Piranha

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Piranha

R

2010

1h 28m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

128 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Spring break turns gory when an underground tremor releases hundreds of prehistoric, carnivorous fish into Lake Victoria, a popular waterside resort. Local cop Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue) must join forces with a band of unlikely strangers -- though they are badly outnumbered -- to destroy the ravenous creatures before everyone becomes fish food.

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Critics Consensus

Playing exactly to expectations for a movie about killer fish run amok, Piranha 3-D dishes out gore, guffaws and gratuitous nudity with equal glee.

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Mar 29, 2011

2/4

Piranha 3D is more funny than disgusting, even when screen fills with half-nude swimmers, bobbing like human dumplings in a roiling vat of borscht. This isn't just sick, it's clas-sick!

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Aug 27, 2010

2.5/4

Seen with a group of friends and in a packed theatre it is doubtful that if this is your cup of tea you're not going to walk away ecstatic afterwards.

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Elizabeth Weitzman

New York Daily News

Aug 26, 2010

2/5

If you're looking for signs of intelligent life -- well, did you really expect to find them in a remake of a Seventies B-movie anyway?

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 12, 2025

4/5

Makes no effort to pretend it's anything it's not: an outrageous creature feature with buckets of blood and bikini babes.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Aug 9, 2023

1/4

The only shocking thing about the new movie from horror director Alexandre Aja is that it was released in theaters.

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Apr 25, 2022

3.5/5

It's a shame about the less than stellar CGI because aside from bad FX Aja's take on American Spring Break is amusing, utterly ridiculous and hilarious. Kudos to casting names like Rhames and Shue, but O'Connell steals this show.

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Marshall

May 30, 2023

idc what anyone says this is such a fun movie. I loved it even more second time watching

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Matija S

@mseric90 Oct 24, 2026

Piranha 3D is one of the most entertaining horror comedies of the modern era. Alexandre Aja delivers a fast-paced, outrageously bloody spectacle that combines genuine suspense, dark humor, and unapologetic summer-party excess. When an earthquake releases prehistoric piranhas into an Arizona lake crowded with Spring Break revelers, chaos and carnage quickly follow. Although some subplots feel unnecessary and certain visual effects have aged poorly, the film succeeds where it matters most: entertainment. Its impressive 3D presentation, energetic soundtrack, and spectacularly over-the-top sequences make it a memorable genre experience. More than fifteen years after its release, Piranha 3D remains a perfect summer horror movie: ridiculous, thrilling, hilarious, and thoroughly enjoyable.

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Liam D

@Mediawatcher2003 Oct 7, 2026

Probably one of the sleeziest mainstream horror movies I’ve seen. Alexandre Aja‘s remake of the Roger Corman Jaws Ripoff is gimmicky and ridiculous but a pretty fun comedy that knows what it is lead by Elizabeth Sue and Adam Scott

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Ashequl I

@Tofa13 Sep 27, 2026

How to make a good Piranha movie? You have to have a thrilling, gritty story, a great CGI team, and a great screenplay. Nah, you don’t need any of that. You just need 40 minutes of porn, 20 minutes of overacting, 15 minutes of bad CGI, and some illogical Final Destination-level violence that just doesn’t make any sense. My 90 minutes are just lost. I think I just watched the worst movie of my life. How the hell is this movie getting a 5.5 on IMDb and a 53 score on Metacritic? I think I’m mad, or the people who literally liked this thing are.

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mark G

@Mark_Alan_G. Sep 22, 2026

If you make a top 10 list of escapist fun movies, this is on it. This is very entertaining and moves quickly. Yeah it's a little raunchy, and has some gratuitous violence, but it's still a good time

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Jesse M

@Midnitekrawlr Aug 20, 2026

Quality cheese & sleaze.

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Alexandre Aja

Director

Elisabeth Shue

Julie Forester

Steven R McQueen

Jake Forester

Adam Scott

Novak

Jerry O'Connell

Derrick Jones

Jessica Szohr

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Synopsis

Spring break turns gory when an underground tremor releases hundreds of prehistoric, carnivorous fish into Lake Victoria, a popular waterside resort. Local cop Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue) must join forces with a band of unlikely strangers -- though they are badly outnumbered -- to destroy the ravenous creatures before everyone becomes fish food.

Director: Alexandre Aja
Producer: Alexandre Aja, Mark Canton, Marc Toberoff, Grégory Levasseur
Screenwriter: Pete Goldfinger, Josh Stolberg
Distributor: Weinstein Co.
Production Co: Chako Film Company , Dimension Films, Atmosphere Entertainment MM LLC, Weinstein Company, Intellectual Properties Worldwide (I)
Rating: R (Gore|Language|Sexual Content|Strong Bloody Horror Violence|Graphic Nudity|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 20, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $25.0M
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS

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