A young couple mysteriously disappears in a mountain resort near an old military installation. On their trail sets a dogged investigator, aided by Paul Grogan, an initially reluctant local resident. Their search leads unmistakably to the apparently abandoned military installation. Sneaking in, they find some of the two boys' belongings near huge tanks, and fearing drowning, in order to recover the bodies, they decide to empty them all. Unfortunately, however, the two by their act will release something tremendous and virtually unstoppable into the nearby river....
Way back in 1975 Steven Spielberg with his "Jaws" revamped the cinema of terror, contextually giving birth to a particular strand that, in the Horror scene, proved extremely prolific especially in the 1980s. We are talking about the so-called "beast/movie." The clones of "Jaws," over the decades, have been wasted, but among the many flops or not, we also remember unquestionable gems such as this "Piranha," or "Razorback" and "Alligator." Under the production of the immortal and infallible "gimmick" Roger Corman, Joe Dante, in his first try as a director, packs a work of fine workmanship. Not possessing the material means and technical gifts of the genre's founder, Dante chooses simplicity and immediacy, making a very linear film, devoid of virtuosity on camera, but as sharp as the teeth of the ferocious fish of the title. The subject and story, edited by the brilliant John Sayles, spin like a marvel: the film is really enjoyed in one breath. Tense, gripping, pounding, with no holes or lulls. These two "skillful guys" (Dante again directing and Sayles as screenwriter and writer of the subject), would later give us another indisputable gem of Horror cinema, namely "The Howling." Admittedly, in "Piranha," a few scenes might be a bit "naive" (see accelerated shooting, when the protagonists try to get to the Aquarena as quickly as possible with a police car), but basically they do not bother at all. Various and never veiled criticisms are made of the U.S. military and the experiments, of a dubious nature and also of questionable success, conducted during the Vietnam War period (the piranhas of the title were to be introduced into the rivers, rice paddies and lakes of Vietnam, to make them completely impassable; a project that would have spared absolutely no one, generating tremendous carnage). Of course, this is not enough to make such a film content-wise "saturated and elevated," but it is enough to make it "astute," allusive, and even sarcastic. Besides the story, another highlight of Dante's work is the lavish Make-up done by a superb Rob Bottin. The piranhas of the title "do their damnedest" to leave indelible traces of their passage on the bodies of the survivors: we see, in copious detail, torn limbs and bodies, wounds as far as the eye can see (not a bad scene showing a boy who no longer has half a face, devoured by piranhas). Massive doses of gore and blood make the film visually striking and quite difficult to forget. It must be stressed, however, that this is not a splurge for its own sake and "thrown in there without its own logic and coherence" (as is often the case in many recent "splatters," in which the bloody scenes seem almost divorced from the narrative context and in some cases even excessive; shown only for show of means, sometimes even really questionable), but perfectly subservient to the film (to the story in particular). Of this sympathetic work by Joe Dante, the cruelty is also striking: in the story, no one is spared at all; the piranhas attack everyone (including children), leaving, after their passage, a real carnage. Of all the massive scenes, surely, the most successful and engaging one turns out to be the final one, which takes place in the water park Acquarena, directed by the ubiquitous Dick Miller (seen in small but entertaining parts as in the very strong "Gremlins"). Dante, decides to show the "piranhas" at work always very little, compared to what a viewer might imagine: in fact, only a few frames of their movements in packs are seen and they are only partially and very briefly framed during their various attacks on the unfortunate people on duty. This skillful and well-measured use allows the trick not to lose its charm and gives it a certain yield, but above all it never reveals its flaws (basically speaking metaphorically, it can be said that we never see the strings that move the puppets). All in all, an absolute must-see.
Review by decker
