Audience Member
Seriously, what drugs is this movie on, how can we go back in time and get them and how great will the high be?
International criminal Jacques Müller (real-life maniac Klaus Kinski) and his lover Louise Andrews (Susan George) kidnap Philip Hopkins (Lance Holcomb), the grandson of hotel chain owner and great white hunter Howard Anderson (Sterling Hayden). It's easy — Louise works as a maid, seduces chauffeur Dave Averconnelly (Oliver Reed) and gets him into the team without ever thinking through the psychosexual dynamics of the triad that she's created.
The problem — well, one of many — is that Phillip meant to bring his snake and ended up grabbing a black mamba that is ready to kill anything and everything, but toxicologist Dr. Marion Stowe (Sarah Miles) was late, the switch was off and well, now we have a deadly snake that bites Louise's face until she dies, leaving the cucker and the cucked to deal with the emotional fallout, as well as Dave just blasting cops when he gets too nervous.
Commander William Bulloch (Nicol Williamson) arrives — you can't shot a cop in England without this happening, go figure — and Müller demands a million in different bills and transportation, while Dr. Stowe brings a case of anti-venom she just whipped up.
That snake wipes out all the bad guys and the end, well, it bits Müller repeatedly, then they both get shot so many times that you'd think they were a black criminal trying to outrace a white cop on foot, then they both fall off the building. Truly a death that was earned by Kinski.
As you can imagine, Kinski and Reed measured dicks this entire film, constantly trying to outdo each other. This was going to be a Tobe Hooper movie, which is blowing my mind right now, before he was replaced by Piers Haggard, who made The Blood On Satan's Claw.
Haggard told Fangoria, "I took over that at very short notice. Tobe Hooper had been directing it and they had stopped for whatever reason. It hadn't been working. I did see some of his stuff and it didn't look particularly good plus he also had some sort of nervous breakdown or something. So anyway they stopped shooting and offered it to me. Unfortunately, I had commitments, I had some commercials to shoot. But anyway I took it over with barely ten days of preparation – which shows. It doesn't become my picture, it's a bit in between. . . Oliver Reed was scary at first because he was always testing you all the time. Difficult but not as difficult as Klaus Kinski. Because Oliver actually had a sense of humor. I was rather fond of him; he could be tricky but he was quite warm really. He just played games and was rather macho and so on. Klaus Kinski was very cold. The main problem with the film was that the two didn't get on and they fought like cats. Kinski of course is a fabulous film actor and he's good in the part, the part suits him very well. They were both well cast but it was a very unhappy film. I think Klaus was the problem but then Oliver spent half the movie just trying to rub him up, pulling his leg all the way. There were shouting matches because Oliver just wouldn't let up. None of this is about art. All the things that you're trying to concentrate on tend to slip. So it was not a happy period."
Once, at a party at Elaine's, Kinski bragged about how he and other members of the cast and crew ganged up on Hooper a couple of weeks into the shoot to get him fired. It must have been a horrific set, as cinematographer Anthony B. Richmond quit at the same time and Haggard claimed that the Black Mamba was the nicest person on set.
And oh yeah — Kinski took this movie instead of Raiders of the Lost Ark, telling Spielberg that his script was "moronically shitty."
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
delysid d
Invaded by robbers and a snake is loose! I hoped it would be cooler but it was ok
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
04/26/17
Full Review
Audience Member
A British thriller about expat Richie Rich being kidnapped by a Kraut terrorist (remember when Germans were always the bad guys in movies?). Soon the kidnappers are trapped in the chateau with the boy and his poisonous snake. Slow pacing make this a rather tiresome affair.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The behind the scenes of the movie is more interesting than the actual movie.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
just OK B movie fare
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I heard about this movie many years ago and had always wanted to see it. Unfortunately, it was extremely hard to track down a copy due to its obscurity. After finally getting my hands on it, I have to ask why is it so obscure?? Its pretty darn good!
The story might sound a little campy. Kidnapping plot gone bad, trapped in house with killer snake. Sounds pretty lame I agree. But with this dumb sounding plot, it manages to build undeniable amounts of tension. The snake is seemingly around every corner, in every shadow and in every room. The black mamba is a freaking death machine. For sure one of the scariest animals mother nature has to offer. They are 10 ft long, are fast enough to chase down an adult man, have venom that will drop you dead in a half hour, a fearless and often aggressive attitude, and they go right for the face. To top it off, they just look evil. Definitely one critter you do not want to trifle with. What makes this movie stand up is that there are no models, CGI or rubber snakes to be found here. It is all straight up real, live-action mamba, and the footage looks great.
The acting is fairly good. Some mediocre stuff from minor actors, but the lead antagonists played by Klaus Kinski and Oliver Reed are pretty darn effective. Kinski is just a creepy dude, and he really revels in these type of roles. Also, the fact that this is a British film full of people with British accents somehow makes it feel more classy. Good script isn't without its flaws, but for a low budget British movie about a killer snake, its pretty good.
Beyond the real snake and the good cast/script, what makes this movie a success is its direction and tone. The infamous Tobe Hooper was originally set to direct, but backed out at the last minute and was replaced with Haggard. Who knows how Hooper might have interpenetrated the story, but Haggard has a seriously sharp eye for cinematography and lighting. Claustrophobic camera angles, point of view shots and low centered compositions all combine to give an unusual feel to the film. Long held shots really serve to drag out the tension as well. All in all, there is little action through the whole movie, but the filming of the movie make it feel like there is so much more. A great deal of edge of your seat type tension. The score is a highlight as well. All this combines to give a super serious and dangerous tone. It instills sort of a creeping and inescapable ere that serves it very very well.
When all is said and done, this is a film that rises above its premise, and becomes a true thriller. Competently made in all ways and expertly made in others, this is at least near the top of the 'nature attacks' genre. Some over dramatic moments, flaws with secondary acting, pacing issues and frantic ending combine to knock it down a bit, but this is a pretty darn effective movie, and one that should most certainly be far more well known and respected.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
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