Ravenous piranhas with razor-sharp teeth terrorize Lake Havasu vacationers in director Alexandre Aja's remake of Joe Dante's campy 1978 horror film, itself a satire of Steven Spielberg's Jaws. When an earthquake tears open the bottom of Lake Havasu, schools of carnivorous piranhas are released from their underwater lair, and the lake turns into a bloody, frenzied death trap for unwitting water-goers.
Get ready for a campy, gory ride. The film takes a bit to get going but once the Piranhas attack the gore comes in buckets and it is all done with a wink. There are numerous scantily clad and nude college party girls type that get eaten to death. Richard Dreyfuss pays funny homage to his Matt Hooper character from Jaws. Rest of the cast does an adequate job at conveying terror, but as expected this is not a film for strong acting performances or brilliant plotting. Christopher Lloyd is a hoot in a brief role. I saw this film in the theater in August and it was goofy late summer fun. Worth a watch for sure. 7/10
Piranha arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer in the original aspect ratio of 2.40:1. A fairly strong presentation with a lush color palette that shows off every individual bikini of the party goers in the film as well as the gorgeous desert images of Lake Havasu. Detail was good when examining clothing textures, rock formations, and the beautiful blue water. Blacks were good but were a little murky in some scenes that take place in the water. I did notice some very light banding in a few underwater shots. 8/10
Audio is provided by a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. A really strong sense of the environment places the listener right on the boat and docks with rest of the cast. When victims are attacked you feel the pressure of being underwater. Surround effects are constantly heard within the soundstage such as screaming coeds, music, guns blasting, and water slowly lapping against the dock. Bass from the LFE channel provided plenty of kick during several attack scenes as well as the thumping music. Sony has provided a great listen here. 9/10
* Audio Commentary - A commentary track is offered with director Alexandre Aja, producer Gregory Levasseur, and producer Alexi Taylor and they are a fun group to listen to.
* Don't Scream, Just Swim: Behind-the-Scenes of Piranha 3D (2hrs9min, HD) - A multi-part documentary that explores every aspect of the production you can possibly think of. Running longer than the film itself the 10 separate segments give more insight then one would ever need to know for a film such as Piranha. If you enjoyed the film this is well worth your time.
Blu-ray Exclusive Content
* Deleted Scenes (7min43sec, HD) - The following scenes are watchable with or without director Alexandre Aja. (Pet Emporium, Cheerleaders, Sand Island Ghost Train, The Kiss, Cliff Diver, Andrew's Death)
* Deleted Storyboard Sequences (11min12sec, HD) - Included scenes are (Billy's Burger Shack , and Mini-van)
* Piranha 3D Trailer & TV Spots (3min38sec, HD)
*Previews ( HD) - Previews for the following films are included: (Resident Evil: Afterlife, Game of Death, Sniper Reloaded, Ticking Clock, and The Virginity Hit)
* BD-Live