cult film freak: PIRANHA (2010)

Written by James M. Tate / 6/19/2011 / No comments / christopher lloyd , creature , elizabeth shue , horror , remake , tens

PIRANHA (2010)

6/19/2011 | No comment

title: PIRANHA
year: 2010
cast: Elizabeth Shue, Christopher Lloyd, Steven R. McQueen, Ving Rhames
rating: ***

This, a remake in creature name only, more properly described a revision, does what any purposely campy horror movie needs doing: serves up a bevy of characters deserving to (and that the audience anticipates seeing) die horribly: in this case being torn to shreds by killer fish that, because of an earthquake opening a rock shelf beneath a popular party lake, set the fanged fiends free to munch on anyone in the water. Their main course consists of investigating scientists and best of all, a boatload of GIRLS GONE WILD cast and crew.

The lead protagonist, a teenage son of the local Sheriff (Elizabeth Shue), happens on board with his would-be love interest. The boat, docked in an isolated spot away from the fish-laden area, is safe for a while, letting us know the characters before the piranha hone in. On the peripheral (and soon on board) are his little brother and sister, who he’s supposed to be babysitting – adding the same children-in-distress element Joe Dante’s original had with the camp kids at the river. While not coming close to the Dante (Roger Corman produced) classic, it succeeds in doing its own thing its own way.

And as that film’s basis was a parody of JAWS, this begins with Richard Dreyfuss as “Matt” (singing “Show Me The Way To Go Home”), not so lucky this time around. And while the original, because of the low budget, succeeded with character-development and implied suspense (like JAWS), this has skies the limit C.G.I. that, an hour in, when the buildup’s replaced by bloody pandemonium i.e. the big feast, becomes a standard gore fest but with at least a few characters worth saving.

Share This Post :

Tags : christopher lloyd , creature , elizabeth shue , horror , remake , tens

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)THE FEARMAKERS 2)JAWS 3)THE CROWDED SKY 4)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 5)ANATOMY OF A MURDER 6)HOT CARS 7)CANYON PASSAGE 8)VIOLENT SATURDAY 9)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 10)HARDCORE 11)CURSE OF THE DEMON 12)THE SYSTEM 13)SHARKS' TREASURE 14)ROYAL FLASH 15)DUEL IN THE JUNGLE 16)FALLEN ANGEL 17)ASH WEDNESDAY 18)THE ROARING TWENTIES 19)SWEENEY TWO 20)THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN 21)THE DEFECTOR 22)OTLEY 23)AL CAPONE 24)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 25)AIR PATROL 26)KILLER FISH 27)COMPULSION 28)WHITE HEAT 29)EASY LIVING 30)WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS 31)ATLANTIC CITY 32)FRENZY 33)JUNGLE STREET 34)MADISON AVENUE 35)THE SHARKFIGHTERS 36)DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS 37)MY BLOOD RUNS COLD 38)THE LINEUP 39)SWAMP WATER 40)THE DAY THEY ROBBED THE BANK OF ENGLAND 41)RUMBLE FISH 42)HOTEL 43)THE HEARSE 44)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 45)CORVETTE SUMMER 46)THE DRIVER 47)THE SERGEANT 48)HOUSE OF STRANGERS 49)ODD MAN OUT 50)FORCE TEN FROM NARAVONE 51)BULLITT 52)ROBBERY 53)THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE 54)KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE 55)CANYON RIVER 56)THE BREAK 57)THE KILLING 58)BRANNIGAN 59)THE STONE KILLER 60)BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA

ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)MARLON BRANDO 4)JACK NICHOLSON 5)ORSON WELLES 6)PETER O'TOOLE 7)TOM COURTENAY 8)CHARLES BRONSON 9)GENE HACKMAN 10)VICTOR MATURE ACTRESSES 1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN CARPENTER 7)MAURY DEXTER 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)MICHAEL WINNER 10)SAM PECKINPAH