Piranha II: The Spawning: Difference between revisions
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== Plot == |
== Plot == |
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Holiday makers at the beach are attacked by [[mutant]] flying [[piranha]] [[fish]]. |
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== Production == |
== Production == |
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Revision as of 19:14, 23 July 2010
| Piranha II: The Spawning | |
|---|---|
| File:Piranha2.jpg Spanish film poster | |
| Directed by | James Cameron |
| Written by | H.A. Milton (AKA James Cameron) |
| Starring | Tricia O'Neil Steve Marachuk Lance Henriksen Ricky G. Paull Ted Richert Leslie Graves |
| Cinematography | Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli |
| Edited by | Roberto Silvi |
| Music by | Stelvio Cipriani (as Steve Powder) |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date | 1981 |
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Countries | Italy United States |
| Language | English |
Piranha II: The Spawning is a 1981 horror film, the sequel to the 1978 low-budget film Piranha, and the feature film directorial debut of James Cameron. The film is also known as Piranha II: Flying Killers.
Cast
- Tricia O'Neil - Anne Kimbrough
- Steve Marachuk - Tyler Sherman
- Lance Henriksen - Steve Kimbrough
- Ricky Paull Goldin - Chris Kimbrough
- Ted Richert - Raoul, Hotel Manager
- Leslie Graves - Allison Dumont
- Carole Davis - Jai
- Connie Lynn Hadden - Loretta
- Captain Kidd Brewer Jr. - Lou
- Jan Eisner Mannon - Lisa
- Arnie Ross - Mal the Cook
- Tracy Berg - Beverly
- Albert Sanders (actor) - Leo Bell, D.D.S.
- Anne Pollack - Mrs. Wilson
- Lee Krug - Ron 'Ronny', the Lifeguard
- Sally Ricca - Cindy
- Dorothy Cunningham - Nurse April
Plot
Holiday makers at the beach are attacked by mutant flying piranha fish.
Production
James Cameron was originally hired as the special effects director for this film and took over the direction when the original director left (He also re-wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym H. A. Milton). Due to budget limitations the crew was composed essentially of Italians, none of whom spoke English. Some however did have prior experience on horror/fantasy movies so they were, to some extent, able to satisfy Cameron's requirements.
After the first week of shooting, the set harmony was disturbed by some discussions about the work between the director and the producers (the executive producer, Ovidio G. Assonitis, asked to verify the day-to-day activities, arguing with most of Cameron's choices), so whilst Cameron was only responsible for the shooting, most of the decisions were under Assonitis' authority. According to Dreaming Aloud, a biography of James Cameron by Christopher Heard, Cameron was not allowed to see his footage and was not involved in editing. He broke into the editing room in Rome and cut his own version while the film's producers were at Cannes, but was caught and Assonitis re-cut it again.
In a 2008 interview on The Hour, Cameron jokingly denied breaking into the editing room, then recounted the story as a "hypothetical scenario", and told host George Stroumboulopoulos how he "would've broken into the office" if he actually did it.
As in the first film, which was one of many horror films inspired by the success of Steven Spielberg's 1975 film Jaws, piranhas act as the antagonist monsters harming human life, and have developed the ability to fly, which they did not have in the first film. On the Terminator 2: Judgment Day commentary track, Cameron jokingly defended the film, tongue firmly in cheek, as "the finest flying killer fish horror/comedy ever made." He would later employ some of the same mechanisms used to make the piranhas fly in the facehugger animatronics for Aliens.
Most of the underwater scenes were filmed off Grand Cayman, and the stand-in for the Club Elysium is the Mallard Beach Hyatt. Interior scenes were filmed on a sound stage in Rome.[1]
Reviews
Some critics called the film "abject". Others opined that "the piranhas...look as though they had been remaindered from a joke shop" and that they resembled "haddock with dentures".[2] According to Tim Healey in The World's Worst Movies (1986) the film is "a strong contender...for anyone's list of all-time horror turkeys.[3] The film holds an 8% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[4]
James Cameron consistently refers to The Terminator as his first feature length film, despite the fact that it was made in 1984, three years after Piranha II: The Spawning.[citation needed] However Cameron acknowledged the film in a 60 Minutes segment with interviewer Morley Safer in 2010, referring to Piranha II as "the best flying piranha film ever made".[5]
Interestingly, it has been said that the plot of Piranha II has some very strong parallels to that of Aliens (another sequel), a film which was made by James Cameron just five years later.
References
- ^ Dr. John L. Flynn's essay on Piranha II
- ^ Tim Healey (1986) The World's Worst Movies. London, Octopus Books: 6-7
- ^ Tim Healey (1986) The World's Worst Movies. London, Octopus Books: 7
- ^ Piranha 2: The Spawning at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ 60 Minutes, 27 June 2010.