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Jaws with teeth and zero chill — Roger Corman's B-movie mayhem at its bloodiest.
TMDB
60
IMDb
59
Rotten Tomatoes
72
Audience Score
53
Google
78
Watch

Piranha (1978)

Creature Feature ChaosCampy Carnage70s Exploitation Energy

Overview

ComedyHorrorScience Fiction

When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.

Flag of USUS
Content warning
animal attackreporterfishexperimentanimal horroreugenicsus armysummer campriverb-horror+3 more
Military hubrisNature's revengeSummer innocence corruptedScientific ethics

Standout Aspects

Practical Effects

Rubber fish puppet mayhem that somehow still delivers

Direction

Joe Dante's debut — already showing Gremlins-era mischief

Editing

Ruthless pacing that never lets you breathe

Best for:Friends: Bad movie night with people who appreciate practical effects·Background: Perfect chaos for multitasking — you'll look up for the gore·Rewatch: Spot the Dante regulars and Corman cameos
Heads up:Gore: Cheesy but plentiful 70s gore, especially the dock scene·Disturbing: Children in actual peril (they don't all make it)
Joe Dante

Director

Joe Dante

ReleasedAug 3, 1978
Runtime1h 34m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Pacefast
Intensityhigh
Tonemixed
Feellight
Budget$660K·Revenue$16M
New World Pictures
Chako Film Company

Top Cast

Bradford Dillman

Bradford Dillman

Paul Grogan

Heather Menzies

Heather Menzies

Maggie McKeown

Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy

Dr. Robert Hoak

Keenan Wynn

Keenan Wynn

Jack

Dick Miller

Dick Miller

Buck Gardner

Barbara Steele

Barbara Steele

Dr. Mengers

Belinda Balaski

Belinda Balaski

Betsy

Melody Thomas Scott

Melody Thomas Scott

Laura Dickinson

Bruce Gordon

Bruce Gordon

Colonel Waxman

Barry Brown

Barry Brown

Trooper

Paul Bartel

Paul Bartel

Mr. Dumont

Richard Deacon

Richard Deacon

Earl Lyon

Ask about Piranha

Opens AI chat

Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Universal sued to stop release, claiming it ripped off Jaws — Spielberg himself saw an early cut and loved it, killing the lawsuit.

Cultural

Produced by Roger Corman for $600K, it became his most profitable film and launched Dante's career toward Gremlins.

YouTube

Piranha ≣ 1978 ≣ Trailer

Piranha ≣ 1978 ≣ Trailer

Gallery(16 images)

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Piranha Collection(2 films)
Piranha poster
Now Viewing

Piranha

1978

Piranha II: The Spawning poster4.3

Piranha II: The Spawning

1982

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