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IMDbPro

L'emprise des ténèbres

Original title: The Serpent and the Rainbow
  • 1988
  • 12
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
29K
YOUR RATING
Bill Pullman in L'emprise des ténèbres (1988)
Trailer for this thriller directed by Wes Craven
Play trailer1:22
4 Videos
47 Photos
Folk HorrorSupernatural HorrorZombie HorrorFantasyHorror

An anthropologist goes to Haiti to research a drug that makes someone appear dead by suspending all vital signs.An anthropologist goes to Haiti to research a drug that makes someone appear dead by suspending all vital signs.An anthropologist goes to Haiti to research a drug that makes someone appear dead by suspending all vital signs.

  • Director
    • Wes Craven
  • Writers
    • Wade Davis
    • Richard Maxwell
    • Adam Rodman
  • Stars
    • Bill Pullman
    • Cathy Tyson
    • Zakes Mokae
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    29K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Wes Craven
    • Writers
      • Wade Davis
      • Richard Maxwell
      • Adam Rodman
    • Stars
      • Bill Pullman
      • Cathy Tyson
      • Zakes Mokae
    • 125User reviews
    • 124Critic reviews
    • 64Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos4

    The Serpent and the Rainbow
    Trailer 1:22
    The Serpent and the Rainbow
    The Serpent And The Rainbow: Buried In Blood
    Clip 2:18
    The Serpent And The Rainbow: Buried In Blood
    The Serpent And The Rainbow: Buried In Blood
    Clip 2:18
    The Serpent And The Rainbow: Buried In Blood
    The Serpent And The Rainbow: Interview With Sfx Artist Dave Anderson
    Clip 1:06
    The Serpent And The Rainbow: Interview With Sfx Artist Dave Anderson
    Bill Pullman Tells Us the Scariest Co-Star He's Ever Worked With
    Video 2:26
    Bill Pullman Tells Us the Scariest Co-Star He's Ever Worked With

    Photos46

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    Top cast63

    Edit
    Bill Pullman
    Bill Pullman
    • Dennis Alan
    Cathy Tyson
    Cathy Tyson
    • Marielle Duchamp
    Zakes Mokae
    Zakes Mokae
    • Dargent Peytraud
    Paul Winfield
    Paul Winfield
    • Lucien Celine
    Brent Jennings
    Brent Jennings
    • Louis Mozart
    Conrad Roberts
    Conrad Roberts
    • Christophe
    Badja Djola
    Badja Djola
    • Gaston
    Theresa Merritt
    Theresa Merritt
    • Simone
    Michael Gough
    Michael Gough
    • Schoonbacher
    Paul Guilfoyle
    Paul Guilfoyle
    • Andrew Cassedy
    Dey Young
    Dey Young
    • Mrs. Cassedy
    Aleta Mitchell
    • Celestine
    William Newman
    William Newman
    • French Missionary Doctor
    Jaime Pina
    • Julio
    • (as Jaime Piña Gautier)
    Evencio Mosquera Slaco
    • Old Shaman
    Kimberleigh Aarn
    • Margrite
    • (as Kimberleigh Burroughs)
    Philogen Thomas
    • Priest
    Ana Rosa Smith Avila
    • Mulatto Nurse
    • Director
      • Wes Craven
    • Writers
      • Wade Davis
      • Richard Maxwell
      • Adam Rodman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews125

    6.428.9K
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    Featured reviews

    8Scarface_OG

    Do you believe in voodoo?

    The story of a chemist who is investigating a rumoured drug that brings people back from the dead. This is a great movie which keeps you in suspense right through. Not a horror movie but more of a suspense type movie that enters the world of black magic and voodoo. Very underrated movie and well worth watching, great plot and the story works.
    8lilac_point_burmese

    Very Different and Intriguing

    Bill Pullman is an anthropologist who on a previous visit to Haiti experienced the power of black voodoo,filling his mind with evil dreams and eventuating in the murder of his pilot. His Jaguar spirit leads him to safety. Upon returning to America he is asked by a drug company to return to Haiti and investigate the process of "Zombification" as proof of a man being brought back from the dead has been discovered and the Americans of course would love to know how it is done.

    In Haiti Dr Allen meets a beautiful female psychiatrist and together they become embroiled in a world of good vs evil voodoo style in search of this miracle which is in the form of a powder.

    However, their is evil at work in the form of a very nasty voodoo witchdoctor, who unfortunately also happens to be Chief of Police in the very much oppressed Haiti.

    This was a great film. I only just purchased and watched it for the first time on DVD for $6.95 AU, at that price I wasn't expecting much - Reviews I have read regarding this film dubbed it dissapointing, but I found it to be highly entertaining.

