Killer Fish (1979)

I’m just going to guess that someone saw a double-bill of Jaws and The Deep and thought “I’ve got a way to make both of these movies and save an hour and a half.”  This ill-advised cross-breeding led to Killer Fish a Z-grade combination horror movie and heist thriller brought by Antonio Marghariti, a fast-buck Italian director best known for ripping off blockbusters.  Aside from ripping of Jaws and The Deep, he is also responsible for ripping of Conan the Barbarian with Yor: The Hunter from the Future and Raiders of the Lost Ark with a pair of low-lights; The Ark of the Sun God and Jungle Raiders.  I have not, I should mention, seen these latter films.  After Killer Fish I’ve had my fill of the auteur, Mr. Marghariti. 

I’m not sure, but it seems that no one had an idea of which movie they wanted to dominate this picture.  At once, it’s Jaws with killer fish attacking innocent swimmers without mercy and then it’s a high-toned 70s Bond-type thriller with lost of beautiful people in beautiful locations wearing very little.  The main plot involves Robert (Lee Majors) and Kate (Karen Black) breaking into the office of a Brazilian Power Plant to steal a large fortune in emeralds by setting off an explosion as a distraction.  Meanwhile the inside man named Paul (James Franciscus waits it out in the bar, he’s the inside man who was able to get them . . . well, inside.

To keep the emeralds safe, Paul comes up with a stupid plan to hide the loot at the bottom of a lake until the heat’s off and to future add to the plot’s misery, he dumps in a large number of killer piranha to keep anyone from going after it. 

THEN for no reason, the movie adds a romantic complication by introducing a fashion model named Gabrielle (Margaux Hemingway) who is in the country for a shoot and falls in love with Robert which makes Kate jealous despite the fact that she’s already romantically involved with Paul as if anyone could really care.  I mean . . . seriously.  Add to that, several of Paul’s men dying while trying to retrieve the loot, a giant storm that comes up out of nowhere, a disco soundtrack and buckets of bad special effects.  This movie didn’t need killer fish, it chews itself up.