Killer Fish

Killer Fish
Original movie poster
Directed by	Antonio Margheriti
Written by	Michael Rogers
Produced by	Alex Ponti
Starring	Lee Majors Karen Black Margaux Hemingway Marisa Berenson James Franciscus
Cinematography	Alberto Spagnoli
Edited by	Cesare D'Amico
Music by	Guido De Angelis Maurizio De Angelis
Production companies	Fawcett-Majors Productions Victoria Productions Filmar do Brasil
Distributed by	Paris Filmes ITC Entertainment
Release date	7 December 1979 (1979-12-07)
Running time	101 minutes
Countries	Italy France Brazil
Languages	English Portuguese Italian

Killer Fish is a horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti.

Plot

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

• Lee Majors as Robert Lasky
• Karen Black as Kate Neville
• Margaux Hemingway as Gabrielle
• Marisa Berenson as Ann
• James Franciscus as Paul Diller
• Roy Brocksmith as Ollie
• Dan Pastorini as Hans
• Tricia Pettitt as Tricia Petmeplease
• Matt Malinowski as Matt Mal
• Eric Schenk as Mugsy
• Frank Pesce as Warren Bailey
• Charles Guardino as Lloyd Bailey
• Anthony Steffen as Max
• Fábio Sabag as Quintin
• Gary Collins as Tom

Filming

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

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin stated that the film "appears to have a greater budget than Piranha" and that it "exhibits considerably less imagination". 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."

Legacy

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

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

External links

• Killer Fish at IMDb