The Serpent and the Rainbow
Director: Wes Craven
Cast: Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae
Scream Factory
February 23, 2016
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
I’ve always been fascinated by vodoun, or more specifically the Hollywoodized version: voodoo. I don’t believe in it or anything, but who knows, maybe in a previous life I was a houngan or mambo…or maybe even a bokor? Whatever the case, I eat voodoo movies and books up, even if so many of them are pretty bad. So I have been a longtime fan of this often forgotten and overlooked Wes Craven film. Perhaps because this movie was made during a low point in Craven’s career, it was bookended by the far inferior Deadly Friend and Shocker, it has been largely ignored? Whatever the case, that’s a shame as it is an authentically creepy movie with a ton of style and none of the cheese that can be found in some other Craven films. Three cheers to the horror mavens at Scream Factory for giving this movie a new Blu-ray release. So yeah, I’m an easy mark for this release, but in case you’ve missed out on this one, keep reading and maybe I’ll be able to convince you to give this flick a shot.
Bill Pullman, in his first leading role, plays an anthropologist that goes to Haiti in search of a drug used by voodoo practitioners to turn people into zombies. He is the typical fish out of water but cocksure that he knows exactly what’s going on. He couldn’t be more wrong. He soon discovers that’s he’s entered a whole other world, one where magic, mysticism, and even monsters are real. The dangers continue to mount during his trip, from mundane sources like the bloody and ruthless Haitian secret police, to the supernatural. The American anthropologist learns that belief is the key to voodoo, but it is a double edged sword; he can’t effectively fight what he doesn’t really believe in, but the more he believes in the dark forces against pitted against him, the more power he gives them. And the spirits of voodoo know no geographical boundaries, so even escaping Haiti might not mean safety for our hero.
In The Serpent and the Rainbow, Wes Craven once again gets to play with rubber reality. Whereas in Nightmare on Elm Street it was all about the unpredictable dreamscape, here it’s reality itself that’s warped by mind-altering drugs and the power of voodoo. Wes also has some of his most memorable moments in this movie: whether it’s the shockingly visceral, such as a grueling torture scene and the line, “I want to hear you scream,” or the downright creepy as hell chittering bride that haunts our anthropologist in dreams. It doesn’t matter if you like voodoo movies or not, this movie is scary. It has teeth, and when it bites you, it doesn’t let go. This is Craven on his A-game, and that’s a great thing when it happens.
On to the extras on this beautiful Blu-ray from the fine folks at Scream Factory. There is an audio commentary with star Bill Pullman – sadly Wes Craven never recorded a commentary for this, as the previous DVD edition was pretty bare bones. There is also a 24 minute making-of featurette which was also made after Wes’ death, so his absence is keenly felt here. Besides the usual trailer, TV spot and photo gallery, that’s about it. So it’s not a bad collection of special features, but I do wish there were more, and that some could have included Craven before his passing, but that was not meant to be.
The Serpent and the Rainbow is one of Wes Craven’s more serious, competent, and frightening movies, and yet it’s long been overshadowed by his Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, and The Hills Have Eyes movies. Well it’s time to change that. If you’ve already seen this one then you know if it’s your cup o’ tea. If you haven’t it, give it a shot – I’m betting you’ll like it, and this is easily the edition to get. Consider it highly recommended.
