Venomous

VENOMOUS (2001 Video)

BASIC PLOT: Unknown terrorists blow up a secret government lab, letting loose infected snakes. These snakes are dormant for awhile, until a series of earthquakes piss off these scheming snakes, and they go on a rampage! Look out town folk, the snakes are infected, and they are coming for you!

WHAT WORKS: *This movie is hilarious, as are most Fred Olen Ray movies. The movie is in on the joke, and so should you be if you're watching a movie called, "Venomous".

*The cheesy errors are part of the fun. Old news helicopters as Army choppers, 15 different types of paint sprayer respirators, instead of biological suits, civilians with anti aircraft missiles, doctors that are also snake ranglers, what more could you ask for?

*There's lots of good B actors having a hell of a good time, making it more fun to watch.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *Needs more snakes!

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *If you like hilariously bad movies, that are in on the joke, you like this. If you're a fan of bad disaster movies, you'll like this. If you like Fred Olen Ray movies, or Treat Williams, you'll like this. If you're a no sense of humor having, fussy stick in the mud, then give this a pass.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Straight-to-Video movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. Straight-to-Video movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

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

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.

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....