Piranhas and Theme Parks

I remember watching Piranha Saturday morning when I was eight years old.  This was my first experience with Rodger Corman and these little carnivorous fish.  The thought of anything other than an alligator or shark attacking a person was intriguing to me, and the opening scene with the boy and girl at the pool was shocking.  The thought of tiny little fishies taking out a couple was an entirely new concept for me.  Before this film, I didn't even know what a Piranha was.

The film opens with a pair of backpackers coming upon an abandoned facility and taking a dip in their pool, unfortunately they were unaware of the fact that the pool happened to of been filled with a genetic strain of piranha which can withstand fresh water as well as salt water.  Maggie, played by Heather Menzies, is then hired to track the missing children, but unwittingly drains the pool to find the bodies and also releases the Piranha into the local water supply. Maggie and her recruited partner Paul, played by Bradford Dillman, who are now in a race to stop the Piranha and save the children at a near by summer camp.  The government also becomes involved and proposes poisoning the water supply in an attempt to kill off the impeding danger, but the fish bypass the attempt. Paul then decided to release some submerged waste into the water in a vain attempt to kill off the fish, but some manage to survive and arrive at a beach. 

I really appreciate the various aspects of the film despite the fact that this is a B film, it doesn't take itself too seriously and does take the time to poke fun at itself as well.  There are also moments of anti-government protests in the film as well as environmental undertones.  

Piranha was filmed at the once prosperous Aquarena Springs theme park in San Marcos, Texas; which featured underwater shows and Ralph the swimming pig; the park featured various rides as well.  Aquarena Springs was one of Texas' first successful theme parks, but eventually went out of business due to the arrival of Sea World and Fiesta Texas.  Texas State University eventually purchased the dying park and turned it into Aquarena Center, which has now become part of their research facility and also does feature a scuba class.