    The film is eerie, the acting is excellent. I have found in most reviews that people have complained that the film is far-fetched and doesn't make sense. Well, in my opinion - that is the nature of voodoo -it is un-explainable and to a skeptical mind is silly, but there have been many accounts in real life of voodoo magic and it's power and this film was based on some such accounts.

    The film starts of a little slow and can be described as a bit messy. However, as the plot unfolds, not only are we watching an eerie film about the supernatural, we are also watching an action packed political thriller. This is a very unusual film. There is just enough blood and gore to entertain the slasher fans, but not too much discourage the general film appreciating public.

    As opposed to common belief, I found the story-line of this film to be tight, different and utterly engaging.
    9sonofhades

    Zombies in modern times, would you expect the movie to be good?

    Much to my surprise, this film was actually an excellent horror flick, one that I plan to watch again some day. I am glad a friend of mine recommended the movie to me, I am just hoping others will find the time to look into it.

    Even more, if the story actually is based on a "true story", I will shudder at the thought of it...
    7The_Core

    An entertaining, detailed thriller

    One of Wes Craven's best, "Serpent and the Rainbow" is as much a psychological thriller as a horror movie. Some horror fans may find it too slow (it takes its sweet time to come to a climax) but it's worth it... the journey is entertaining and interesting. This is a polished, professionally filmed movie with higher production values than the average for its genre.

    I've never seen a film before that went quite so in-depth into the subject of voodoo. Filmed on location in Haiti, this movie goes into a lot of detail about various voodoo practices and introduces the voodoo versions of the good and evil magician, the houngon and the bocor. If you have any interest at all in this subject matter (or the supernatural in general), I recommend the movie on that basis alone.

    Acting is uniformly solid throughout, if nothing really outstanding. We do not come to care very deeply about these characters, so their trials, tribulations and deaths do not bother us much... but Craven's attention to detail really shows, and there isn't a moment of this movie that lacks entertainment value. 7/10.
    7claudio_carvalho

    Death is not the End in Haiti

    In 1985, after a successful research in Amazonas, Dr. Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) from Harvard is invited by the president of a Boston pharmaceutics industry, Andrew Cassedy (Paul Guilfoyle), to travel to Haiti to investigate the case of a man named Christophe (Conrad Roberts) that died in 1978 and has apparently returned to life. Andrew wants samples of the voodoo drug that was used in Christophe to be tested with the intention of producing a powerful anesthetic. Dr. Alan travels to meet Dr. Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson) that is treating Christophe and arrives in Haiti in a period of revolution. Soon Alan is threatened by the chief of the feared Tonton Macuse Dargent Peytraud (Zakes Mokae), who is a torturer and powerful witch. Alan learns that death is not the end in the beginning of his journey to hell.

    "The Serpent and the Rainbow" is one of the creepiest and most originals zombie movie ever produced. Directed by Wes Craven, the story uses the background of political environment of Haiti and entwines horror and politics. Bill Pullman has good performance and Cathy "Mona Lisa" Tyson completes the romantic pair of the story. But Zakes Mokae "steals" the movie with a scary performance in the role of the wicked Peytraud. My vote is seven.

    Title (Brazil): "A Maldição dos Mortos-Vivos" ("The Curse of the Living Dead")

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Newly wed, Bill Pullman's wife was invited to be an extra and appears on screen as the blonde who pushes a long needle through a willing man's cheek.
    • Goofs
      At about the 1:05 mark a computer screen shows the word "specimen" misspelled as "speciman".
    • Quotes

      Dennis Alan: Don't let them bury me! I'm not dead!

    • Crazy credits
      [Opening card] In the legends of voodoo the Serpent is a symbol of Earth. The Rainbow is a symbol of Heaven. Between the two, all creatures must live and die. But because he has a soul Man can be trapped in a terrible place Where death is only the beginning. The following is inspired by a true story.
    • Alternate versions
      UK video and DVD versions are cut by 5 seconds by the BBFC to remove shots of cock-fighting (illegal animal cruelty).
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Shoot to Kill/The Serpent and the Rainbow/She's Having a Baby/The Unbearable Lightness of Being/School Daze (1988)
    • Soundtracks
      Madame Marcel
      Performed by Le Roi Coupe Cloue

      Courtesy of Chancy Records

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    FAQ

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 11, 1988 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • The Serpent and the Rainbow
    • Filming locations
      • Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $7,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $19,595,031
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,848,700
      • Feb 7, 1988
    • Gross worldwide
      • $19,595,031
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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