Morsures mortelles

Living and working in Tokyo has some advantages, one of them being the fact that Channel 12 runs movies every afternoon -13:30-15:30- Monday to Thursday; some of course boarder on the inane but I just saw Silent Preds today and it's as fine a TV film as there is. Good camera work, nice production, solid acting and a realistic dialog, for a TV movie budget Silent Preds hits an easy 6. I personally wouldn't put it in the genre of B movie either, it doesn't have the feel or themes of a B movie, for a start Silent Preds uses real snake shots, not overly obvious rubber nasties flopping around as a muscle bound wanna be hero 'fights' them. This is no Ed Wood production and I found myself looking out for snakes where I'd seen them in this film. Watch, enjoy, creep yourself out!

In 1979, a rare breed of rattle snake – naturally, a more ferocious variety than the typical species – is set loose after the truck carrying it overturns. After fatally striking both the occupants of the crash, it then descends on a disused mine shaft where it breeds with regular rattlesnakes, and 20 years later the effects of this lethal concoction are awoken by a housing development. Harry Hamlin is the new fire chief whose first day on the job sees him dealing with a fatal snake bite, after a pair of juveniles frolicking in a thicket stumble on a specimen. From there, matters deteriorate as locals are overcome by a plethora of the new breed, the venom from which is more deadly than any known to man, and predictably, for which no serum currently exists. A herpetologist is enlisted but with the local economy's purse strings being controlled by greedy developer (Scalia), action is far from swift or decisive. So, inevitably, several bystanders quickly become victims until Scalia decides to take matters into his own hands, with disastrous results.

Not bad for a tele-movie, with capable performances and well conceived sub plots. McCormack as the local snake enthusiast comes off best, in spite of her whacky idea to address the problem by introducing more snakes, while Scalia plays a remarkably restrained villain, whose worst trait is being unethical moreover than exhibiting any overtly sinister behaviour. The blossoming romance between Hamlin and Sturges offers gentle respite in the film's troughs, and generally speaking, the show moves along with reasonable momentum and pace. While the special effects aren't all that special, director Nosseck still manages to build the suspense and an effective balance between storyline and detail. Perhaps the only real faux pas is the film's title – unless fitted with a silencer, one would assume that rattlesnakes indeed rattle, and would therefore only be silent to the hearing impaired.

A sharp eye for detail will reveal that the location is clearly not the USA in which the picture is set, but actually Queensland, Australia, as such the peripheral cast will be familiar to Australian audiences with familiar faces in bit parts and some supporting roles. Not movie of the week material, but competent within in its own limitations and definitely worth a look for those who don't suffer from snake phobia.

We know right from the opening seconds of SILENT PREDATORS, when we see a truck hauling a huge crate marked: "Danger... Handle With Extreme Caution... Venomous Reptile", that we're in for another killer snake movie. When the obvious happens, and the creature is unleashed, we know we're in for a treat.

20 years later, the citizenry of a small desert town are under attack by an army of slithering super snakes. Could it have anything to do with the new housing development that's being constructed nearby?

Harry Hamlin stars as the new Fire Chief, barely able to settle into his position before the deaths begin. Mr. Hamlin plays his part in a low-key fashion, which lends a calming effect amid the growing chaos. Shannon Sturges plays the love interest, and employee of the loathesome real estate developer (Jack Scalia). Also, watch for Patty "The Bad Seed" McCormack as the local pet shop owner.

Based on an early screenplay by John Carpenter, this TV movie isn't bad. In fact, it's an above-average entry in the "animal attack" subgenre. The rattlesnakes are suitably scary, and their "snake vision" shots are effective. There's also the obligatory, greed-driven cover-up to help keep the goodguys on their toes.

Highly recommended for fans of this subgenre...

"Vic Rondelli" (Harry Hamlin) is the new Fire Chief for the small town of San Catalona and on the first day at his job a teenage boy is bitten and killed by a rattlesnake. Although the rattlesnake managed to escape Vic is surprised at how fast the venom took effect. Not long afterward six or seven rattlesnakes are found in the crawlspace of a new home but before Vic has a chance to examine any of them a real estate developer named "Max Farrington" (Jack Scalia) has them killed and quickly burned. Concerned about this sudden appearance of such aggressive rattlesnakes Vic attempts to take certain proactive measures but is thwarted at every opportunity by Max-even as the death toll rises. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that, although the plot greatly resembled the film "Rattled" which was produced three years earlier, this was a still a decent movie none-the-less. It had good suspense and some solid performances by Jack Scalia, Shannon Sturges (as Max Farrington's assistant "Mandy Stratford") and Harry Hamlin. Again, while this movie was hardly unique it still wasn't too bad and for that reason I rate it as about average.

Silent Predators a made for TV movie came out in 1999, looking as cheesy as ever, showing us from the very start who is the good guy, the villain and of course the love interest.

Now was it a good movie? No. But did it manage to excite a little with its premise and execution? Also no. So unless you saw the movie back then, I could recommend it for the simple fact that it does manage to bring on some nostalgia. A time when horror productions and Sci-fies had the courage to be raw, dark, with no other consideration but to come out exactly the way the director visioned it.

So is it campy, cheesy and solves itself with no real climax. Yes, it is and does all that. For harmless fun, you may try out Silent Predators.

Cheers!