Piranha (1978) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_385" align="alignright" width="353"] Official Score = 2 Devils[/caption]

You know one of my favorite horror movies when I was a child was the movie, Jaws (1975)... Besides the fact that the movie itself was really exciting, I saw it at a young enough age, where the movie was still really terrifying, and when my family used to go to the beach like the day after... Boy was it exhilarating!

Let's be honest here folks, when you are still young enough, and impressionable enough to be seeing this kind of movie, the first thing you as a kid are going to believe when going in to the ocean, is that, 'Jaws' is going to get you... And heading in anyway, and facing your fear, is like a pulse pounding edge of your seat experience that you will never forget!

Well obviously, 'Jaws' never got me, and when I went to Universal Studios and saw the, 'Jaws' attraction, that fear and heart pounding exhilaration pretty much quickly turned in to just a life long enjoyment of the ocean and all it represents!

Now you might be wondering why I mention this... Well the reason that I mention this, is because as I grew up, so did my love of under water monster movies, and recently I had the chance to see the Joe Dante (Innerspace) B Movie classic, Piranha (1978) for the first time!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="150"] A true classic![/caption]

Written by: Richard Robinson (Kingdom Of The Spiders), John Sayles (The Spiderwick Chronicles) & Directed by: Joe Dante. Starring: Bradford Dillman (Sudden Impact), Heather Menzies-Urich (Ssssss), Kevin McCarthy (UHF), Keenan Wynn (Once Upon A Time In The West), Dick Miller (The Terminator), Barbara Steele (Pit And The Pendulum), Belinda Balaski (The Vampire Hunters Club), Melody Thomas Scott (The Shootist), Bruce Gordon (Tower Of London), Paul Bartel (Escape From L.A.) & Janie Squire (The Great American Girl Robbery).

There is something rotten about to happen in the Lost River area... You see, it all starts when a couple who happens to be hiking through that area and camping, end up coming upon an old Army base that basically looks deserted, and the two of them end up deciding to take the last swim of their lives!

When the hikers end up going missing, 'Maggie Mckeown' (Heather Menzies-Urich) is hired to try and find them... Well, her first stop in the area is to pick up her guide... a surly pain in the ass by the name of, 'Paul Grogan' (Bradford Dillman)...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Maggie and Paul as they begin their investigation in earnest![/caption]

Well the next stop they go to is the old Army base, and when they get there they begin looking for any sign of the missing hikers... At one point Maggie goes as far as deciding to take on her own initiative to empty out the little pool out in the courtyard area... This is when the two of them are stopped by Dr. Robert Hoak  (Kevin McCarthy).

Well they knock him out before Dr. Hoak has a chance to tell them that they just let loose a whole ton of genetically altered, 'Piranha' in to the river... And that these Piranha are about to head in to an area that is about to become heavily populated!

Well after Hoak destroys their only means of traveling on land to get to the right people to stop this mistake from becoming deadly, it will be up to Maggie, Paul & Doctor Hoak to travel the same river that the Piranha are now in, and get ahead of them, so that they can coordinate with the authorities to stop the Piranha, before the Piranha can destroy the grand opening of a recently made lake (this lake is what the river with the Piranha flow in to, and to ensure that the mountain of swimmers that are about to arrive, are not food for the Piranha!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="610"] A snack![/caption]

In the end, this movie had all the great elements of a Roger Corman (Death Race 2000) a great cast of almost unknown talent, some groovey special effects that are still great even though they aren't CGI and a story that is completely fun, and the vision of a great director! The main problem that I had with this movie, is that like Roger Corman movies, it has some build up time... The problem is, is that unlike most of his other movies... There is to much build up time and after awhile it becomes a little distracting!

In the end, this movie is a fun one, and if you are a horror fiend like me, then there is a scene in this movie that you really shouldn't miss... Anyway check this one out, you might like it!

http://youtu.be/XoCKGvVlNYM

The Terror (1963) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

There are very few artists in this world that can be said to be synonymous with the type of genre, or type of art that they do, more then Roger Corman (Queen Of Blood)…

Now I know there are a lot people who have come since Corman first started this, but the truth is, is that Roger Corman is the very embodiment of B Movies! I mean this guy has literally done hundreds of movie that would have never made it in the main stream… But you know what? The reason that they would not have made it in the main stream in all honesty is because no one can do what he does, like Roger Corman does… in some ways using the same elements that make up the mainstream?

What do I mean by this? Well simply put, this guy helped get some of Hollywood’s biggest names their start… or help them further careers, I mean here is just a small number of some of the amazing talent that this guy has worked with:

1. Ron Howard

2. Sylvester Stallone

3. Jack Nicholson

4. Robert De Niro

5. Boris Karloff

And that is just to name a few! Now you might be thinking, that If he had worked with such amazing A list talent that he must be an A Lister himself right? Well considering his legend he is more than an A-Lister, because in a way, Roger Corman helped sort of, ‘Mentor’ a lot of the Hollywood A-List of the 70s – 90s!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] B Movie Legend, 'Roger Corman' with horror movie legend, 'Vincent Price'![/caption]

But the truth is, is that Roger Corman has made his career out of making awesome movies, that people who are fans of the Hollywood A list type of movie, would consider it to be a B Movie, and I just so happen to catch one of his awesome B movies in the form of, The Terror (1963)!

Written by: Jack Hill (Foxy Brown), Leo Gordon (Attack Of The Giant Leeches) & Directed by: Roger Corman. Starring Jack Nicholson (Batman), Boris Karloff (The Crimson Cult), Sandra Knight (Thunder Road), Dick Miller (The Terminator), Dorothy Neumann (The Ten Commandments) and Jonathan Haze (The Little Shop Of Horrors).

You see, this movie tells the story of a young French Lieutenant by the name of, ‘Andre’ (Nicholson) a soldier in Napoleon's Army, a soldier low on morale, and lost from his regiment, who one day while he was nearing the end of his ropes and lost in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in Germany, ends up coming upon a woman who nearly kills him…

After this occurs, Andre is taken in by a weird old woman and her mute servant… Now searching for the woman that nearly killed him, Andre questions the woman (only to find that the woman is trying to make him believe that there is no woman… But later on, the old woman’s servant, ‘Gustav’ sends Andre to the Castle of the Baron Von Leppe!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The woman of this lowly Lieutenant's dreams may end up proving to be the woman of his nightmares![/caption]

Once he gets there though Andre is greeted by the kindly (but insane) old Baron Von Leppe (Karloff) and Von Leppe’s assistant. Now at this point Andre has forced his way in to the Baron’s home to stay for a while and will ultimately start an investigation in to the girl’s disappearance that will lead Andre, the Baron, and everyone around them in to a world that non of them will ever forget!

In the end, I found this movie is definitely worth a watch, and you might find this movie worth it as well!

http://youtu.be/N2YRo6dskac