Ultimately Dante is the star and his personality seeps from ever pore of the movie. From his snarky jabs at the military and political apparatuses to silly flourishes that seem to come from out of the blue, Dante’s fingerprints are everywhere.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 17, 2023

Dante’s talented, sure hands assemble a fun little horror-thriller that deserves to be seen as more than just a post-Spielberg rehash, but a winking and skilled thriller in the summer escapism style.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 9, 2023

While Piranha may not be the best horror film, even boarder lining ridiculous at times, it is undeniably entertaining.

| Jul 30, 2022

Even Jaws director Steven Spielberg counts himself among the film's fans.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 26, 2021

The actual attack sequences are fairly convincing, using rapid cuts, panicked thrashing, inserts of toothy fish picking at flesh, lots of blood, and frenzied sound effects.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Aug 30, 2020

Fans of the recent retreads should check this out to cover their grounds.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 4, 2012

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Apr 4, 2011

Essentially, Piranha is the best example of how to do a B-movie knockoff.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 9, 2011

Extremely gory Jaws rip-off is too much for kids.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 24, 2010

[T]hat rarest of rarities: a rip-off that surpasses its inspiration.

| Aug 23, 2010

It's played more for laughs and digs at America's war policy than for scares.

| Original Score: B | Aug 23, 2010

As the boozy mountain man trying to stop the military-grade fish, Bradford Dillman acts as if he'd swallowed Charlton Heston and is now constipated.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 19, 2010

Dante's tongue-in-cheek, teeth-in-thigh debut hasn't lost its bite; it spawns new meaning with each new eco-disaster. It plays very well as a cautionary tale about the dangers of invasive alien species... And don't those fish spread like an oil spill?

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 17, 2010

... an energetic and inventive tongue-in-cheek thriller.

| Aug 11, 2010

If you're looking for a senseless good time that goes a long way in terms of keeping you entertained, then this Piranha package may just be everything you've been hoping to sink your teeth into.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 5, 2010

Dante and Sayles have a great deal of fun with the fact that their story of government created killer fish is completely ridiculous.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 1, 2010

Effective and enjoyable on all counts, with plenty of campy laughs and in-jokes.

| Original Score: B | Apr 9, 2007

Of all the late '70s-early '80s Jaws knockoffs, none balanced tongue-in-cheek humor with out-and-out gore as deftly as Joe Dante's Piranha.

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 10, 2006

A great piece of B moviemaking. An absolute blast that's wickedly funny while still generating nail-biting suspense.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 10, 2005

J em seu filme de estria, Dante exibia um senso de humor atpico - que, infelizmente, no envelheceu bem neste caso.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 9, 2005