Piranha 2

1981
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Tricia O'Neil, Steve Marachuk, Lance Henriksen, Ted Richert, Ricky G. Paull, Leslie Graves

94 Min. | EF | Englische Fassung

Retrospektive

The credits for »Piranha II: The Spawning« list James Cameron as its director, but that is just a legal formality. Cameron himself, who was fired after four days of shooting, has openly distanced himself from this film – and not without reason. Because this overwhelming animal-horror spectacle is undoubtedly ›a film by Ovidio G. Assonitis‹. This shows in the radical alternation of nearly contemplative moments and wild splatter and effects-sequences, as well as in the black humor that regularly features in the images and cuts. A holiday resort, where a decadent American bourgeoisie entertains itself with cocktails and champagne, is attacked by mutated piranhas that were bred in secret American military labs and come like a plague over a society that certainly deserves its own downfall. Apocalyptic scenes are part of this genre, but the echoes of the Old Testament that fill the drastic and sometimes even bitterly comic scenes amplify their impact even further. Assonitis‘ film is the writing on the wall that exhorts us to change our ways, but is never paid attention to.