Piranha II: The Spawning 1982

Piranha II: The Spawning (subtitled Flying Killers internationally) is a 1982 monster film directed by James Cameron in his feature directorial debut. It is the sequel to Piranha (1978), and the second installment in the Piranha film series. The screenplay was written by Cameron and Charles H. Eglee, under the shared pseudonym "H.A. Milton". It stars Tricia O'Neil, Lance Henriksen, Steve Marachuk, Ted Richert, Ricky Paull Goldin, and Leslie Graves; no crew or cast members from the original film returned. Cameron, previously a special effects artist for Roger Corman, was hired as director after executive producer Ovidio G. Assonitis fired his predecessor. The production was fraught with difficulties, as Assonitis exerted heavy creative control, hired an Italian crew that did not speak English, and prevented Cameron from participating in editing. Both a critical failure and a box office bomb, Piranha II was largely disowned by Cameron, who attempted to have his name removed from official credits and prefers to refer to The Terminator (1984) as his first feature-length film as director.