In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Wednesday 18 October 2017

Piranha II: The Spawning (1981)

Every big name director has to cut their teeth somewhere. In the case of James Cameron, Piranha II, a B-movie sequel about ferocious flying fish was his directorial debut. Behind the scenes nightmares plague the film, as rookie Cameron was demoted a week into shooting by producer Ovidio G. Assonitis. While Cameron still shot the footage, he was not involved in the editing. Nevertheless there are instances of JC's future style within certain components of the film, especially the quirky, full-of-spunk characters who tend to populate his films. But many of the small yet humorous setups fall by the wayside as the main storyline deservedly takes up most of the screen time. Besides allusions to a secret government project to genetically alter piranha, this sequel has very little to do with the first film. Despite giving them wings and a slew of advantageous abilities, they somehow have a convenient aversion to daylight. Had Cameron been given a chance, this one could have made a splash instead of a flop. 

2 bad places to fuck out of 5

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