FILM: Piranha 3D (7/10)

Why did I watch it?
Because sometimes you just need some low brow, tongue-in-cheek horror to brighten up your day.

What's it all about?
It's spring break at Lake Victoria and the small town has been invaded by the stereotypical masses of drunken frat-boys and bikini-clad college girls. Unfortunately for them, their lakeside debauchery coincides with the release of thousands of super aggressive prehistoric piranhas into the water from an underground lake, opened up after millions of years by an earthquake. Elisabeth Shue stars as the local sheriff and Jerry O'Connell plays a pornographer out filming on the lake, both caught up in the horror.  

Should you watch it?
As long as you can handle the deliberately gratuitous gore, boobs, more gore and more boobs (the things I go through for the purposes of a review!),  Piranha 3D is a hilarious and enjoyable B-movie horror. It is probably the goriest film I have ever seen, but whereas the likes of Hostel cross in to  'gorno' territory, director Alexandra Aja provides horror and violence of the comedy kind.

Aja sacrifices a few lone lake inhabitants over the first half of the action and moving underwater shots suggest that no-one is safe. However, once Sheriff Forrester (Shue) discovers the truth behind the random attacks, Aja releases the army of piranhas on the partying spring break masses in a ten minute scene that can only be described as total carnage, with a body count that makes Rambo look like Disney. Some of the deaths are so hilarious, they must be seen to be believed.

Elisabeth Shue is the film's hero, Ving Rhames barely appears and Christopher Lloyd adds to the general craziness with his small part, but it's O'Connell's crazed, coked up adult film director who is most memorable.

The piranha: eats bikini-clad spring breakers  

Although it owes a lot to Jaws and the original parody Piranha, Aja ensures that Piranha 3D is it's own beast (at one point the music does sound similar to John Williams' theme though!).