It's come down through the wire today, courtesy of Variety, that Alexandre Aja, the director of High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes, will direct a remake of Piranha for Dimension. The original film, directed by genre veteran Joe Dante, was a shockingly fun, no-budget ripoff of Jaws.
Bob Weinstein says, of the remake, "We will maintain the fun and thrilling aspects of the original film but look forward to upping the ante with a modern-day twist." That modern-day twist is as yet unrevealed, since the screenplay is currently being rewritten. Still, Aja's Hills Have Eyes was a success, in terms of money and fan reaction, and Piranha is a small enough property that very few people will feel betrayed.
Personally, I'm interested. Slither and Feast last year felt like a retro-blast of old-school horror comedy, and it'd be great to see that trend continue.
