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"Piranha 3D" : My 22nd Favorite Horror Movie
After a brief hiatus, I'm back with a look at another of my top 25 favorite horror movies. To recap for any new readers, so far we've paused to reflect on Ghostface's Hollywood killing spree (Scream 3), the bloody origin of Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th Part 2) and a tale of a gruesome exorcism that puts the subject of demonic posseson on trial in court (The Exorcism of Emily Rose). And now we turn our attention away from the metaphycal terror of soul-invading entities and towards prehistoric fishies with a conderably mpler agenda. I present to you my 22nd favorite horror movie of all time :Piranha 3D
If you're in the mood for the kind of horror film that reminds you that the genre can be just as fun as it is scary, Piranha 3D is hard to beat. This film is pure fun, and was one of 2010's most unlikely success stories, garnering potive reviews from critics and attracting a wide audience of viewers who value good, popcorn entertainment from any genre. It attracted a surpringly strong cast, as well, including Elisabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, Jerry O'Connell and Christopher Lloyd.Most people don't expect creature features to move mountains, and this one certainly doesn't. Nor would it ever try. Piranha 3D knows what it is and revels in it, offering up all the campy humor, gore-covered beaches and underwater 3D nudity that moviegoers could hope for, without ever apologizing or trying too hard to justify its own existence. Quite unexpectedly, it manages to give us actual characters in the process. Not to say that any role would be particularly challenging to play, but every central character does come across as a real human being with believable characteristics. We come to care for some and intensely dislike others before we find out whether or not they will be devoured.
Elizabeth Shue completely owns her role as Julie Forester, no-nonsense Sheriff and mother of 3. She is able to convey the necessary authority to make her believable as sheriff of a popular tourist town. She also handles the phycal demands of the role well. She is nearly always on her feet or leaping off of them, whether dashing through crowds, hopping from boat to boat, or rigging up a rope so she can shimmy across instead. Though she displays a constant level of concern that is appropriate for a character in a dangerous tuation, Shue never seems winded or about to give up. She plays Sheriff Forester as a character determined to turn things around by the strength of her own resolve, who doesn't stop to take a breather until everyone's finally out of the damn water. Steven R. McQueen is a good fit for the role of loveable loser Jake Forester, the Sheriff's eldest son who seems to miss out on a lot of things so he can take care of his younger blings while his mom works. Jake is a clasc underdog, unpopular because he's a nicer, and generally more responble guy than the ill-mannered jerks who hurl drinks at him and ride away with the cute girl he likes just as he is managing to strike up a conversation with her. And, of course, anytime he does try to do things all the other boys are doing, whether that means watching a little internet porn or going to a wild party, it all goes south and he gets caught by his mother almost immediately.
Jerry O'Connell clearly has a lot of fun with the role of Derrick Jones, sleazy purveyor of a Girls Gone Wild-type video series, who pursues sex, drugs and money with near religious zeal. Derrick is a walking mood swing, happy and raucous as long as the boobs continue to bounce and the cameras continue to roll, but prone to fits of tweaker rage whenever something doesn't go according to plan. This guy made me hate him even as he made me laugh, and when the piranha finally sunk their teeth into him, the damage they inflicted made them seem, for a brief moment, like butt ugly instruments of divine justice.
Other stand-outs are Jesca Szohr as Kelly, a more or less innocent girl who allows herself to get caught up in a little rebellious behavior mostly as a means of proving something to Jake, Ving Rhames, who is in typical bad-ass form as Deputy Fallon, and Kelly Brook as Danni, the nicest, most polite hedonist you could ever hope to meet. The fact that there are well-drawn characters here makes it eaer to feel a sense of connection with this movie, no matter how lly and off the wall things get. Director Alexandre Aja seems to have enough wisdom to understand that tenon is more effectively established if the audience feels like real people are being put in danger, rather than a bunch of ciphers in bikinis and swim trunks. Nothing makes me lose appreciation for a horror/comedy quicker than when the characters behave as if they know they're in a horror/comedy, delivering endless strings of one-liners and stopping just short of winking at the camera as they toddle off to their untimely deaths. There is none of that here. The tone of the film is definitely tongue in cheek, but the characters rightly behave as if their posble imminent demise is a matter for real concern. Their tears, screams and efforts at survival are as heartfelt as any in horror, and their ordeal is presented at a genuinely nerve-wracking clip. These elements keep the movie from becoming pure comedy, and Aja handles them with customary expertise. I was surprised at how vivid and well done the frequent shots of dismembered bodies clogging the lake and strewn about the shore were. I expected the movie to be gory, but I thought the gore would be a little bit more obviously low budget. Instead, the film is peppered with scenes that are surpringly shocking, stomach-churning and legitimately scary for a movie that is so unpretentious.
