Z/Web

In short: if you’re the type who finds the premise of this kind of film hilarious, you’ll love this movie. If you’re the type who wants to take this kind of film seriously, you’ll hate it. Me, I’m the former: I always think of these kinds of films as comedies, even if they aren’t, and this one fits the bill perfectly. It’s so ridiculously over-the-top it’s wonderful: corny, gratuitous, outrageous, scandalous, gruesome, and utterly hilarious. It’s not scary at all — the people feel like cartoons, and they’re treated as such: there are perhaps more half-eaten torsos and severed limbs than intact bodies in the movie! The “plot” of the film is perfectly minimal: spring break on a lake with prehistoric piranha released by a recent subterranean earthquake. That gives the producers full license for a literal bloodbath of scantily clad beauties being eaten by veracious piranha. There’s a slight story involving the rescue of the female sheriff’s two young children, which gives the film some needed tension, but I was impressed by the film’s pitch-perfect setup and build-up to the grand fishfood climax. The film’s definitely better done than most of these kind of low-budget made-for-cable flicks, with some big stars hamming it up (Christopher Lloyd was awesome and Elisabeth Shue was surprisingly terrific as the sheriff) and quite good special effects. The 3D is actually pretty cool. I hate the stupid glasses, but once you get into the film you soon forget about them, and in several of the scenes the 3D really added to the atmosphere. Overall, this is not a serious film by any measure. It’s mere popcorn silliness, but it’s a blast. Definitely rated R, this isn’t for kids, but if you aren’t offended by naked spring breakers being eaten by the dozen (or find it a positive thing ;-), then go for it!