Venomous

I like Treat Williams, I think he's always been a very underrated actor relegated to a b-movie career. Alas this film is a prime example.

All about an outbreak of a virus spread by rattlesnakes and a crack medical team trying to contain it.

But you know the drill, they aren't just up against the snakes no no they also battle the evil government who want to handle the situation differently which would result in a larger loss of life.

Predictable stuff, you'll have seen it done before and better but it has its moments.

For crying out loud though do pets have to die in every single film? This one is particularly merciless in that regard.

The Good:

Treat Williams

The Bad:

Opening scene was unnecessarily sad

Not pet friendly....

Frankly spoken I don't expect much of a good movie, especially if it is labelled 'horror'. All I want is a tiny bit of original material. Venomous fails to deliver any of that.

The story is taken from 'Outbreak' only without that movies' style and class. The special effects range from dull to not existent, and even the few twists this story contains are given away without any thought at all.

The idea of a virus spreading through snake bites seems intriguing, but in this movie there are far too many questions left unanswered.

Who are the terrorists in the beginning? What did the snakes feed upon the following years (without spreading the virus?).

The only surprise was German actor Hannes Jaennicke as supporting doctor. I didn't think of him speaking English so fluently.

If You want my advice for what it's worth. Don't pay for watching this movie. Go and rent "Outbreak", you will not regret it.

Cheap made by the book snake flick. Nothing recommendable except it can hold attention for the running time. Please stay awake for the ( not mentioned) explosions ripped out of delta force 2 , the colombian connection ( the helicopter that shoots the lincoln) and Tony denison who played Luca in crime story.

All known actors are just here to collect their months rent and the movie doesnt know if it wants to be a thriller or a horror, the snakes - allthough pictured widely on the box- are just a small part of this film.

But besides all this it is worth a watch, uncle treat is always good even in cheese flicks like this, just be ready for a cheap outbreak clone and not for a snake movie.

As you might be able to tell from my nickname, I am a snake NUT. So, viewing this movie was essential for me, no matter what the quality of the film was SUPPOSED to be. Going in with my eyes wide open, I was aware immediately of two things: 1. The movie is VERY low budget, and 2. The effects were, for the most part, very realistic.

While I can't say that the movie fails to entertain, it does have problems. The acting is average at best, the plot is predictable, and the style of filming is very much like a made-for-TV movie. Think of a Stephen King ABC Mini-Series, and that sums up the film's style.

That said, what the movie does right also impressive. There is no computer animation, and at no point do any of the slithering baddies of the film do anything "supernatural". The reptile action is very plausible, a refreshing change from other recent pictures like "Anaconda" and "Python". What the film also does right is not take itself too seriously. There is not a lot of over-acting, and no character in the film seems beyond belief. One thing I also appreciated was the fact that the snakes are treated as a menace, but not as villains.

Where "Venomous" fails most notably is its lack of ability to build suspense. There is one particular scene that stands out among the rest, but aside from that golden moment, little else is particularly chilling.

I have read reviews of this film that call it a copy of "Outbreak". While there are several similar elements, "Venomous" does stand well on its own. The running time is nearly an hour shorter between these two movies, and "Venomous" does a good job of character development. It also focuses more on the carriers of the virus than the virus itself.

"Venomous" also relies on stock footage more than once, perhaps to keep the overall budget down. I will be general here not to spoil any of the film's moments: There is one crash scene where the vehicle crashing is TOTALLY different from the one in the previous shot. Watch for it with your remote in hand, it is amusing that the film makers thought no one would notice.

My overall opinion? Rent before you buy, and only buy if you really like snakes.

Ok why does Treat Williams waste his talent on such terrible movies, He is much to good of actor to be in this film.

This film is quite possible the worst film I have seen this year. Trust me if you see this film at your local video shop, then run as far away as possible.

Mr. Williams please try and keep away from these type of films.

2/10