There is so much self-referential humor and parodying in PIRANHA 3DD (admittedly, the title is clever) that it's enough to make one cringe at the jokes. 2010's PIRANHA was more of a horror outing that also managed to poke fun at films like Steven Spielberg's JAWS (1975) and the original version of PIRANHA (1976).  Plus, it had Riley Steele, so how could it go wrong? Those of you expecting more of this might be a little disappointed with the less than stellar follow-up which is now available as a 3-D Blu-ray, a regular Blu-ray, a standard DVD, and a digital copy all in the same package. While it is nice to know that Anchor Bay entertainment is willing to lavish such care upon their product, I'm not sure that a film like PIRANHA 3DD is in need of such treatment.

Any time a follow-up film is released, it is inevitably compared to its generally far better predecessor. In rare exceptions, the sequel may outshine the original, case in point THE GODFATHER PART II (1974), THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) and THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981).  PIRANHA (2010) was itself in 3-D and a fun movie to watch with an audience. PIRANHA 3DD wasn't given much of a chance to be seen theatrically as it only opened in a handful of markets, seemingly proof that the producers were less than thrilled with what they put their names on.   

PIRANHA 3DD, more of a send-up of the genre than a horror film, takes place a year after the last film and the locale where all the death and destruction occurred has left the area abandoned after the tourism dries up. Two farmers, one of whom is played by the incomparable Gary Busey, stumble into swampy waters and discover the body of a dead cow. Piranha eggs lying dormant within the cow hatch and the baby piranhas kill them. The sequence looks like something out of the beginning of Adam Green's HATCHET (2006).

Danielle Panabaker (Sarah from John Carpenter's THE WARD) plays Maddy, a marine biology student who heads to the waterpark that she co-owns with her (what else) overly immature stepfather Chet (David Koechner).  He has created an adult-themed section of the waterpark with 'water-certified strippers', which is enticing if you're a teenage boy but silly to just about anyone else. 

Two of Maddy's friends find themselves in deep trouble.  Shelby gets close to her boyfriend Josh while skinny dipping until a piranha gets too close for comfort (try and guess where this fish ends up), and Ashley and her boyfriend Travis engage in a tryst in his van only to both be devoured. 

Dr. Goodman (batty Christopher Lloyd) returns looking crazier than he did in the first film, and explains how the piranhas must be moving between the lakes; eventually, it comes to light that Chet has been paying off the local cop to look the other way so that he can secretly pump water from an underground river into the waterpark.

The film boasts its fair share of naked female flesh but the gore isn't on a par with the all-out bloodbath of the original, although it has a few scenes that will make you grimace and cross your legs if you're male.  The goofiness of the original's first scene involving Richard Dreyfus in a boat is attempted throughout the film, but there is more patting on the back than is necessary and instead of just letting the jokes fly, some of it seems forced. 

David Hasselhoff makes an appearance at the end and we're all supposed to cheer, "Hey!  It's The Hoff!"  Maybe if they did a variation of Danny and the Juniors's "At the Hop" with "At the Hoff" it would have been amusing, but the film sort of ends with the audience wishing (and fishing) for more. 

Worth a look, but not necessarily a purchase.  SHARKTOPUS is a more enjoyable alternative. 

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