Piranha (film series)

Piranha is a horror comedy film series that consists of five films. The original film is a parody of the 1975 film Jaws.

Films

Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer(s)
Piranha August 3, 1978 (1978-08-03) Joe Dante John Sayles Roger Corman, Jon Davison and Chako van Leeuwen
Piranha II: The Spawning November 5, 1982 (1982-11-05) James Cameron Ovidio G. Assonitis, James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee Chako van Leeuwen and Jeff Schechtman
Piranha October 1, 1995 (1995-10-01) Scott P. Levy Alex Simon Chako van Leeuwen and Mike Elliott
Piranha 3D August 20, 2010 (2010-08-20) Alexandre Aja Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg Alexandre Aja, Mark Canton, Marc Toberoff and Grégory Levasseur
Piranha 3DD June 1, 2012 (2012-06-01) John Gulager Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Joel Soisson Mark Canton, Marc Toberoff and Joel Soisson

Piranha (1978)

Piranha is a 1978 American horror B movie about a swarm of killer piranhas. It was directed and co-edited by Joe Dante and starred Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Steele, and Dick Miller. Produced by Roger Corman, Piranha was inspired by the 1975 film Jaws, which had been a major success for distributor Universal Studios and director Steven Spielberg. It has since inspired a series of similarly themed B movies such as Grizzly.

The film involves a private investigator Maggie McNamara from Lyon Investigation. She was hired by the wealthy J.R. Randolph to find his niece, who disappeared with her boyfriend. Maggie seeks out the lonely environmentalist Paul Grogan to help her to look for the teenager. They head to an abandoned army facility and Maggie decides to drain the pools to see if the body of the girl is one of them. They are assaulted by a man with a crowbar, but they subdue him. However, he escapes, and soon they learn that the man is Dr. Robert Hoak, who, for military purposes, is researching a hybrid species of piranha that is capable of surviving in fresh and sea waters. Furthermore, Maggie has released the piranhas in the river, and they are heading to the Lost River Lake Resort.

Piranha II: The Spawning (1982)

Piranha II: The Spawning, also known as Piranha II: Flying Killers, is a 1982 horror film and the sequel to the 1978 low-budget cult film Piranha. The film is the feature film directorial debut of James Cameron.

Piranha (1995)

Piranha, also known as Piranhas, is a 1995 American horror film directed by Scott P. Levy about a school of killer piranhas descending upon the bustling Lost River Lake Resort. Produced as part of Roger Corman Presents, a series of TV films by Roger Corman for Showtime, it is a remake of the 1978 film Piranha.

Piranha 3D (2010)

Piranha 3D is a 2010 American 3D horror comedy film and a remake of the 1978 film Piranha. It was directed by Alexandre Aja and sports an ensemble cast featuring Steven R. McQueen, Jessica Szohr, Jerry O'Connell, Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd, Elisabeth Shue, Adam Scott, Kelly Brook, Riley Steele, Ving Rhames and Eli Roth. The film begins with a sudden underwater tremor that frees scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish. An unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area's new razor-toothed residents.

Piranha 3DD (2012)

Piranha 3DD is a 2012 American 3D comedy horror film and sequel to the 2010 film Piranha 3D. It is directed by John Gulager from a screenplay by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton. It stars Danielle Panabaker, Matt Bush, David Koechner, Chris Zylka, Katrina Bowden, Gary Busey, Christopher Lloyd, and David Hasselhoff. Production began on April 27, 2011 with a release scheduled for November 23, 2011, but a month prior to release this date was revised to an unspecified 2012 date. The film was eventually released in the UK on May 11, 2012 and in the U.S. on June 1, 2012.

