‘The hell that was under the water’
Killer Fish – also Killerfish – is a 1978 Italian-French-Brazilian action crime horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Lee Majors, James Franciscus and Karen Black.
Killer Fish was a Carlo Ponti Filmar do Brasil production from ITC Entertainment, released by Associated Film Distribution, and presented by Lew Grade.
Death, deception and nature have gone wild, as piranhas protect a stolen emerald cache. Paul Diller (James Franciscus) is the mastermind of a multi-million dollar jewel heist.
The team, including Robert Lasky (Lee Majors) and his girlfriend, Kate Neville (Karen Black), steal the gems and hurl them to the bottom of Brazil’s deepest lake, which is then filled with deadly man-eating piranha.
Soon, all members of the team are pitted against each other in a deadly battle of wits and a deadly battle against piranhas!
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Reviews:
“Despite the lukewarm premise and goofy script, Killer Fish still manages to be a pretty entertaining little b-movie. Majors is great as the slicker than grease tough guy ladies man and Karen Black is equally as good as the weird looking sex pot criminal chick. The true stars of this movie though are Margheriti’s miniature sets, all of which blow up really nicely and/or flood when the dam inevitably breaks later in the film.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
“Margheriti packs the film with a lot of miniature work and explosions that are more effective than models seen in later Italian productions. At times the piranhas seem like an afterthought amidst the destruction. It’s easily digestible Saturday afternoon entertainment.” Italian Film Review
“It 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 televison than I do, what Mr. Majors does best. Everyone, in fact, carries on gamely, as people do at a picnic when it rains.” The New York Times
Cast and characters:
- 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
- Frank Pesce as Warren
- Charles Guardino as Lloyd
- Anthony Steffen as Max
- Fábio Sabag as Quintin
- Gary Collins as Tom
Filming locations:
Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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