LEE MAJORS, MARGAUX HEMINGWAY & KAREN BLACK IN 'KILLER FISH'

Title: KILLER FISH Year: 1979 Rating: ****

This infamous low-budget Brazilian import isn't so bad: Centering on a group of diamond thieves in South America who, after blowing up a big outpost during the opening credits and nabbing a cache of jewels, hide the goods in a lake they don't know's inhabited by killer fish i.e. piranha...

All pets of millionaire James Franciscus (or more like his weapons, so they're not the central and/or focal point like Joe Dante's PIRANHA the previous year)... Deadly insurance to weed-out any takers, and a couple of the thieves (including a scene-stealing Frank Pesce) are gobbled up attempting a premature recovery in the lake... Because of this, Lee Majors and Karen Black are pitted against each other in a double-crossing Film Noir fashion: Black joins with Fransiscus and beautiful Margaux Hemingway, as a model on a location-shoot, beds the Bionic Man.

Lee Majors and...

Eventually, in the climatic third act taking place on a slowly sinking boat like its muse and mentor, JAWS – after a sudden hurricane quickly covering the disaster genre, the surviving cast is stuck in the inhabited lake. And the hungry piranha aren't the only problem... 

Killer blonde Margaux Hemingway

Majors has to battle an armed Franciscus while Black is torn between greed and survival in this hybrid of crime caper, Neo Noir and of course, creature feature where the special effects are effective though pretty dated...

The piranha resemble soup crackers on underwater strings... people fall into the water, scream, sink, and red-die rises; there are small town-destroying explosions wedged into this no holds barred multi-exploitation flick as the music is porno-esque yet catchy; but on the plus-side, an immanent sense of danger is palpable throughout the credible and creative shots of Italian director Antonio Margheriti: Basically, whoever goes in the water is most likely dead... And for a movie called KILLER FISH, what else matters?

Interview: KAREN BLACK reflects on KILLER FISH

I just downloaded this movie on iTunes and really like it… Any memories of the opening sequence with the big explosion? For a low budget film it was very impressive...

Karen Black takes it black in Killer Fish

I don’t remember any explosion but I remember I was supposed to be underwater in this skin-tight thing and they shot me in a swimming pool. And I can remember that I really liked Brazil. 

And I can remember that the coffee was unlike any coffee I have ever tasted – the only coffee to drink is in Brazil, in my opinion. I’ve never drank it since I’ve come home. And nothing can compare with it. And I knew, um, ah… I forgot her name. Do you? There’s a beautiful girl… They had a beautiful girl…  

Marisa Berenson in Killer Fish

Okay, let’s see, there’s Margaux Hemingway and… Berenson…  

Marisa Berenson! I knew her… she was a friend of mine. And she was walking one day… She used to dress so beautifully. She was such a beautiful thing... And her hat… The brim of her hat was like, huge and little bathing suits and… She was wonderful. I loved Brazil...

We lived sort of in the bush. I had a house, and my maid, my Chinese maid, was living with me... And they would have all these people living in the house; it was some habit they had. I was so shocked: I would get up and walk in the kitchen and someone would be sitting, sewing-up something of something of mine or, raking the sand in front of my house and there were all these people...  And I guess I was supposed to pay them. Nobody asked me... They’d just turn up. And then nobody had anything to read. We were out in the bush and finally somebody would have a magazine, like a Vogue and then we would stand in line to get the Vogue. We’d all be hysterical to get a Vogue magazine to read. And we ran out of books. And there were no bookstores… But it was nice.

