"Piranha 3D" Movie Trailer Review

"Piranha 3D" Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

I guess it's time to face it. 3D is going to be around for a long time. For now, I suppose, we can be thankful that it will only pervade genre films--horror, action, sci-fi--and we won't have to see Seth Rogen blowing smoke from a bong into the audience in 3D anytime soon (at least, I hope not).

So, the next in this long line of 3D efforts is "Piranha 3D," Alexandre Aja's remake of the 1978 film of the same name (minus the 3D), which features a rather extensive list of solid stars and character actors, including Elisabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, Adam Scott, Richard Dreyfuss and Christopher Lloyd. It basically follows these people as they attempt to halt an attack on Spring Break by vicious, giant piranhas.

Now, from a cast like that, I think it can at least be assumed that this film is going for a far more purposefully campy approach than the original might have gone for. This second trailer (a vast improvement over the first, which pretty much only focused on the 3D and made it look like a Disney World attraction instead of a movie) gives us a look at the piranhas, and they're pretty silly looking. I can't imagine they're taking themselves very seriously.

So, taking that into consideration, "Piranha" might be some good, stupid fun. Aja has a so-so track record--solid stuff like "High Tension" and "The Hills Have Eyes" is balanced out by pretty bad stuff like "Mirrors," but I've never found anything to complain about when it came to his directorial skills, so I imagine at the very least this will be competently made fluff. And the cast is great--you really can't deny how awesome it might be to see Dreyfuss in another sea-based horror film and Christopher Lloyd is, without fail, always a pleasure to watch, especially in over-the-top mode as it appears he is here.

So, does it look like a horror masterpiece? Certainly not. But I've found that it's always best to have a bit of humor in something like this, which many recent horror films are definitely lacking in, so it might make it a somewhat refreshing diversion. But I can't say it'll be worth paying an extra $3 just to see a bunch of cheesy-looking fish in 3D.


"Piranha 3D" is set for release on August 27, 2010. Trailer is below. Thoughts?