Piranha
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Joe Dante
Bradford Dillman
Heather Menzies
Kevin Mccarthy
Keenan Wynn
Bruce Barbour
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When insurance investigator Maggie McKeown is sent to find two missing teenagers who were hiking near Lost River Lake, she hires a local man named Paul Grogan to be her guide in the area. The two come across an abandoned military facility whose only resident if Dr. Robert Hoak, who was formerly in charge of a secret project to breed piranha to be used in the Vietnam War. Although the project has been defunct for years, Hoak continued to raise the killer fish. When the doctor is knocked out, Maggie and Paul accidentally release the fish into a river that feeds into a lake which is used as a children's summer camp and a new tourist resort. Maggie and Paul try to warn the local citizens, and are met with skepticism until the piranha begin to attack.
Cast
Bradford Dillman
Heather Menzies
Kevin Mccarthy
Keenan Wynn
Bruce Barbour
Eric Henshaw
Barry Brown
Hill Farnsworth
Barbara Steele
Belinda Balaski
Paul Bartel
Jack Cardwell
Mike Sullivan
Guich Koock
Roger Richman
Robert Vinson
Shannon Collins
Shawn Nelson
Janie Squire
Bruce Gordon
Bill Smillie
Melody Thomas Scott
Virginia Dunnam
Jack Pauleson
Richard Deacon
Dick Miller
Robyn Ray
Crew
James M Anderson
Richard L Anderson
Jeff Ayers
Doug Barnett
Adam Beckett
Jon Berg
Jim Boni
Rob Bottin
Robert Brown
Roger Corman
Roger Creed
Joe Dante
Jon Davison
William Decker
Pino Donaggio
Teresa Eckton
Charles H Eglee
Greg Gears
Mark Goldblatt
Joel Goldsmith
Thomas M. Hammel
Bill Hedge
Michael Todd Henry
Jeff Hoffman
Tom Jacobson
David Kayler
Peter Kuran
Costa Mantis
Michael Martin
Natale Massara
Bill Mellin
Kerry Mellin
David Morton
Pat O'neill
Conrad Palmisano
Nick Palmisano
Vincent Prentice
Richard Robinson
Bobby Sargent
John Sayles
John Sayles
Jeff Schechtman
John Smead
Kendrick P Sweet
Ed Tarburton
Rick Taylor
Phil Tippett
Phil Tippett
Chako Van Leeuwen
Harry Wowchuk
David Lewis Yewdall
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
The piranhas...- Whitney
What about the goddamn piranhas?- Buck Gardner
They're eating the guests, sir.- Whitney
People eat fish, Grogan. Fish don't eat people.- Dumont
Terror, horror, death. Film at eleven.- Reporter
C'mon, let's go!- Maggie McKeown
What?- Paul Grogan
You're taking me up there!- Maggie McKeown
Oh NO I'm not!- Paul Grogan
I'm looking for two teenagers that disappeared a few weeks ago. So, I was wondering if there are any places around here they might be or if they may have gone for a swim.- Maggie McKeown
Well, if they drowned, they'd be swept down to the dam. So, you're starting off at the wrong end.- Paul Grogan
Boy, you're the wrong end around here!- Maggie McKeown
That guard is still out there.- Maggie McKeown
Fine, I need you to distract him.- Paul Grogan
What for?- Maggie McKeown
So I can get away.- Paul Grogan
So YOU can get away?! What about me?- Maggie McKeown
Trivia
Eric Braeden was originally cast as Paul Grogan, but he pulled out to pursue another project. Ha had already shot some underwater swimming footage which is used in the film.
A waitress from the Holiday Inn where the director and crew were staying stood in for Heather Menzies during the topless shots because Menzies was concerned that her husband might not approve of the nude scene.
This film was reported to have been shot in 30 days for $660,000.
Bradford Dillman was originally unhappy with characters 2D nature, and asked writer John Sayles why his character was so thin. Sayles responded that Roger Corman regularly did not use good actors in his film, so he deliberately didn't elaborate on characters. But since Dillman was a "real" actor, he was more than happy to enhance his characters depth.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1978
Released in United States September 1996
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1978
Released in United States September 1996 (Shown in New York City (American Museum of the Moving Image) as part of program "Corman's Children" September 7-28, 1996.)
