Piranha

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Piranha

R

Released Aug 20, 2010

1h 28m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

76%

Tomatometer

131 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Spring break turns gory when an underground tremor releases hundreds of prehistoric, carnivorous fish into Lake Victoria, a popular waterside resort. Local cop Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue) must join forces with a band of unlikely strangers -- though they are badly outnumbered -- to destroy the ravenous creatures before everyone becomes fish food.

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Critics Consensus

Playing exactly to expectations for a movie about killer fish run amok, Piranha 3-D dishes out gore, guffaws and gratuitous nudity with equal glee.

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Piranha 3D is more funny than disgusting, even when screen fills with half-nude swimmers, bobbing like human dumplings in a roiling vat of borscht. This isn't just sick, it's clas-sick!

Rated: 2/4

Mar 29, 2011

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Seen with a group of friends and in a packed theatre it is doubtful that if this is your cup of tea you're not going to walk away ecstatic afterwards.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 27, 2010

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Elizabeth Weitzman

New York Daily News

If you're looking for signs of intelligent life -- well, did you really expect to find them in a remake of a Seventies B-movie anyway?

Rated: 2/5

Aug 26, 2010

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Makes no effort to pretend it's anything it's not: an outrageous creature feature with buckets of blood and bikini babes.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 12, 2025

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The only shocking thing about the new movie from horror director Alexandre Aja is that it was released in theaters.

Rated: 1/4

Aug 9, 2023

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

It's a shame about the less than stellar CGI because aside from bad FX Aja's take on American Spring Break is amusing, utterly ridiculous and hilarious. Kudos to casting names like Rhames and Shue, but O'Connell steals this show.

Rated: 3.5/5

Apr 25, 2022

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Marshall

idc what anyone says this is such a fun movie. I loved it even more second time watching

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/30/23

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Stoner J

Fantastically bloody horror comedy monster movie. The effects are awesome all the way through it’s super gory, funny and fun. Eli Roth getting decapitated is just a cherry on top.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/15/25

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Audience Member

Kinda corny, but I enjoyed it anyways.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/28/25

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dead e

The only bad thing is that its not based off of a true story... I had a fabulous laugh watching the bodies of those college kids get ripped apart. The piranhas did a public service if you ask me.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/24/25

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Shane H.

Every time I watch it,…it’s just as good as the first time

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/19/25

Full Review

Bronn B

This movie is a modern update to the original, with more money and better everything, but ultimately suffers the same problem as the original: is it a fun summer slasher or a serious horror movie? The original movie was clever and well written but suffered from a small budget. This movie amps everything up with better actors, bigger sets, more nudity, and more gore. Jerry McConnell gives a great performance as a sleazy “girls gone wild” producer, and Elizabeth Shue does a good job playing the frazzled small town single-mom sheriff. The VFX is good but some of the CGI is bad, especially at the beginning. There are some great jokes, like the teen surfing for porn for “research purposes” but getting caught by his mom. The plot is a bit weak with respect to his love interest, and was a trope cliche. The overall vibe is fun summer slasher, but the nudity that starts fun (naked girls swimming to harpsichords) becomes gratuitous when it goes on for several minutes. The piranha attacks, which should be shocking jump scares or build on dread, go on for much too long. A lot of people die in this movie, and they show it. This moves the movie from Scream and into the Terrifier realm. It’s probably too much for casual watchers. Overall it’s a nice homage to the original but fails for the same reason. Which is too bad.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/18/25

Full Review

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Alexandre Aja

Director

Elisabeth Shue

Julie Forester

Steven R McQueen

Jake Forester

Adam Scott

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Jerry O'Connell

Derrick Jones

Jessica Szohr

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Synopsis

Spring break turns gory when an underground tremor releases hundreds of prehistoric, carnivorous fish into Lake Victoria, a popular waterside resort. Local cop Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue) must join forces with a band of unlikely strangers -- though they are badly outnumbered -- to destroy the ravenous creatures before everyone becomes fish food.

Director: Alexandre Aja
Producer: Alexandre Aja, Mark Canton, Marc Toberoff, Grégory Levasseur
Screenwriter: Pete Goldfinger, Josh Stolberg
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Chako Film Company , Dimension Films, Atmosphere Entertainment MM LLC, Weinstein Company, Intellectual Properties Worldwide (I)
Rating: R (Language|Graphic Nudity|Gore|Some Drug Use|Strong Bloody Horror Violence|Sexual Content)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 20, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $25.0M
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS

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