Good start, but then it gets ruined

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This movie has a TERRIBLE reputation... but, frankly, I've seen far worse, and, lately! (I know, hardly high praise-- heehee.) I was mainly interested because it featured 2 of my favorites-- William Katt & Alexandra Paul (SIGH!), plus, with Monte Markham as the slimy corporate developer baddie, it wound up with no less than 3 PERRY MASON alumni (I can't believe that was a coincidence). Katt played Paul Drake Jr. in the first 8 Raymond Burr TV-movies in the 80s, Paul was in the first 2 movies after he left (along with William R. Moses-- I was always surprised that she didn't stick around longer), and Markham starred in the ill-advised revival in the early 70s.All I can say is... it HELD my attention, and I managed to plow through it with fewer breaks than a LOT of Corman-produced films. (It was funny how they actually made reference to several of his 70s films in the dialogue, including one of the "women in prison" films.)

Despite being old, this remake of the classic "Piranha" movie is actually not all that shabby. And I would say that it is actually better than the 2010 remake (aside from the effects in the 2010 version).The story doesn't get any easier to follow than it is presented in the movie. The government have been experimenting on piranha fish for insertion into Russia and the East. Yeah, seems plausible enough, right? Haha... Then the project was shut down, but the experiments continued. Now, years later, the piranha are accidentally released out into the nearby river. Wait, it gets better, this new strain of piranha can live in both salt and fresh water, as well as warm and cold water. And the piranha are hungry... There, story summarized."Piranha" actually manages to keep you entertained throughout the entire feature length, and you want to see what happens next.As for the cast in "Piranha", then there were some pretty good names, such as William Katt (playing Paul Grogan) and a very young Mila Kunis (playing Susie Grogan). There are some other familiar faces on the roster as well, and of course an always welcomed face on the screen, James Karen (playing the governor)."Piranha" is worth checking out if you like cheesy horror movies. If for nothing else, then watch it for the hilarious song that plays when the end credits are rolling over the screen; killer mutant piranha...Oh, and notice how the film makers used the same footage of the swimming piranha school over and over again, and sometimes would just zoom in, but still use the same shot. That was wonderful. And also, take notice of the eagle-like cry the piranha emits when they attack, that had me laughing out loud. Priceless entertainment right there.You should check out this 1995 version of "Piranha" if you have watched the original or the 2010 remake. Trust me...

"Pirahna" is a rather fun and enjoyable, if familiar creature feature.**SPOILERS**After an unexplained disappearance, Maggie McNamara, (Alexandra Paul) is hired by real estate developer J.R. Randolph, (Monte Markham) to find his niece. Taking her case up to recluse Paul Grogan, (William Katt) in the mountains, her story eventually takes them up to a closed secret military base in the mountains which they find contains a large pool as well as evidence of their previous appearance there. Despite warnings from Dr. Leticia Baines, (Darleen Carr) they drain the pool to conduct their search, only to find out that it was teeming with a school of ravenous, genetically-engineered piranha created during the Cold War to destroy enemies but have since been put aside for study. As the creatures lead a path of destruction up the lake, they realize that they're heading for a kids' camp and a newly-opening resort, they try to stop them before they're all devoured.The Good News: This here is a really enjoyable and entertaining film. One of the best aspects in this is that this one flies by with it's pacing. It's barely beginning when the investigation starts, barely fifteen minutes have gone by when they're released out into the open, and it's only a short time after that where the fish are starting their trail of destruction. It has a really superb pace which has a lot of possibilities for it to really ratchet up the action, and by making it fly by so quickly, it's able to do that with flying colors. That is also due to the placing of the action scenes in here to keep the film rolling along, which is mainly the violent and gory attacks. There's several really great ones in here, including one in a small pond that takes out a couple as well as the conclusion, which leads to a rather suspenseful sequence where there ravenously attack the boat to get at a bleeding victim which leads to a rather fun and bloody ending. The sequence with the battle at the camp, which scores more points for having the audacity to have it include children in the attack. This is helped along even more with the attacks coming in as very brutal and bloody. There's innumerable who are bitten around the legs and back, resulting in many bite marks and giant swarms of bloodied water, one is bitten on both legs, stripped of flesh from feet up to the knees as well one that has plenty of bite marks around the back, chest, shoulder, stomach and arms, with much more biting to come from this one. It's bloody and gory enough, and works for the style. The piranhas are really well-designed and come off as appropriate predators, making for some really nice moments with them. It's also really fun and enjoyably cheesy at times, just the way it should be. From the manner of escaping the cell to the creatures and the overly fun, at times creepy opening, this one works for it's cheesy air. All of these here really work for the film.The Bad News: This one here doesn't have a whole lot of flaws to it. One of the main things with the film is how similar it is to the original. As a remake, this one uses the storyline to the exactness of the original, and it uses them almost in the exact same position as the first one. To see the exact same scene repeated in the exact same manner with the exact same shot placing is something that this one utilizes for it's majority of the time, could give this one the impression of being completely unneeded at times. To have a film already do this one before calls the integrity of this one into question, as it's nearly a shot-for-shot version which is something that could be completely taken against this one. This one also has a hard time trying to justify the ending here, where the pollution angle that made the original work here feels completely out-of-place and stuck there mainly for the purpose of having an ending. Other than these, the film doesn't have that many flaws at all.The Final Verdict: With only the fact that it's an almost-exact duplicate of the original makes this one feel really fun and entertaining when those are put aside. If those feelings can be done, then this one here should be given a fair shot, but unless that can't be done, then it's better off to just ignore this one.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, children in danger and Language

If you can stomach the campiness, this movie should make you laugh out loud several times. It did for me, at least. I'll only mention one of my favorite elements: the "underwater shots" of the "fish" "swimming". The sound which accompanies those shots is great too.One last note: William Katt is actually a pretty decent actor. I hope he gets another day in the sun; watching him as "The Greatest American Hero" was a fun part of my childhood a couple of decades ago, and he hasn't been very visible since. He seemed kind of depressed in this movie. Somebody give him a fun job on a good show, or something.