Andy Gapin

Piranha is a wonderfully gory piece of entertainment that I should have seen while in theaters. Snoozing on this one was a mistake. Piranha is pretty much the Snakes on a Plane of the aquatic movies…only it’s better than that, it’s more of what Snakes on a Plane should of been instead of what Snakes on a Plane actually was.

Piranha marries together horror and comedy in the perfect way with just the right amount of each to make it much more of a horror comedy than a campy horror flick. Half the hilarity comes from the straight up ridiculous approach taken that makes it clear that the makers of this film were in on the joke in just the same way that the makers of Eight Legged Freaks were.  In fact, a reference to Eight Legged Freaks couldn’t be more appropriate for Piranha.

The gore is not rationed out lightly, instead the blood, guts, and dismemberment are poured on so heavily that it puts Starship Troopers to shame. Seriously, this film should replace the beach scene from Saving Private Ryan and become the new gold standard of bloody references.

When Piranha isn’t dumping gallon after gallon of blood onto the screen–which is most of the movie–it’s pretty much softcore porn. There are plenty of boobs and naked girls to go around, enough to make you double check the disc to make sure it’s not a Girls Gone Wild video.

The only real knock against Piranha is that they had Christopher Lloyd on board and completely squandered him. When you have Mr. Lloyd at your disposal, you can’t waste it! You need to use him to the fullest extent. He should be in every scene. Scratch that. He should be on screen at all times. Unfortunately, this was not the case. He was little more than a cameo in the Piranha.

That mistake aside, Piranha is just great and super entertaining. Watch this. Now.

Entertainment score: A