Piranha

"Lost River Lake was a thriving resort, Until they discovered..."

1995 1h 29m EN

💀

4.7

SKIP

★4.7TMDB · 110

HorrorTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Doctor Baines has been conducting genetic experiments on piranhas and has made them virtually unstoppable. Unfortunately, his assistants, Maggie and Paul, accidentally release the hybrids into the Lost River Lake threatening to destroy everyone in their path. Can they prevent the flesh-eating piranhas from escaping into the ocean and spawning?

“Lost River Lake was a thriving resort, Until they discovered...”

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Cast

William Katt
Paul Grogan
Alexandra Paul
Maggie McNamara
Monte Markham
J.R. Randolph
Darleen Carr
Dr. Leticia Baines
Mila Kunis
Susie Grogan
Soleil Moon Frye
Laura
Kehli O'Byrne
Gina Green
James Karen
Governor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Scott P. Levy
Writers: Alex Simon, John Sayles, Richard Robinson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Christopher Lennertz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Gilbert shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

William Katt and Alexandra Paul and Monte Markham carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Lost River Lake was a thriving resort, Until they discovered...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0114137 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Scott P. Levy directs. Christopher Lennertz scores. John Gilbert cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
231 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Original score by Christopher Lennertz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor John Gilbert shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5William Katt and Alexandra Paul and Monte Markham carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Lost River Lake was a thriving resort, Until they discovered...".
7IMDB entry: tt0114137 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Original score: Christopher Lennertz
Editing: John Gilbert
Production design: Nava
Costume design: Tami Mor
Sound: William Smith
Stunt coordinator: Patrick J. Statham
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Piranha (1995)

Also by

Scott P. Levy

Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2017-07-10
★ 5/10
It's tough to commend any actual parts of the '95 remake of Piranha, but it's actually quite fun to group watch purely because it's so dated. Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.
Wuchak2018-07-12
★ 5/10
Inferior imitation of the 1978 original Genetically-enhanced piranha are accidentally released into a river system in the wilderness north of Los Angeles, which threaten kids & counselors at a Summer Camp and vacationers at a lake resort. A private investigator (Alexandra Paul) and a lonely environmentalist (William Katt) team-up to save the swimmers. "Piranha" (1995) is virtually a scene-by-scene recreation of the 1978 film, taking place in Southern Cal rather than the heart of Texas. While "Piranha" (both versions) is sort of a "Jaws" (1975) knockoff, it's different enough to not be a rip-off: The story takes place in a river system deep in the mainland and not the ocean; the 'monster' consists of teams of little vicious fish rather than a huge great white shark; the beach sequences involve quaint campground-like beaches rather than major ocean beaches; unlike "Jaws," there's a focus on alluring young women, although "Jaws 2" (1978) delivered the goods in this area as well; and there's more of a sense of adventure and arguably suspense. The tone of the original version of "Piranha" mixed-in amusing elements amidst the horrific mayhem, but this version shoots for a more austere air. This 1995 version is all-around inferior to the 1978 rendition, even though it's basically the same exact story and both were produced by Roger Corman. Some of the changes, aside from cast and locations, include: A woman (Darleen Carr) is substituted for the scientist (Kevin McCarthy) at the research facility; the curious stop-motion mini-dinosaur featured in the first act of the original is omitted here; there's a new wannabe director character; one of the two babes at the camp dies prematurely; and the filmmakers were more conscious of including racial diversity in the background. The new locations with sparser foliage are also inferior, as are the women. Although voluptuous Lorissa McComas as Barbara in the prologue is just as good as (or better than) Janie Squire in the original, Soleil Moon Frye and Kehli O'Byrne are rather second rate compared to cutie Melody Thomas Scott and curvy Belinda Balaski, although Kehli is certainly a striking woman. I suggest skipping this one and viewing the original instead, unless you're a fan of some of the cast members or want to compare the two versions. The 1978 film is just all-around superior. THE MOVIE RUNS 89 minutes and was shot, in part, at Castaic Lake just north of Valencia/Santa Clarita, California. GRADE: C+
Kamurai2020-07-28
★ 6/10
Good watch, might watch again, and can recommend for horror / thriller fans. This is almost beat for beat the 1978 movie with some unecessary nudity and explosions thrown in, and just a little gore as the original was surprisingly absent of it. I do feel like they casted better this time around, and the effects are decent enough that they showed off the fish some this time and it wasn't terrible. The movie still looks like it's from the late 70's early 80's, but with more of a 90's feel. I get the impression that they were trying to preserve a classic look. The movie does some weird re-writes on scenes from the original, but it's not as bad as keeping the "secret military project" angle. The problem with keeping it is that it's supposed to be from the Vietnam war era, but there is almost 20 years difference between the original and this re-make. This also has a very young Mila Kunis in it, which makes it the superior version because, even if she wasn't a better actress then (possible), she's a better actress now than any in this movie. I feel like a lot of potential was squandered on doing a remake instead of a reboot on this one, but it was still a good watch.