Piranha 3D, Alexandre Aja, 88 mins, (18)

Starring Adam Scott, Elisabeth Shue, Kelly Brook

Reviewed,Anthony Quinn
Friday 20 August 2010 00:00 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... Jaws is very much the daddy of this thriller, from the ominous camera sharking through the ocean murk (you can almost hear the John Williams score) to the shrieking terrors of a beach community suddenly under attack.

It even features Richard Dreyfuss as the first victim of the razor-toothed piranhas, allegedly a prehistoric breed released by an underwater tremor in Lake Victoria – the fish, that is, not Dreyfuss. Steven McQueen plays the teenage misfit who gets hired as a location scout on a porn shoot – a schoolboy's dream, I suppose, especially with our own Kelly Brook starring as one half of a girl-on-girl underwater ballet. Elisabeth Shue plays the local sheriff and mother of the errant teenager, whose dream job inevitably turns to nightmare once the porno love boat becomes the centre of a piranha feeding frenzy. "There are thousands of 'em – and they're pissed!" cries one horrified onlooker. It's silly but not unwatchable, and has the nous not to take itself too seriously: the piranha "expert", for one thing, is played by Christopher Lloyd, pop-eyed and bathrobed, while Jerry O'Connell touches comical fathoms of scuzziness as the porn director.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in