Cast: Danielle Panabaker, David Hasselhoff, Matt Bush
Director: John Gulager
Country: USA
Genre: Comedy | Horror | Thriller
Official Trailer: Here
Editor’s Notes: Piranha 3DD opens for wide release on 6/1/2012.
The killer Piranha series has come a long way from the squealing rubber puppets of Joe Dante’s classic Jaws clone. It’s become a symbol of offensively gratuitous sexy violence. Much like in Piranha 3D, the screen overflows with blood and breasts; exposed skin and bone are in abundance. These shocking images are wrapped up neatly by a truly cruel sense of humor, which, if you’re feeling a little on the dark side, is incredibly infectious. It’s Piranha 3DD and it makes no apologies.
We’re talking about a film where the gore gag is god. To hell with story and characters, everything takes a back seat to fulfill the mandate of spurting copious amounts of red stuff. It seems the filmmakers had one rule in mind to be as grotesquely outrageous as possible and they certainly succeeded in that. There’s a refreshingly politically incorrect vibe permeating through the film. Basically, you’re slapped in the face so many times that you start to enjoy it.
We’re talking about a film where the gore gag is god. To hell with story and characters, everything takes a back seat to fulfill the mandate of spurting copious amounts of red stuff.
It’s reminiscent of the splatter film craze of the 80s, albeit more self-aware and campy. What was once done to seriously frighten an audience is now done to make them giggle, which is only possible with an awareness of genre. Without leaning on a history of over the top gore fests, many of the jokes in Piranha might fall flat. It’s hard to make the devouring of innocent swimmers by a school of vicious, razor-toothed fish a laughing matter… but it is pretty funny.
If the award for greatest amount of cameos per second exists, this film surely deserves it. It seems every scene has a cult actor doing a slow winking turn toward the audience. In most cases this would seem like a cheap gimmick, but once again, considering the film’s commitment to the gag, the surprise guest appearances fit right in.
If the award for greatest amount of cameos per second exists, this film surely deserves it. It seems every scene has a cult actor doing a slow winking turn toward the audience.
So the question must be posed: is this flagrant disregard for everything a “respectable” film holds dear a detractor? Doesn’t that make it a lesser film? On the contrary, why shouldn’t the impulse to shock and disgust an audience be equally as respected as the impulse to make them cry? Both elicit strong reactions and both take equal amounts of conviction from the storytellers. You can look at Piranha as just a silly splatter flick, but it takes its silly seriously. The movie is a celebration of shocking exploitation crafted in a familiar pop-culture savvy way. It’s as contemporary as it is contemptible.
This killer fish adventure aspires to the heights of a well-produced Troma film and not only reaches those modest goals, but surpasses them. There isn’t a serious scene to be found in the murky depths of this skin chewing, blood spewing drive-in movie. Where the first film had an amusing, but also viciously disturbing tone, this film offers only bloody chuckles, never stopping to think of the true impact of carnage on display. In that way, the first film was one fin ahead of the game. Piranha 3DD couldn’t care less about the game. It just wants to have fun by any means necessary. And it does… Oh, it does.
[notification type=”star”]75/100 ~ GOOD. In that way, the first film was one fin ahead of the game. Piranha 3DD couldn’t care less about the game. It just wants to have fun by any means necessary. And it does… Oh, it does.[/notification]
