NOTE IMDb
3,8/10
10 k
MA NOTE
Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueA scuba diving instructor, her biochemist boyfriend, and her police chief ex-husband try to link a series of bizarre deaths to a mutant strain of piranha fish whose lair is a sunken freighte... Tout lireA scuba diving instructor, her biochemist boyfriend, and her police chief ex-husband try to link a series of bizarre deaths to a mutant strain of piranha fish whose lair is a sunken freighter ship off a Caribbean island resort.A scuba diving instructor, her biochemist boyfriend, and her police chief ex-husband try to link a series of bizarre deaths to a mutant strain of piranha fish whose lair is a sunken freighter ship off a Caribbean island resort.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Récompenses
- 1 nomination au total
Lance Henriksen
- Police Chief Steve Kimbrough
- (as Lance Henricksen)
Ricky Paull Goldin
- Chris Kimbrough
- (as Ricky G. Paull)
Tracey Berg
- Beverly
- (as Tracy Berg)
Ancile Gloudon
- Gabby
- (as Ancil Gloudon)
Avis à la une
Incorrectly thought by many to be the picture that started James Cameron's directorial career, considering that much of the film was shot by the executive producer at helm with then-young artist fired within couple weeks into production, Piranha II: The Spawning is a B-movie schlock that's campy, ridiculous & terrible but it is surprisingly not the disaster that I went in expecting.
The sequel to Joe Dante's Piranha, the film is an obvious attempt to cash-in on the success of the original and doesn't even do the bare minimum to deliver the fun, campy fare it could have. Nevertheless, there are few technical elements that do manage to float in this sinking mess as evident in the gore effects on display, score that slowly finds its footing & occasional well-built suspense.
Cameron may have been on the crew for only couple weeks but the underwater sequences do carry his signature & fascination with shipwrecks. Characters are bland, dialogues are lame & flying piranhas are a hoot yet with lesser character interplay & more B-movie thrills, there was an opportunity here to make a silly yet enjoyable feature. All it needed to do was commit but it holds back instead.
Overall, Piranha II: The Spawning is not far from the eyesore that I was anticipating but the film has the so-bad-it's-good quality that makes the ride somewhat amusing. The practical effects also have an old-fashioned charm to them even if the shoddy script, dull characters & pathetic direction is present throughout its runtime. And of all the things it has in store, Lance Henriksen being part of the cast is a legit surprise.
The sequel to Joe Dante's Piranha, the film is an obvious attempt to cash-in on the success of the original and doesn't even do the bare minimum to deliver the fun, campy fare it could have. Nevertheless, there are few technical elements that do manage to float in this sinking mess as evident in the gore effects on display, score that slowly finds its footing & occasional well-built suspense.
Cameron may have been on the crew for only couple weeks but the underwater sequences do carry his signature & fascination with shipwrecks. Characters are bland, dialogues are lame & flying piranhas are a hoot yet with lesser character interplay & more B-movie thrills, there was an opportunity here to make a silly yet enjoyable feature. All it needed to do was commit but it holds back instead.
Overall, Piranha II: The Spawning is not far from the eyesore that I was anticipating but the film has the so-bad-it's-good quality that makes the ride somewhat amusing. The practical effects also have an old-fashioned charm to them even if the shoddy script, dull characters & pathetic direction is present throughout its runtime. And of all the things it has in store, Lance Henriksen being part of the cast is a legit surprise.
Hard to believe it's Cameron, that's right. The directorial wizard who brought us such great films as "Terminator 2" produced this crap first time around. Well, not crap really. This film is okay. The piranhas looked OH! SO FAKE! And the storyline was average, which is BELOW AVERAGE for Cameron. But what kept this sinking ship afloat was Gabby. Gabby was the king of guy that would make you laugh on a rainy day. He's brave (standing up to Henriksen, for example), he's funny(without trying to be), and he's really, really wicked("I'm gonna kill 'em all, Anne!"). Gabby was a great addition to this barely average film. And if I ever watch it again. It would be just to see Gabby work his magic, in his very first film! However, unless you are a die hard Cameron fan, avoid this muddled mess! **out of****
If you guessed Sidney Poitier you'd be wrong. So begins James Cameron's fascination with water. And what humble beginnings they are. Cameron would probably like to forget this one, because it is sadly less perfect than Dante's original. In Piranha II: The Spawning you're no longer safe outside the water. This time they can fly. Now, with a premise like that you expect certain things. Evil, flying, man-eating fish just begs for comedy. But I assure you, this film is never played for laughs; and that's its downfall. Dante's Piranha had elements of comedy in it and this one should have followed suit (especially with flying fish!!!). Make-up legend Giannetto De Rossi did the effects for the film, however, the picture quality on the VHS I was watching was so muddled I couldn't appreciate them. The fish themselves are still accompanied by that menacing sound effect, so they still have that going for them. Unless you're a hardcore Lance Henriksen/James Cameron fan, I'd say you can miss this one.
