The
action kicks off in the sleepy town of Lake Victoria where, once
every year, the population explodes from 5000 locals to 50000 horny
teens for the annual spring break (USA's "Schoolies Week").
However
there is a greater danger than simply hangovers and unwanted
pregnancies this summer - because an underwater tremor has set free
scores of the prehistoric man-eating piranhas into the lake.
And make no mistake ladies and gentlemen - these flesh devouring fish are hungrier than a winning contestant on The Biggest Loser!
So,
as usual, an unlikely group of strangers must band together ("hot for her age" town
sheriff Elisabeth Shue and Party Down's Adam Scott ) to stop
themselves and the town from becoming fish food.
Much like the 1970s cult original, Piranha takes all of it's cues from Steven Spielberg's sea-classic Jaws.
However, in doing so, Piranha actually
delivers genuine tension amidst all the carnage, silliness and wobbly
3D boobie (3D if you are one of the three people in Australia to have
both a 3D compatible Blu Ray player and TV).
The other key factor to Piranha's success is that the
cast are clearly having a lot of fun here too.
Jerry O'Connell hams it
up big time, while the bulk of remaining roles comprise of clever
cameos (Christopher Lloyd delivers his best "crazy scientist"
since Back To The Future), calculated kills (Eli Roth gets a taste of his own Hostel
style medicine) or titillating bappie shots (porn stars Kelly Brook and Gianna
Michaels prove once again that you don't need acting chops to make it
in Hollywood).
It's this sense of tongue-in-cheek fun which really pushes Piranha into another realm - not that of a "classic", but that of a truly unexpected and genuine Friday Night DVD Classic.
Don't
go looking for deeper meaning in the script (Paul Sheer's "Camera
Guy" character literally disappears without explanation at one point) - just grab
some mates, a few beers prior, some popcorn and
prepare to laugh.
Oh... and see a woman's face-skin ripped off! DVD Special Features
There are two versions of this floating around. First up is the 3D
Edition Special Features which include a Filmmaker commentary, 10
Behind-the-scenes featurettes and the giddy thrills of a 3D
presentation on your tele box.
For those of us who haven't been
suckered into buying a 3D TV which will no doubt be useless in a few
years time (hell, it's useless now!) there is the 2D Edition Special
Features. That includes a Filmmaker commentary, Deleted scenes with
optional commentary, Deleted storyboard sequences, 10 Behind-the-scenes
featurettes, Storyboard gallery (yep, the boobs were pre-planned) and a
bunch of Trailer & TV spots.
It's silly, it's stupid, it's
probably a good idea to have in your DVD arsenal just in case someone
wants to get drunk with you in front of the TV.
Conclusion - Movie: 70% Extras: 70%
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