for laughs instead of scares.

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As the credits begin to unexpectedly roll and the film came to an end, I wanted more. Not because I was having so much fun I didn't want it to be over, but because there were so many unanswered questions throughout each of the flimsy plot lines that, for some reason, I really needed closure. The film just sort of ends by slapping the audience with a "sequel!" tease, leaving you wondering what happened with this, that, and the other guy. And that pretty much sums the film up: it delivered the goods in terms of killer piranha action, with gallons of gore and blood to go around, and there were more than enough bikinis and boobs to make for one entertaining ride, but you'll be left wanting more in terms of its characters (and the impressive cast). All in all though, Piranha 3-D is a fun time at the movies and a perfect way to cap off the summer movie season.

By Ammon Gilbert