Piranha II – The Spawning (1982) – Nostalgia Central

This Italian-made, Dutch-financed unofficial cash-in on the original 1978 film – the official feature directorial debut of James Cameron (although his actual control over the film was incredibly limited) – splices together clichés from every conceivable bad horror movie.

At the Club Elysium resort on a small Caribbean island, lovely diving instructor Annie Kimbrough (Tricia O’Neill) takes visitors down to the wreck of a US Navy supply ship that — unbeknownst to her — sank two months earlier with four canisters of fertile piranha eggs on board.

But these are no ordinary piranhas. These are the genetically modified eggs of flying piranhas, specially developed by the army for use in Vietnam.

Annie’s handsome biochemist boyfriend, Tyler Sherman (Steve Marachuk) – who once worked on the project – explains.

“We spliced the genes from different species to create the ultimate killer organism – grunions that can live out of water – Dactylopteridae, the common flying fish that you see in the bay here, and so it can live in all environments.”

“We’ve got to tell somebody”, Annie responds. But who will believe them? Not her jealous, estranged husband Steve (Lance Henricksen), who also happens to be the island’s police chief,

The flying killers are singularly unterrifying, resembling (in the words of one critic) ‘haddock with dentures’. There are many moments when it is apparent that these are stuffed fish, moved about by sticks and wires and occasionally thrown into camera range by a production assistant . . .

The film climaxes in a laugh riot as formation-flying haddock mass-attack the revellers at a fish-fry festival.

The jolly holidaymakers expect a horde of harmless little grunions to swim up from the ocean to spawn on the beach, offering tasty pickings. Drums beat out an ancient rhythm as our jovial friends with their Hawaiian shirts and killing sticks move gaily forwards across the beach, waggishly chanting, “We want fish! We want fish!”

And then it happens. Suddenly, a dread whirring is heard, the sky blackens, the sea seems to boil with the frenzy of a myriad fins, and they come! At last, they come – the flying piranhas!

At least four or five of them! All moving their wings up and down like clockwork as they go about their carnivorous business.

Club Elysium is full of stock characters: the man-hungry widow, the nerd in glasses, two topless cuties, and a stuttering chump who falls into the water while trying to board their yacht.

And, of course, the stubborn resort manager (Ted Richert), who refuses to curb their frolics over a few flying piranhas.

“Let’s be quite practical, shall we?” he shouts at Annie. “I can’t cut all my beach activities. Fiscally, I’d be cutting my nuts off”.

So Annie and Tyler have to dive down to try to dynamite the fish’s underwater nest – but not before Tyler gets trapped and assaulted by the piranhas, which fishily cut his nuts off.

For decades, James Cameron disowned the film – which was released in some markets as Piranha II: Flying Killers – preferring to call The Terminator (1984) his true directorial debut.

Anne Kimbrough
Tricia O’Neil
Tyler Sherman
Steve Marachuk
Police Chief Steve Kimbrough
Lance Henriksen
Chris Kimbrough
Ricky Paull Goldin
Raoul
Ted Richert
Allison Dumont
Leslie Graves
Jai
Carole Davis
Loretta
Connie Lynn Hadden
Mal the Cook
Arnie Ross
Beverly
Tracey Berg
Leo Bell, D.D.S
Albert Sanders
Mrs Wilson
Anne Pollack
Myrna Benotti
Hildy Magnasun
Ralph Benotti
Phil Colby
Ronny the Lifeguard
Lee Krug
Cindy
Sally Ricca
Mr Dumont
Ward White
Gabby
Ancile Gloudon
Frank
Paul Drummond
Nurse April
Dorothy Cunningham
Aaron
Aston S. Young
Waiter
Paul Issa
Randy
Gaetano Del Grande
Randy’s Wife
Myra Weisler
Randy’s Son
Johnny Ralston
Robert Haywood
Jim Pair
Lou
Captain Kidd Brewer Jr.
Lisa
Jan Eisner Mannon

Director
James Cameron

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