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Piranha

Piranha

Horror · 1978

When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.

Movie details

Piranha

“A hideous death lurked unseen in the river...”

1978 Horror 1h 34m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Piranha?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Hills Have Eyes

The Hills Have Eyes

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Taking an ill-advised detour en-route to California, the Carter family soon run into trouble when their RV breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, they find themselves at the mercy of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills.

The Burning

The Burning

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A caretaker at a summer camp is burned when a prank goes tragically wrong. After several years of intensive treatment at hospital, he is released back into society, albeit missing some social skills. What follows is a bloody killing spree with the caretaker making his way back to his old stomping ground to confront one of the youths that accidentally burned him.

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th

Horror · 1980

Camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp that was the site of a child's drowning.

Sleepaway Camp

Sleepaway Camp

Horror · 1983

Years after a terrible boating accident, Angela is sent to Camp Arawak where a series of bizarre and violent "accidents" begin to claim the lives of various campers.

Marshmallow

Marshmallow

Horror · 2025

At a secluded summer camp, timid and introverted 12-year-old Morgan is thrust into a waking nightmare when a once-fabled campfire tale becomes real. As a mysterious figure descends upon the camp, Morgan and his newfound friends must embark on a treacherous journey and uncover a sinister reality buried beneath the surface.

The Bay

The Bay

Horror · 2012

Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs.

Alligator

Alligator

Horror · 1980

A baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives by eating discarded lab animals that have been injected with growth hormones. The now gigantic animal escapes the city sewers and goes on a rampage, pursued by a cop and a big-game hunter.

The Sacrament

The Sacrament

Horror · 2014

Two journalists set out to document their friend's journey to reunite with his estranged sister. They track her to an undisclosed location where they are welcomed into the remote world of "Eden Parish," a self-sustained rural utopia composed of nearly two hundred members and overseen by a mysterious leader known only as "Father." It quickly becomes evident to the newcomers that this paradise may not be as it seems. Eden Parish harbors a twisted secret. What started as just another documentary shoot soon becomes a fight for survival.

Just Before Dawn

Just Before Dawn

Horror · 1981

In the Oregon mountains, a pair of hunters encounter a machete-wielding killer in an abandoned church. Meanwhile, five campers arrive to examine some property one of them has inherited but are warned by the forest ranger not to venture forth. Soon after they set up camp, they begin hearing strange noises, encounter a mysterious singing girl and start disappearing one by one.

Rituals

Rituals

Horror · 1977

Five doctors go camping in the remote woods of Northern Ontario. When their boots are stolen they begin to suspect they are being stalked.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Joe Dante

Written by

John Sayles · Richard Robinson

Bradford Dillman

Bradford Dillman

Paul Grogan

Heather Menzies

Heather Menzies

Maggie McKeown

Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy

Dr. Robert Hoak

Keenan Wynn

Keenan Wynn

Jack

Dick Miller

Dick Miller

Buck Gardner

Barbara Steele

Barbara Steele

Dr. Mengers

Belinda Balaski

Belinda Balaski

Betsy

Court is in session

Put Piranha on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.