Even the completely ridiculous ending that defies all good sense does not dampen my enthuasm for this refreshing blast of a movie. It still slaps a big, fat smile on my face whenever I think about it, and I honestly don't think I have ever been more pleasantly surprised by a film that I initially didn't expect a lot out of. Piranha 3D may be a guilty pleasure for some, but for me, the pleasure is absolutely guiltless. It's far better than it has any right to be, and it will always be a personal favorite of mine.
Stay tuned for my next installment!
If you're in the mood for the kind of horror film that reminds you that the genre can be just as fun as it is scary, Piranha 3D is hard to beat. This film is pure fun, and was one of 2010's most unlikely success stories, garnering potive reviews from critics and attracting a wide audience of viewers who value good, popcorn entertainment from any genre. It attracted a surpringly strong cast, as well, including Elisabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, Jerry O'Connell and Christopher Lloyd.Most people don't expect creature features to move mountains, and this one certainly doesn't. Nor would it ever try. Piranha 3D knows what it is and revels in it, offering up all the campy humor, gore-covered beaches and underwater 3D nudity that moviegoers could hope for, without ever apologizing or trying too hard to justify its own existence. Quite unexpectedly, it manages to give us actual characters in the process. Not to say that any role would be particularly challenging to play, but every central character does come across as a real human being with believable characteristics. We come to care for some and intensely dislike others before we find out whether or not they will be devoured.Elizabeth Shue completely owns her role as Julie Forester, no-nonsense Sheriff and mother of 3. She is able to convey the necessary authority to make her believable as sheriff of a popular tourist town. She also handles the phycal demands of the role well. She is nearly always on her feet or leaping off of them, whether dashing through crowds, hopping from boat to boat, or rigging up a rope so she can shimmy across instead. Though she displays a constant level of concern that is appropriate for a character in a dangerous tuation, Shue never seems winded or about to give up. She plays Sheriff Forester as a character determined to turn things around by the strength of her own resolve, who doesn't stop to take a breather until everyone's finally out of the damn water. Steven R. McQueen is a good fit for the role of loveable loser Jake Forester, the Sheriff's eldest son who seems to miss out on a lot of things so he can take care of his younger blings while his mom works. Jake is a clasc underdog, unpopular because he's a nicer, and generally more responble guy than the ill-mannered jerks who hurl drinks at him and ride away with the cute girl he likes just as he is managing to strike up a conversation with her. And, of course, anytime he does try to do things all the other boys are doing, whether that means watching a little internet porn or going to a wild party, it all goes south and he gets caught by his mother almost immediately.
Jerry O'Connell clearly has a lot of fun with the role of Derrick Jones, sleazy purveyor of a Girls Gone Wild-type video series, who pursues sex, drugs and money with near religious zeal. Derrick is a walking mood swing, happy and raucous as long as the boobs continue to bounce and the cameras continue to roll, but prone to fits of tweaker rage whenever something doesn't go according to plan. This guy made me hate him even as he made me laugh, and when the piranha finally sunk their teeth into him, the damage they inflicted made them seem, for a brief moment, like butt ugly instruments of divine justice.Other stand-outs are Jesca Szohr as Kelly, a more or less innocent girl who allows herself to get caught up in a little rebellious behavior mostly as a means of proving something to Jake, Ving Rhames, who is in typical bad-ass form as Deputy Fallon, and Kelly Brook as Danni, the nicest, most polite hedonist you could ever hope to meet. The fact that there are well-drawn characters here makes it eaer to feel a sense of connection with this movie, no matter how lly and off the wall things get. Director Alexandre Aja seems to have enough wisdom to understand that tenon is more effectively established if the audience feels like real people are being put in danger, rather than a bunch of ciphers in bikinis and swim trunks. Nothing makes me lose appreciation for a horror/comedy quicker than when the characters behave as if they know they're in a horror/comedy, delivering endless strings of one-liners and stopping just short of winking at the camera as they toddle off to their untimely deaths. There is none of that here. The tone of the film is definitely tongue in cheek, but the characters rightly behave as if their posble imminent demise is a matter for real concern. Their tears, screams and efforts at survival are as heartfelt as any in horror, and their ordeal is presented at a genuinely nerve-wracking clip. These elements keep the movie from becoming pure comedy, and Aja handles them with customary expertise. I was surprised at how vivid and well done the frequent shots of dismembered bodies clogging the lake and strewn about the shore were. I expected the movie to be gory, but I thought the gore would be a little bit more obviously low budget. Instead, the film is peppered with scenes that are surpringly shocking, stomach-churning and legitimately scary for a movie that is so unpretentious.Even the completely ridiculous ending that defies all good sense does not dampen my enthuasm for this refreshing blast of a movie. It still slaps a big, fat smile on my face whenever I think about it, and I honestly don't think I have ever been more pleasantly surprised by a film that I initially didn't expect a lot out of. Piranha 3D may be a guilty pleasure for some, but for me, the pleasure is absolutely guiltless. It's far better than it has any right to be, and it will always be a personal favorite of mine.Stay tuned for my next installment!
ImmortalSidneyP
Monday 3/05/2012 at 11:01 AM | 91114
