MCA
Home Video | Review by Dan Taylor
Wes
Craven reaches into his terribly limted
bag of cinematic tricks and comes up with
yet another totally predictible, unsatisfying
fiasco.
Craven, the director of such
classics as LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and THE
HILLS HAVE EYES, has become stale and stagnant
since directing A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
in 1984. Since that fun, interesting flick
– which showcased the director's imagination
and wit – Craven has repeated his dream
sequence nuttiness in films like HILLS HAVE
EYES 2, DEADLY FRIEND, and this borefest.
And despite the public's fascination
with SCREAM and SCREAM 2 – the byproducts
of good marketing more than good filmmaking
– his only good flick of the last decade
has been the underrated and creepy THE PEOPLE
UNDER THE STAIRS.
But let's get back to SERPENT.
The story, "inspired by" Wade
Davis' factual novel of the same name, concerns
the goings-on in Haiti during the final
days of the reign of "Baby Doc"
Duvalier and a scientist's attempts at discovering
the truth behind recent reports of zombification.
Ohhh scary! Actually, the plot has potential
to be interesting on several levels: as
fact-based drama and edge-of-your-seat horror
flick!
The film begins with Davis'
charcater (here called Dr. Dennis Allan
and played by Bill Pullman) traipsing through
the Amazon and eating wild herbs, plants
and 'shrooms (whoa guys, seen ALTERED STATES?).
Soon, his helicopter pilot is dead, and
good ol' Den has to trek through the treacherous
green forest of Brazil on his own. But wait,
now he's back in the United States!! What
the fuck happened??? Ah, here's the obligatory,
explanatory throwaway dialogue: "Wow,
Dr. Allan. Did you have to trek 200 miles
through the Brazilian outback by yourself?"
Thanks for clearing that up guys!!
Soon, the cross between Indiana
Jones and Mr. Wizard is winging his way
to Haiti so that he can look into the alleged
"zombification" drug for a Stateside
pharmaceutical company. Once there he hooks
up with village doctor Cathy Tyson (daughter
of Cicely) and gains the help of Paul Winfield,
playing the role of a "jack-of-all-trades"
villager.
The presence of the wily American
worries Zeke Mokae, who plays the leader
of the Ton-Ton Macoute, "Baby Doc"
Duvalier's secret police. (Would you really
trust a leader who has the name of a rap
star?) He thinks the good doctor is there
to stir things up, so he stirs up some trouble
of his own. Mokae ends up stealing the flick
with his performance (not entirely a difficult
task grant you), and when he was torturing
Pullman I secretly hoped he'd ice the sucker
and roll credits!
Much to my disappointment,
Craven takes every opportunity to reach
into his bag and the abuse the amateurish,
tiresome "is it a dream or is it real"
gimmick. If you've seen any of his post-ELM
STREET #1 flicks you'll know exactly what's
going down. (We guessed the ending 30 minutes
into the picture.)
