Just a few minutes into Antonio Margheriti's Killer Fish, a helicopter is seen flying low over an exploding power station, the 'spectacular' scene achieved with a remote-controlled 'copter and miniature buildings. The man operating the chopper can be clearly seen standing behind one of the scale model structures, totally ruining the already unconvincing effect. It's this level of ineptitude that helps to make the movie so much fun for fans of trashy entertainment - it's packed full of unconvincing models (and I'm not talking about the wooden performance by Margaux Hemingway), silly piranha attacks, daft plot points, and one-dimensional characters. In short, if you like your films cheesy, this one will hit the spot.
Lee Majors stars as Lasky, one of a group of jewel thieves who hide their ill-gotten gains at the bottom of a lake while they wait for the heat to die down. Unbeknownst to the rest of the gang, criminal mastermind Paul Diller (James Franciscus) fills the lake with piranha fish, just in case any of his light-fingered friends decide to help themselves. There being no honour among thieves, a couple of the crooks soon become fish food, and Diller and his squeeze Kate (Karen Black) decide to retrieve the gems without telling Lasky. However, when a sudden hurricane hits the area, the pair find themselves trapped on a slowly sinking boat in the company of a suspicious Lasky (as well as members of a fashion photo shoot). Who will survive and who will get nibbled?
Margheriti keeps things moving at a brisk enough pace to ensure that boredom never sets in, despite a 100-minute run-time: the opening explosive heist is a blast, the hurricane keeps things breezy, and the film remains afloat even when a dam bursts (another craptabulous model effect), destroying what was left of the power station (sucks to work there!). The finalé is a lot of fun, with several people getting stripped to the bone by the ravenous fish (including the terribly annoying, obese, bisexual fashion photographer). I would have liked a bit more gore to spice up the film - all we get are a couple of skeletons and some blood in the water - but overall this is a satisfying slice of Italian exploitation cinema.
6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.
Lee Majors stars as Lasky, one of a group of jewel thieves who hide their ill-gotten gains at the bottom of a lake while they wait for the heat to die down. Unbeknownst to the rest of the gang, criminal mastermind Paul Diller (James Franciscus) fills the lake with piranha fish, just in case any of his light-fingered friends decide to help themselves. There being no honour among thieves, a couple of the crooks soon become fish food, and Diller and his squeeze Kate (Karen Black) decide to retrieve the gems without telling Lasky. However, when a sudden hurricane hits the area, the pair find themselves trapped on a slowly sinking boat in the company of a suspicious Lasky (as well as members of a fashion photo shoot). Who will survive and who will get nibbled?
Margheriti keeps things moving at a brisk enough pace to ensure that boredom never sets in, despite a 100-minute run-time: the opening explosive heist is a blast, the hurricane keeps things breezy, and the film remains afloat even when a dam bursts (another craptabulous model effect), destroying what was left of the power station (sucks to work there!). The finalé is a lot of fun, with several people getting stripped to the bone by the ravenous fish (including the terribly annoying, obese, bisexual fashion photographer). I would have liked a bit more gore to spice up the film - all we get are a couple of skeletons and some blood in the water - but overall this is a satisfying slice of Italian exploitation cinema.
6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.