Monster of the Day #1074

Updated on January 8, 2015 By Ken Begg 17 Comments

No surprise here.

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  • Flangepart

    Ya know…that poster may have inspired MEGA PIRANHA. It’s just a matter of scale.

  • bgbear_rnh

    The “stars” of the film have names that would be good material for Mad magazine:

    Bradford Gillman
    Heather Minnow
    Kevin McCrappie
    Keenan Fynn
    Barbara Steelehead

  • David Fullam

    Still the best Jaws cash in.

  • sandra

    Let’s not forget the cameo by the Ymir.

  • rtpoeman

    What’s really cool is when you dig deep into the credits. You can see Academy Award Nominee John Sayles right there on the poster, but in the effects department, you’ll also find people with at least three Oscars and an Emmy….

    Of course, they got those AFTER working on this movie….

  • bgbear_rnh

    Corman sure has a knack for finding talent.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    “Now, let’s rent something from the ‘adult’ section…hm, should I get Back Door Sluts 9, or–say, what’s this? Piranha? Wow, that should be good!”

  • The Rev.

    I love this movie so much. This was one of the two best things I ever rented in high school for movie night with friends. (The other was Super Inframan.) If there’s a better Jaws knock-off I can’t think of. Alligator followed by this make for a fun night’s viewing.
    John Sayles had a hand in quite a few high-quality genre movies; he is right up there with the Three C’s (Carpenter, Cronenberg and Cohen).

  • Eric Hinkle

    I still remember being stunned by the sheer scope of the carnage, first with the kids (how many of them got eaten?) and at the water park/whatever it was. Those piranha looked like they killed about half the state!

  • Flangepart

    Only half the state? (Pifft) Slackers…

  • The Rev.

    It’s been a while, but I don’t think any kids actually get eaten at the camp. The two counselors do, and the head guy gets his nose bitten, but I think the kids get out okay. For years I thought there was a kid under the sheet at the end of the sequence, but later on I realized it was one of the counselors. To its credit, I certainly was prepared for a kid to die, despite their usually being off-limits in movies.

  • The Rev.

    Shame on me for not giving due credit to Joe Dante, who also contributed to some great genre movies.

  • Eric Hinkle

    Really? I could’ve sworn some of the kids were devoured. I know that one pretty young girl counselor became fish food.

  • Eric Hinkle

    They had a reason. They were union piranha. They could only eat people eight hours a day.

  • The Rev.

    Like I said, it’s been a few years; I could easily be mistaken. I will say I would think I’d remember something like that, but who knows?

    Darn, I may have to watch this movie again. What a tragedy.

  • Ken_Begg

    Oh, kids definitely get eaten, yeah.

  • Eric Hinkle

    Yeah, what WAS the Ymir doing in this film, anyway?