The Movie: Joe Dante's original Piranha was in a sense one of the last great B-movies of the 1970s. With an unexpected writer like John Sayles on board - best known for his mature and probing dissections of American politics and the social struggles which emerge through the ages - it offered a delightful parody on the summer blockbuster, most notably (and obviously) Spielberg's Jaws, trading shocks and tension for over the top gore and laughs. Alexander Aja's remake does little to alter the tone and throws in 3D for good measure. The Silver Lining: Aja's remake is a success precisely because it retains the deliberately awful tone of the original - it is the very essence of filmmaking at its self-consciously worst, eschewing characterisation and a coherent plot in favour of cheesy dialogue, deliciously bloody death scenes and gratuitous nudity. In this sense the entire film is its silver lining - low brow exploitation at its Godawful best. That said, you should avoid Piranha 3DD like the plague...
