When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.
Director:
Joe Dante
From metacritic.com
Jay Pharoah and Bobby Moynihan killed it as castmates on "SNL." Now they almost kill each other as Jay learns to inline skate.
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Title: Piranha (1978)
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1 win & 1 nomination.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Bradford Dillman | ... | Paul Grogan | |
| Heather Menzies-Urich | ... | Maggie McKeown (as Heather Menzies) | |
| Kevin McCarthy | ... | Dr. Robert Hoak | |
| Keenan Wynn | ... | Jack | |
| Dick Miller | ... | Buck Gardner | |
| Barbara Steele | ... | Dr. Mengers | |
| Belinda Balaski | ... | Betsy | |
| Melody Thomas Scott | ... | Laura Dickinson (as Melody Thomas) | |
| Bruce Gordon | ... | Colonel Waxman | |
| Barry Brown | ... | Trooper | |
| Paul Bartel | ... | Mr. Dumont | |
 |
Shannon Collins | ... | Suzie Grogan |
|
|
Shawn Nelson | ... | Whitney |
| Richard Deacon | ... | Earl Lyon | |
|
|
Janie Squire | ... | Barbara Randolph |
Learn more
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Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal. Written by Concorde - New Horizons (with permission).
Taglines:
A hideous death lurked unseen in the river... See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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(uncredited)
Traditional camp song
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The novelization also fills in some trivia about Maggie. When her boyfriend walked out on her, she hired a private detective to find him. She got so hooked on the process she decided to become one herself. By the time she caught up with her ex, she wasn't interested anymore in why he left. See more »Goofs
The water skier is doing his runs on the river. He is wearing a orange life jacket, but when he falls into the water the jacket is yellow. See more »Crazy Credits
The title sinks into the pond water at the start, and turns it blood red. Over the end credits, we hear the sound of piranhas swimming in the ocean. The water turns red as well. See more »Soundtracks
Great Green Gobs of Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts(uncredited)
Traditional camp song
See more »
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
3 August 1978 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Piranha See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$600,000 (estimated)Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (TV)Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1Contribute to This Page
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Better than expected.
Having seen the 2010 version of Piranha (and the 2012 sequel, which was even worse) I really didn't expect much from this, the 1978 original. Turns out it's not bad, and better than I expected.
Starts very well - setting the scene, developing the plot and characters. There is a genuine feeling of intrigue and engagement. You keep thinking "How are they going to stop this?".
From a point, however, it does degenerate into a B-grade creature feature, with action, body count and gore being the main drivers. It also feels like a bad ripoff of Jaws.
However, for the most part it is reasonably enjoyable and worth the watch.