Venom

After the grainy, low-budget VENOM aka THE LEGEND OF SPIDER FOREST, British director Peter Sykes landed a job for legendary British horror production Hammer for DEMONS OF THE MIND, with more money, bigger names and continuing the psychological-horror sub-genre, only VENOM is a lot more affective...

Mostly set in a tree-shrouded, shade-soaked, shadow-splintered forest where lovely Neda Arneric (a combination of Sarah Miles and Mia Farrow) plays Anna, a nature-traipsing wild girl with an enigmatic spider tattoo on her shoulder, following bland/handsome journalist Simon Brent around until he winds up, seemingly safe in a local tavern where, once back in the forest, he has more problems connected to a gang of muscularly rural locals liken to the 60's British thriller THE SHUTTERED ROOM, only these guys are no (and there really needed someone intriguing like an) Oliver Reed...

Making the only real problem of this otherwise decent gothic programmer the lack of anyone else charismatic enough beyond Anna or secondary seductress Sheila Allen, daughter of the resident doctor who's a Nazi that, as described in the summary, has created some sort of nerve gas using spider venom...

But all the scientific expository stuff happens so far along it really doesn't matter... making VENOM only really matter when centering on Neda Arneric's energetic prowess and sensually exploitive, ravaging beauty.

Peter Sasdy made a lot of films that were disappointing; Demons of the Mind and To the Devil a Daughter were two of the worst of all the Hammer films and House in Nightmare Park was not nearly as entertaining as it could have been. The Legend of Spider Forest is actually Sasdy's least disappointing film, but that's only because I had no expectations going into it. The film really does make little sense and while the fantasy elements of it might have lifted it out of the bottom of the barrel, they unfortunately don't. The plot has something to do with a mad scientist, a mythical 'spider woman' and some spider venom; there's a forest involved too. It actually gets off to an interesting start as we witness an interesting sequence taking place in a forest but the rest of the film is an absolute mess. It's far too easy to get lost in what's going on, and since the film is not very interesting, it's difficult to find the motivation to actually care what is going on - which kind of makes watching this film rather pointless. I guess this might appeal to people who like daft films that don't make sense, but everyone else can feel free to leave this one languishing in obscurity!

"The Legend of Spider Forest", which is a way cooler title than the alternate and highly derivative "Venom", is a film that always intrigued me, and has been standing on my must-see list since forever. Like too often the case with films for which you have high (too high?) expectations, it turned out to be a minor disappointment. The first half hour, or so, is definitely promising. The opening sequences - dream or reality? - are atmospheric, and the setting is perfect. Clichéd as it might be, I love these sleepy little towns full of secrets. In this case, it's a German village right next to an immense forest where the ghost of a young girl with a spider-shaped scar may or may not dwell around. But then, director Peter Sykes makes one of the biggest mistakes you can make in a horror movie. He tries to uphold the mystery for so long, so desperately, and reveals so little clues about what is happening, that you eventually stop caring. A couple of suspenseful moments, one including the protagonist tied up while a spider crawls towards his face, and the fiery finale are probably the only things I will remember from this film.

The palpably flawed, but nonetheless entertaining 'Venom' remains a deliciously odd, avidly arachnophobe triggering Brit-horror curiosity. Partly shot in what handsomely appears to be the eerily bucolic Bavarian mountains, 'Venom' tells the bizarrely esoteric tale of the deadly mysterious man eating 'Spider Woman! This memorably malign mistress of multi-legged misanthropy is excitingly played with vulpine verisimilitude by the delectable starlet, Nada Arneric! An increasing number of libidinous young men have been inexplicably expiring whilst traversing the horror haunted forest. Are their obscure sudden deaths solely due to the dastardly machinations of the nubile nymph, Arneric? Or are there far more preternaturally sinister forces at work? 'Venom' even throws in a ubiquitously loony, medically deviated German scientist for some additionally lurid interest! Peter Sykes's mythologically muddled mishmash of hallucinatory 1970s Brit-horror kookiness brings a terrifyingly vivid meaning to the phrase 'better dead than web'!

Most British horror films are good and I've enjoyed watching them ever since I was a kid. I've spent my adult years tracking down the ones I never got to see, for whatever reason, when I was growing up. Today I finally got to see VENOM, which I'd never heard of to be honest. It could have been one of those "hidden gems" we all come across from time to time. But sadly it isn't.

The plot revolves around a mad scientist trying to create a poisonous nerve gas from spider venom. The idea is interesting and one could imagine Hammer, Amicus or Tigon making an interesting film out of the premise. But sadly, VENOM is as dull as dishwater. It's also very incoherent and it seems that every five minutes or so, the main character is chasing this girl through the woods. The problem is that there really isn't much mystery other than the motive of the mad scientist. The characters aren't interesting and nor do they do anything that holds your attention through the film. If you stick with it, you're merely doing so just so you can "cross one off" your list of British horror films to see.

Director Peter Sykes has made only two other horror films besides this one - DEMONS OF THE MIND and TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER. What makes his style different from most other directors of British horror films is that he goes out of his way to try shocking the viewer. In TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER the shocks are quite effective in my opinion. But VENOM just fails to escape its flat feeling so much that one could be forgiven for falling asleep before the shocking moments arrive. I won't explain what happens but it's tame and not as compelling viewing as it should be.

The whole production has the feeling of everyone simply going through the motions. The acting isn't awful by any means. But the whole production just feels flat and lifeless most of the time. Derek Newark, usually cast as a police inspector or detective in films and TV shows from the 1960s and 1970s, is wasted here. Gertan Klauber is better in his brief appearances in the CARRY ON films, as well as his small role in SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN. The remaining cast members are nearly all unknown to me and Simon Brent is particularly bland as the lead.

Overall, VENOM is a very boring film. It remained obscure in the UK for a long time for good reason. Recommended only for British horror completists.