Karen Black reaches a scream queen hand in KILLER FISH 

James Franciscus and Karen Black sort of teamed up in KILLER FISH

Lee Majors, Frank Pesce and Karen Black in KILLER FISH aka Deadly Treasure of the Piranha

Italian star Anthony Steffen in Killer Fish - L'agguato sul fondo aka KILLER FISH

Killer Fish aka Pirañas asesinas eclectic has an eclectic cast includes Gary Collins w/ Marisa Berenson

Lee Majors and Margaux Hemingway in KILLER FISH aka NAKED SUN

Lee Majors and Margaux Hemingway in KILLER FISH with Karen Black

Karen Black takes aim for Pirañas asesinas aka KILLER FISH

Real life model Marisa Berenson as a modelling producer w/ Roy Brocksmith & Anthony Steffen KILLER FISH

Marisa Berenson and Anthony Steffen in KILLER FISH aka Piranha: Kolasi sto vytho

Great foreign poster artwork for KILLER FISH aka Piraijat - raatelijat

Ah, now eventually you do plan to have KILLER FISH in a KILLER FISH review, right?

Margaux Hemingway and Lee Majors showering KILLER FISH ironically titled Naked Sun in the Philippines

Margaux Hemingway facing Karen Black in KILLER FISH aka Helvedet i dybet

Karen Black's back against the wall in KILLER FISH aka Treasure of the Piranha

"I was supposed to be underwater in this skin-tight thing and they shot me in a swimming pool."

James Franciscus and Karen Black in KILLER FISH aka Deadly Treasure of the Piranha

Marisa Berenson w/ Italian actor Anthony Steffan in Italian director Antonio Margheriti's KILLER FISH

The beautifully tragic Margaux Hemingway (looking like little sis Mariel) modelling in KILLER FISH

Margaux Hemingway as a model in KILLER FISH aka The Naked Sun

Karen Black with her sexy zebra bikini in KILLER FISH aka Kolasi sto vytho

Greedy guido heist partners Charles Guardino and Frank Pesce face Lee Majors in KILLER FISH

Frank Pesce takes aim at Lee Majors in KILLER FISH aka O Peixe Assassino

Lee Majors strikes back at Frank Pesce in Esmeraldas y pirañas aka KILLER FISH

Lee Majors bionics heist loudmouth Frank Pesce in KILLER FISH aka Sto kynigi tou paranomou thisavrou

Football QB Dan Pastorini in KILLER FISHRibe ubice aka Рыба-убийца aka aka Çiplak günes

Posters come from somewhere as Margaux Hemingway holds Lee Majors in KILLER FISH

Lee Majors and Margaux Hemingway in KILLER FISH aka Piranhas II: Die Rache der Killerfische

Marisa Berenson looking gorgeous in KILLER FISH aka Sto kynigi tou paranomou thisavrou

Karen Black taking a drink in KILLER FISH aka Zabójcza ryba

James Franciscus and Karen Black in KILLER FISH aka Рыба-убийца

James Franciscus and Karen Black in KILLER FISH aka L'invasion des piranhas

Lee Majors and Margaux Hemingway poolside in KILLER FISH aka Agguato sul fondo

Parenthetical beauties Gary Collins and Marisa Berenson in KILLER FISH

Karen Black walks through KILLER FISH which is a Fawcett/Majors production, and how

Karen Black and boyfriend/partner James Franciscus and his pet KILLER FISH

Other side of Karen Black and heavy James Franciscus and his pet KILLER FISH

As James Franciscus is revealed with his KILLER FISH aka Piraijat raatelijat

Karen Black facing the shocking titular truth in KILLER FISH aka L'agguato sul fondo

James Franciscus w/ Karen Black in KILLER FISH aka Helvedet i dybet and Dödens käftar and Piranha: Kolasi sto vytho

KILLER FISH presented by Fawcett-Majors Productions, Filmar do Brasil and Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Turns out this aforementioned explosion is taken from another film by the same producer but it's cool nonetheless

Opening credit title card for KILLER FISH with the working production date

Marisa Berenson and Anthony Steffen in KILLER FISH

James Franciscus and Karen Black in KILLER FISH with Lee Majors

James Franciscus in KILLER FISH

Lee Majors in KILLER FISH

Lee Majors and Margaux Hemingway in KILLER FISH with Roy Brocksmith

Lee Majors and Frank Pesce in KILLER FISH

Lee Majors and Frank Pesce in KILLER FISH