Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981)
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A Caribbean coastal resort is besieged by genetically modified piranhas that have developed the ability to fly.
The story
At the Hotel Elysium, a Caribbean coastal resort, a series of vicious marine animal attacks originate from a nearby sunken shipwreck. Diving instructor Anne Kimbrough discovers that the attacks are caused by piranhas that have developed the ability to fly. While her estranged husband, a police officer, remains skeptical and refuses to acknowledge the danger, Anne seeks to warn the public. She eventually learns from a biochemist that the flying predators are genetically modified specimens that escaped from a laboratory. As the piranhas begin to terrorize the resort guests, Anne must find a way to stop the airborne threat.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
At the Hotel Elysium, a Caribbean coastal resort, a series of vicious marine animal attacks originate from a nearby sunken shipwreck. Diving instructor Anne Kimbrough discovers that the attacks are caused by piranhas that have developed the ability to fly. While her estranged husband, Steve, remains skeptical, Anne seeks to warn the public. She learns from a biochemist, Tyler, that the flying predators are genetically modified specimens that escaped from a laboratory. As the piranhas begin to terrorize the resort guests, Anne tries to reason with the manager, but he hosts a nighttime fish party that attracts the predators. During the party, the piranhas fly out of the water and attack the guests, killing many. Anne leads the survivors into the hotel to barricade themselves. Meanwhile, Anne's son Chris and a girl named Allison become stranded on an island near the wreck. Anne and Tyler decide to blow up the ship to kill the predators. They dive to the wreck to plant timer charges, but become trapped in a room by the piranhas. Steve, piloting a police helicopter, ditches the chopper and swims to their boat. Tyler is eaten by the piranhas, but Anne escapes through a porthole and is pulled away by the boat. The bomb detonates, destroying the ship and all the piranhas.
- First release year
- 1982
- Runtime (minutes)
- 95
- Production countries
- The Netherlands; Italy
- Original languages
- English; Italian
- Directors
- James Cameron
- Writers
- James Cameron · screenplay; Charles H. Eglee · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Tricia O'Neil; Steve Marachuk; Lance Henriksen; Ted Richert; Ricky G. Paull; Leslie Graves
- Genres
- monster film; horror; comedy
- Themes
- man vs. nature; genetic modification
- Tone and mood
- horror; comedy
- Premise and plot tags
- monster movie; sequel; flying fish
- Franchise connections
- Piranha
- Reception
- The film was a critical failure and a box-office bomb, largely disowned by James Cameron.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 4% · review count: 26; Metacritic · score: 15 · scale: 100 · review count: 5
- Production trivia
- The film was a standalone story because the original intended characters were unavailable.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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