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Killer Fish

Killer Fish
Original movie poster
Directed byAntonio Margheriti
Written byMichael Rogers
Produced byAlex Ponti
StarringLee Majors
Karen Black
Margaux Hemingway
Marisa Berenson
James Franciscus
CinematographyAlberto Spagnoli
Edited byCesare D'Amico
Music byGuido De Angelis
Maurizio De Angelis
Production
companies
Fawcett-Majors Productions
Victoria Productions
Filmar do Brasil
Distributed byParis Filmes
ITC Entertainment[1]
Release date
  • 7 December 1979 (1979-12-07)
Running time
101 minutes
CountriesItaly
France
Brazil
LanguagesEnglish
Portuguese
Italian

Killer Fish is a horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti.[2][3]

Plot

[edit]

The mastermind behind a precision theft of priceless emeralds decides to hide the jewels at the bottom of a reservoir he has secretly stocked with savage deadly piranha. Retrieving the gems turns out to be a caper in itself since the group is now torn by suspicion and jealousy. Several gang members try to recover the loot on their own, only to become screaming victims of the insatiable horde of killer fish. The treasure is down there just waiting to be brought up. To get them, everyone must face the inescapable terror of thousands of man-eating creatures.

At the center of it all is Mugsy, the grizzled leader of the gang, whose iron grip on his crew begins to crack as paranoia sets in. Among the unlikely treasure hunters is Tricia Petmeplease, a weary schoolteacher who joined the scheme hoping that the emeralds would buy her early retirement. But her quiet demeanor masks a fierce determination, and she may be more dangerous than any gangster when cornered. Meanwhile, Matt Mal, a brilliant scientist with enviably gorgeous hair, sees the emeralds as less important than the monstrous ecological disaster festering below the surface. He’s desperate to devise a way to eradicate the ravenous piranhas before they spread beyond the reservoir and into the river system.

Greed, survival, and science collide in a bloody battle where the line between ally and enemy blurs. The question isn’t just who will claim the emeralds—but who will escape the water alive.

Cast

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Filming

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The film was made on location in the city of Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[3]

Reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin stated that the film "appears to have a greater budget than Piranha" and that it "exhibits considerably less imagination".[4] Vincent Canby of The New York Times stated that the film "may not be a good movie — it's really inept—but it's friendly, like Mr. Majors's quizzical squint, which is, I'm told by people who watch more television than I do, what Mr. Majors does best. Everyone, in fact, carries on gamely, as people do at a picnic when it rains."[5]

Legacy

[edit]

The film is one of six movies featured in Season 12 of Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Gauntlet.[6]

The film was broadcast on Tele 5 as part of the programme format SchleFaZ in season 1.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Killer Fish company credits. The New York Times
  2. ^ Lancia, Enrico; Melelli, Fabio (2006). Attori stranieri del nostro cinema. Gremese Editore. p. 279. ISBN 9788884404251.
  3. ^ a b "O Peixe Assasino" (in Portuguese). Cinemateca Brasileira. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  4. ^ "Killer Fish". Monthly Film Bulletin. 46 (540). London: 147–148. 1979. ISSN 0027-0407.
  5. ^ Canby, Vincent (December 7, 1979). "Killer Fish (1979) Screen: Human Prey Menaced in 'Killer Fish':The Plastic Skeleton". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  6. ^ Evangelista, Chris (November 12, 2018). "'Mystery Science Theater 3000' Season 12 Trailer Unleashes 'Mac and Me' and More Awful Movies". /Film. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
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