Piranha 1978

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                                                  The Ghoul Report: Piranha (1978)

     This photo is the property of New World Pictures. As someone born in the late 80's, movies generally that came before my birth were not presented to me very often. I have to go out and find the winners on my own. My take tonight is on the 1978 cult film "Piranha".

    The story is a rather simple one, super genetic piranha have been released from a lab. Would you know what is next to this lab? That's correct, a giant tourist town!

  I hate to admit it, with the giant list of credits of the  mega producer Roger Corman, this is only the second movie of his I have seen, after the "Death Race" remake. Through the many channels that YouTube has to offer, I have learned about his films, and what they are known for. I will say this right off the bat, this was not what I had expected.

   This was one of the first films of famed director Joe Dante. For those that don't know, from this he goes on to direct the "Gremlins" series, "Burbs", and "Small Soldiers" just to name a few. Point being, his career is full of classics. 

   I did not know what to expect from this, having seen the 2010 remake first. That was a film that really took the term "B- film" to the next level. I knew this was a Roger Corman film, so I was expecting a lot more gore and nudity in it. It is possible my mind had gotten a bit warped after watching the remake.With that being said I thought this movie was a lot of fun. I think it does ride that line of being fun and taking it self to seriously.

   I think I an handle my negative real quick. There are some weird editing choices in the movie that did make me scratch my head head a bit. The one that stands out is a fight scene towards the beginning of the film. It comes across as awkward and super shaky. It was almost like it was not known how to shoot or put the scene together. 

  In the end, this is a fun movie that is different than the remake. It is toned down and not over the top, I think  it hits a nice sweet spot that works. 

GRADE:B 

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