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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

    7gavin6942

    A Lesser Known Wes Craven Film, But not a Bad One

    A researcher (Bill Pullman) goes to Haiti in order to find a "zombie drug" that can give someone the appearance of death, when in actuality their body is at its lowest functioning. They may not breathe, or bleed, but they are not truly dead. The researcher and the company he works for hope to use it as an anesthetic.

    The film started as a book of the same name by anthropologist Wade Davis, who is probably the world's authority on voodoo and zombies. Discussions were made to have Peter Weir direct and/or Mel Gibson star, but obviously this never happened. The script found its way to Wes Craven, and Bill Pullman (at that point a young rising star) was given the lead.

    Author Wade Davis was on set from the very beginning and wanted to make the best film he could regardless of who the director would be. He notoriously did not like the way it went, and Bill Pullman says that both he (Pullman) and Wes Craven were disappointed, too, because they wanted a more serious angle and the studio (Universal) was pushing for a horror story. In retrospect, Davis seems to have become more accepting of the film and does not hold it against Craven. In fact, he praises many of the scenes for their authenticity, especially in comparison to other attempts at making voodoo films.

    The filming took place throughout 1987, and the political tensions were getting nasty in Haiti. Dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier becomes part of the plot, which makes this not just an anthropological horror film, but a political one, too. If people are able to look past the horror aspects, there is actually an important cultural document here.

    While the film is quite interesting for a variety of reasons, it starts off slow, and does not really pick up until the second half. Bill Pullman's character is the only one you are going to get to know from this film, and the only character who gets a lot of development. The natives seem very flat, and most just come across as wanting to kill Pullman. In a way, this makes sense, because this story is essentially told from his point of view.

    Bill Pullman reflected years later, "I don't think any other movie I've done is as adventurous as this one." He did most of his own stunts, met with real voodoo priests and took part in a variety of activities that may not be your typical Hollywood situation. One scene was filmed in an actual Dominican grave. He confirms that writer Richard Maxwell had to be admitted to an asylum after consulting with a voodoo priest.

    Fans of Craven ought to check this one out. It does not have the in-your-face slasher horror of Craven's "Nightmare on Elm Street", "Scream" or "Last House on the Left". But it is not intended to be. This is a film built on atmosphere, and in many ways a horror more realistic than any he had ever done before.

    As always, the must-have version was released by the fine folks at Scream Factory. Those interested in the movie will have to watch the 25-minute "making of", which has interviews with cinematographer John Lindley, the father-son special effects team of Lance and Dave Anderson, Wade Davis, and some re-used audio from Pullman.

    The audio commentary is disappointing. On the one hand, it is the first time the film has had a commentary track, so credit must be given to Scream Factory for giving the disc the attention that past companies (specifically Image and Universal) failed to do. But the commentary with Bill Pullman only goes halfway through the film, with no one left to take his place. The real tragedy is in the passing of Wes Craven (the disc is dedicated to him), who could have offered more insight.

    There will undoubtedly never be a better release of this essential Wes Craven film... unless someone manages to convince Bill Pullman to hand over all the vacation footage he shot with his wife on set!
    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")
    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.
    7jcanettis

    Interesting, But Could Be Even Better

    The best thing about "The Serpent and the Rainbow" is probably the topic it covers: Not known to the general public (including me, until I watched the film and researched the subject a little more afterwards), the so-called zombies, which legend has it that they are people who were condemned by sorcerers to become living deads, are in fact nothing more than the victims of a special powder thrown to them, whose active ingredient is a substance which is now well-known by scientists worldwide. This substance has the effect of rendering the person in a dead-like state (no ostensible breathing, moving, etc.), while his brain is still lively (which means that the horrified person is even able to understand what surrounds him, without being able to do anything about it); in such cases, an inexperienced doctor claims the person deceased, and he is then put into a grave. When the effect of this substance starts to diminish after 12-24 hours, the sorcerer is usually there to undig the completely shocked and shattered person, convincing him that he is now his zombie-slave.

    The movie is based on a true story by a scientist (Pullman) who went to Haiti, a country were such practices were rife, in order to get his hands on this substance and provide it to his employer, a pharmaceutical company, in order to analyze it and use it as an anaesthetic. In his quest he was assisted by a female local psychiatrist (Tyson), who treated several "zombified" people. However, he soon realized that things were much more complicated than that, as the police chief (Mokae), who used this zombie-trick as one of his suppression tools, was quite unhappy with this intrusion.

    Although based on a very interesting story, the movie goes a bit far and becomes a typical horror film, full of black magic, terrifying visions, etc. In my opinion, it would be much better if the plot sticked to the basics, as from some point onwards everything (and especially the ending) becomes too unconvincing.

    The cast does a fair job, despite the fact that it includes actors not widely known. The make-up and scenery produce and impressive atmosphere, traveling the viewer to the mystifying secrets of Haiti.

    Grade: 7/10.

    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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    FAQ20

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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
      • 1h 38m(98 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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