Cast and crew

Cast

Character Original series Remake Remake series
Piranha Piranha II:
The Spawning
Piranha Piranha 3D Piranha 3DD
1978 1982 1995 2010 2012
Paul Grogan Bradford Dillman William Katt
Maggie McKeown Heather Menzies Alexandra Paul
(as Maggie McNamara)
Suzie Grogan Shannon Collins Mila Kunis
(as Susie Grogan)
Jack Keenan Wynn James E. Brodhead
Laura Dickinson Melody Thomas Scott Soleil Moon Frye Brooklynn Proulx
(as Laura Forester)
Betsy Belinda Balaski Chelsea Madison-Ciu
Dr. Robert Hoak Kevin McCarthy
Buck Gardner Dick Miller
Dr. Mengers Barbara Steele
Anne Kimbrough Tricia O'Neil
Tyler Sherman Steve Marachuk
Steve Kimbrough Lance Henriksen
Chris Kimbrough Ricky G. Paull
Raoul Ted Richert
Allison Dumont Leslie Graves
Leo Bell, D.D.S. Albert Sanders
Beverly Tracy Berg
Ralph Benotti Phil Colby
Myrna Benotti Hildy Maganasun
Gina Green Kehli O'Byrne
Dave Richard Israel
Sheriff Carl Kaz Garas
Terry Wechsler Leland Orser
Earl Lyon Ben Slack
Jake Forester Steven R. McQueen
Sheriff Julie Forester Elisabeth Shue
Novak Radzinsky Adam Scott
Derrick Jones Jerry O'Connell
Kelly Driscoll Jessica Szohr
Deputy Fallon Ving Rhames
Carl Goodman Christopher Lloyd
Andrew Cunningham Paul Scheer
Maddy Danielle Panabaker
Barry Matt Bush
Chet David Koechner
Kyle Chris Zylka

Crew

Crew Film
Piranha
1978
Piranha II:
The Spawning

1982
Piranha
1995
Piranha 3D
2010
Piranha 3DD
2012
Director Joe Dante James Cameron
Ovidio G. Assonitis
Scott P. Levy Alexandre Aja John Gulager
Producer(s) Roger Corman
Jon Davidson
Chako van Leeuwen
Chako van Leeuwen
Jeff Schechtman
Chako van Leeuwen
Mike Elliott
Alexandre Aja
Mark Canton
Marc Toberoff
Grégory Levasseur
Mark Canton
Marc Toberoff
Joel Soisson
Screenwriter(s) John Sayles (screenplay);
Richard Robinson
John Sayles (story)
H.A. Milton Alex Simon (screenplay); Richard Robinson
John Sayles (story)
Pete Goldfinger
Josh Stolberg
Patrick Melton
Marcus Dunstan
Joel Soisson
Composer Pino Donaggio Steve Powder Christopher Lennertz Michael Wandmacher Elia Cmiral
Cinematographer Jamie Anderson Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli Christopher Baffa John R. Leonetti Alexandre Lehmann
Editor Joe Dante
Mark Goldblatt
Robert Silvi John Gilbert Baxter Devin C. Lussier
Martin Bernfeld
Kirk Morri
Production company N/A Concorde-New Horizons The Weinstein Company
Atmosphere Entertainment
Chako Film Company
Mark Canton/IPW
Radius-TWC
Mark Canton/IPW
Neo Art & Logic

Reception

Critical response

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Piranha (1978) 70% (27 reviews)[1] 71/100 (8 reviews)[2]
Piranha II: The Spawning 5% (19 reviews)[3] 15/100 (5 reviews)[4]
Piranha (1995) [5]
Piranha 3D 74% (132 reviews)[6] 53/100 (20 reviews)[7] C
Piranha 3DD 12% (52 reviews)[8] 24/100 (13 reviews)[9]

References

  1. "Piranha". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  2. "Piranha Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  3. "Piranha II: The Spawning". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  4. "Piranha Part Two: The Spawning Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  5. "Piranha". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  6. "Piranha". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  7. "Piranha 3-D Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  8. "Piranha 3DD". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  9. "Piranha 3DD Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
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