This really isn't too bad a film, and is certainly a worthy sequel to the original. 'Piranha' worked because it was tongue-in-cheek, making fun of the films it was parodying. 'Piranha II' tries to be more serious, but is so cheesy that it manages, by default, to be just as effective.
This time round the Piranha have moved from the river and are in the sea, able to fly as a result of scientists crossing genes to make the ultimate killing machine. After the opening scene which is similar to the one in Jaws 2, (except here the two divers are lovers trying for some underwater coupling), the film introduces a variety of characters, most of which are surprisingly endearing in a 'B' movie kind of way; particularly two topless good-time girls who get provisions from a stuttering chef with the promise of a threesome.
Lance Henriksen, who continued a lucrative association with Cameron, plays the police chief, who is a hybrid of Brody from 'Jaws' and Colonel Kilgore from 'Apocalypse Now'. He valiantly plays a straight role as all around him descends into chaotic fun. The flying piranha attack like vampire bats, going for the throats of their luckless victims; whilst they also have Alien-like trends, one bursting out of a dead body to attack a nurse.
As can be gathered, I found this film great fun - most production values are of a reasonable standard, particularly the underwater photography. The piranha themselves are a disappointment, but they play second fiddle to the characters and storyline.
People who slate the film need to watch the likes of 'Barracuda' or 'Evil in the Deep', both of which are fathoms below 'Piranha II'. Any film with dialogue like "Do you dive on your first date?" gets the thumbs up from me.
This time round the Piranha have moved from the river and are in the sea, able to fly as a result of scientists crossing genes to make the ultimate killing machine. After the opening scene which is similar to the one in Jaws 2, (except here the two divers are lovers trying for some underwater coupling), the film introduces a variety of characters, most of which are surprisingly endearing in a 'B' movie kind of way; particularly two topless good-time girls who get provisions from a stuttering chef with the promise of a threesome.
Lance Henriksen, who continued a lucrative association with Cameron, plays the police chief, who is a hybrid of Brody from 'Jaws' and Colonel Kilgore from 'Apocalypse Now'. He valiantly plays a straight role as all around him descends into chaotic fun. The flying piranha attack like vampire bats, going for the throats of their luckless victims; whilst they also have Alien-like trends, one bursting out of a dead body to attack a nurse.
As can be gathered, I found this film great fun - most production values are of a reasonable standard, particularly the underwater photography. The piranha themselves are a disappointment, but they play second fiddle to the characters and storyline.
People who slate the film need to watch the likes of 'Barracuda' or 'Evil in the Deep', both of which are fathoms below 'Piranha II'. Any film with dialogue like "Do you dive on your first date?" gets the thumbs up from me.
Cameron defends his first film opus as being, "without a doubt, the finest flying piranha movie ever made." I must agree with The King of the World on that one.
This movie just goes to show that none of us should take early knocks in our careers too hard. From here to Titanic in 17 years is pretty good.
This movie just goes to show that none of us should take early knocks in our careers too hard. From here to Titanic in 17 years is pretty good.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesAlthough this is the first official directing credit for James Cameron, most of the work was actually performed by Ovidio G. Assonitis, the film's producer and prolific film-maker. Assonitis had made a deal with a small label at Warner Bros. for a budget of $500,000 to produce the movie, provided that an American was credited as director. After considering Miller Drake as director but finding him unsuitable, he gave the job to Cameron after being impressed by his special effects on La Galaxie de la terreur (1981); but what he really wanted was a first-timer who he could easily side-step in order to take over as director, something he had already done on Le démon aux tripes (1974) and Madhouse (1981). According to "Dreaming Aloud," a biography of James Cameron by Christopher Heard, and "The Futurist" by Rebecca Keegan, Cameron worked on the film's special effects, re-wrote the script, created storyboards, did location scouting and actually filmed for four days. However, Assonitis called most of the shots, continuously questioned Cameron's decisions, did not allow him to watch his own footage, and finally fired him on the fifth day of shooting, reportedly because Cameron's footage wouldn't cut together. Later, Cameron was able to convince Assonitis to show him a rough cut of the film, which was horrible, but not because there was anything wrong with his footage: Assonitis had simply manipulated the situation to re-write half the movie (adding nudity that wasn't in the script originally). Cameron then broke into the editing room every night for weeks, and cut his own version. Unfortunately, Assonitis found out and re-cut it again. The most widely distributed version of the film that is available on DVD is Assonitis' version, although Cameron was later allowed to create a director's cut that saw a limited release in some markets.
- GaffesObvious dummy when Ann goes into the wreck and the supposedly dead diver floats down on top of her.
- Citations
Tyler Sherman: Hey, come here. Do you go to asshole school or something?
- Versions alternativesThe original, 1988 laserdisc featured James Cameron's much better "director's cut", missing nearly 20 minutes of footage, and having many scene re-edited and reordered.
- ConnexionsFeatured in Beast Week: Piranha II: The Spawning (1989)
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Détails
Box-office
- Budget
- 145 786 $US (estimé)
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