Parents' Guide to

Piranha (1978)

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Extremely gory Jaws rip-off is too much for kids.

Movie R 1978 92 minutes
Piranha (1978) Poster Image

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Kids say (4 ):

Part of the entertainment factor of Piranha is that it has no pretensions of being anything but brisk schlock-horror killfest, intended for drive-ins and grindhouses and nothing more. Word is that Steven Spielberg himself endorsed PIRANHA as the only one of the many, many Jaws rip-offs that had any redeeming value. Despite much bloodletting, the barely-shown-and-better-for-it piranhas aren't exceptionally scary or awe-inspiring, but one appreciates the clever economy in doing lots of vague little water monsters instead of one big, painfully fake one. Still, this one is way too gory for kids, so it is best appreciated by adult film buffs.

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