Killer Fish (1979)

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writer:

Michael Rogers (writer)

Release Date:

7 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller | Horror

Plot:

Jewel thieves attempt to recover treasure from piranha infested waters. Mistrust and betrayals happen amongst the gang in the quest for gold. |

Plot Keywords:

Treasure | Piranha | Jewel | Water | Killer Fish

Cast

Lee Majors	...	Lasky
Karen Black	...	Kate Neville
Margaux Hemingway	...	Gabrielle
Marisa Berenson	...	Ann
James Franciscus	...	Paul Diller
Roy Brocksmith	...	Ollie
Dan Pastorini	...	Hans
Frank Pesce	...	Warren
Charles Guardino	...	Lloyd
Anthony Steffen	...	Max
Fábio Sabag	...	Quintin
Jorge Cherques	...	Police Inspector
Chico Arago	...	Ben
Gary Collins	...	Tom
Sônia Oiticica	...	Nurse

Also Known As:

Deadly Treasure of the Piranha
Killer fish agguato sul fondo (Italy)
Naked Sun (Philippines: English title)
O Peixe Assassino (Brazil)
The Naked Sun
Treasure of the Piranha

Runtime:

Germany:95 min | USA:101 min

Country:

Italy | UK | Brazil | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (1993) | Norway:16 | UK:15 | USA:PG | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Company:

Fawcett-Majors Productions

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

THE WINNER TAKES ALL

Decent Piranha rip-off

As far as Italian rip-offs of American films go, this one is rather good. The film that is being re-imaged is, of course, Joe Dante's Piranha, and while the plot is clearly an excuse to cash-in; director Antonio Margheriti manages it to keep the film fun and interesting throughout. Margheriti is definitely a talented director; as shown by earlier films such as Danse Macabre and Seven Deaths in Cat's Eye, but he also has a tendency to take projects that are somewhat beneath him; films like this one. But even so, it has to be said that he does a rather good job, as he makes good use of his locations and the footage of the killer fish eating their intended victims is better than it was in Joe Dante's film. The plot focuses on a case full of pricey jewels that end up in a lake filled with deadly piranhas. These fish ain't no vegetarians, and they've been put there on purpose to guard the stones for one of the crooks. However, the case must be recovered, of course, and it's not long before all the major characters (which includes some fashion-related people) end up on a boat in the middle of piranha infested waters.

The problem with this film is that the jewel thieves side of the plot is clearly and obviously just an excuse to have a film with piranhas in it, and the whole piranha plot is clearly just an excuse to cash in on Joe Dante's popular film...so it all feels a bit pointless. Still, nobody goes into a film like this to see a life-affirming piece of art, and so it's more important that the film is fun to watch, which it is. Some of the dialogue and events leading up the finale are more than a little bit dry, but there's usually just about enough else going to keep it from drying up completely. There's not a great deal of gore involved with this film, and most of the blood is soaked in water. The film waits a short while before anyone is killed, but this isn't a bad thing as the plot involving the jewel thieves isn't too boring. The cast isn't bad, with Lee Majors and cult star Karen Black doing well in the lead roles, and getting support from the likes of Antonio De Teffè. Overall, when it comes to Italian cinema; there are a lot of films that should be seen before this one - but if you're running out of stuff to watch, you could do worse than this.