For our first official inductee into the new Psychotronic Hall of Fame, we could think of no one better than Joe Dante, a director who embodies everything that psychotronic cinema stands for, from his roots as a Monster Kid and graduate of the Corman school, through his later mainstream breakthrough, which he achieved without ever abandoning his love of classic genre cinema. For the entire month of December, we'll be exploring the films and career of Joe Dante.

This week, we're going back to where it all (basically) began: with Dante's first solo directing effort, the Corman-produced JAWS rip-off, PIRANHA (1978)!

What could have easily ended up being the cheap cash grab that it was intended to be, Dante's natural filmmaking ability couldn't help but shine through, creating a film that's still being discussed with fondness 40 years later.

We'll dive into Dante's early career and how it lead to his work with Corman and ultimately, this film.

Does its placement as a stepping stone for Dante's career make it an eligible part of the Psychotronic Canon? Let us know by voting in this week's poll!

VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K6KLB87

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

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