Director: Don E. Fauntleroy
Year: 2008
Country: USA/Romania
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Following its accidental escape, a snake-handler is sent on a mission with a team of trackers to return to the jungle and must use their hunting skills to track down and destroy the creature before they mate.
Review:
This was a highly enjoyable killer snake effort. One of the best elements to it is the fact that this one managed to cram a lot of highly enjoyable and entertaining action scenes so that it's never boring. It's pretty much non-stop from the beginning as the opening capture of the snake is a short-but-fun moment with a ton of gunfire goes off in every direction and features the novel concept of managing to not kill anyone off during the process. From there we get the rather exciting escape sequence where a lot comes into play, from the exciting sequence where it bangs against the glass with the released gas, stalking it through the hallways and heating ducts to the graphic kills and much more in a fun, lengthy sequence.
The rest of the movie is non-stop action as it's one big sequence starting with the confrontation on the farm. The gunfire is used appropriately with the proper amount of damage to the snake and some nice deaths mixed in with the action incorporating some really new and unique set-pieces into an explosive scene, and even a wild car chase in jeeps with the snake rolling through the underbrush followed by the cars which is a nice plus. There's also the finale where the big confrontations are held inside a creepy, dank basement, which adds a fair amount of atmosphere to the events, the action is top-notch with the two snakes each getting in a rather fun moment and it ends the movie with a real blast.
The last plus is that the film manages to keep its early scenes in the laboratory quite interesting. It's all back- story, but it's not that dull, manages to make some sense when it easily could've been something else entirely and it sets up the later scenes quite effectively. Along with its quite messy and really bloody kills, these here are what make this one enjoyable against what is the only real flaw to it. This is the ever-present and totally fake-looking CGI for the creatures. There are a few moments here and there where it looks passable at times, then there are moments where it looks directly at the camera and its obviously-pixilated image becomes so goofy that it starts to become hilarious, especially when it's interacting with the present humans, where it doesn't match up at all. This is the film's only flaw.
Overview: ***/5
A silly, goofy and over-the-top genre effort that's completely expected here with the original release venue, taken in that vein this is an enjoyable effort despite not holding weight for too many else. Really only give this is a shot if you're a fan of the SyFy Channel originals or enjoy cheesy creature features, while those with any other type of appreciation or interest should heed extreme caution.
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