KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

GL84 Sent to a Haitian village, a botanist for a US pharmaceutical company is asked to explore the uses of a psychotic drug used there and as he continues looking into the stories is soon immersed into the world of voodoo and ancient spells that goes way over his head and has to fight for his very soul.This is quite the chilling and enjoyable effort. Among the films' positives is that this is one of the very few horror films ever made that treats its subject matter as accurately as possible. It's true that all the depictions and discussions about voodoo and its power are real. Those are real practitioners of voodoo performing on film, and how it happens in the film are real representations of how voodoo works. That adds to the realism to the film, because real-life horror is far scarier than anything else a human mind can come up with. Whatever the people in the film are doing to the characters to turn them into zombies are very powerful and the spells and potions used to control and create them are just as powerful. This includes the practice of making a zombie which is fully explored, and the process is an incredibly creepy one. We get to know it in intricate detail as the realness of it makes it that much more compelling. That means this gets so much better when he has been overwhelmed with the voodoo world and everything comes crashing down, as once he knows the process of creating the drug the movie kicks into hyper-drive as he is just relentlessly tortured by what he knows. That it happens in a quick manner of time is staggering, which is mainly based around the continuous dream sequences he keeps having while being tortured that are truly trippy and delirious. The first one, where he's inside this candlelit room and witnesses a wedding being performed where the bride wanders over to him with the veil down is one of the biggest scares, while another big one is where he's dissolved into a wall of blood among the other numerous quick shots of charred hands or vicious being charging at him. It was also nice since the torture inflicted on him was more mental than physical which also manages to include the heart-stopping climax which is justifiably famous. Alongside the wild real-life tendencies that add a further touch of realism here, this one generates a lot to like and barely any real flaws. The biggest flaw to be found is the fact that it's so long before anything really happens here that it can feel somewhat challenging in terms of pacing. The film is basically more of an adventure film for the first half as he's immersed into the world and around the mystery in the village which isn't all that horrific beyond the nature of the events happening which isn't all that exciting to see play out. This one still manages to maintain a solid pace, but it remains all the more removed from the genre for a large stretch of time. Likewise, some might also be put off because of the supernatural and religious themes portrayed in the film. Since they are very accurate, it may upset the very religious persons out there where this is something that some may be put off against because it may clash with their faith. Witnessing some of the blasphemous actions throughout here could be upsetting, but overall it's not all that bad here.Rated R: Intricate details and discussions about occult themes, Violence, Language, Nudity and a mild sex scene.

John Brooks The movie starts off a bit roughly, then takes on a nice pace and settles in, delivers its plot and introduces the various characters, all the while showing life in Haiti, some of the cultural aspects there.It should be said Zakes Mokae, the 'bad guy', puts in a fabulous performance.Other than that, the ending ruins so much of the potential the whole film may've been driving towards, there's not much commentary to be made really. We get the gist of it, but it totally explodes in that last act and there's little to salvage, really.Good for a while, not good as a whole.

SnoopyStyle In 1985, Dr. Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) from Harvard is in deepest Amazon studying the locals. He is given hallucinogens. His helicopter pilot is killed and he's forced to travel the 200 miles on his own. Back in Boston, he's recruited by a pharmaceutical to study a possible case of zombification in Haiti. Christophe Durand was declared dead in 1978 and buried. However he has returned under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Duchamp (Cathy Tyson). She introduces him to Lucien Celine (Paul Winfield) and local hustler Louis Mozart. There is also Dargent Peytraud, the leader of the feared Tonton Macuse who are the thugs of dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.I really like the exotic realism and the idea of voodoo zombies. Actually the more traditional horror gimmicks from Wes Craven in the last act is not that exciting. I like the woman eating glass at diner but the last section tries too much. The strength of the movie is any remote connection to reality. It's creepy and Zakes Mokae is such a great villain.

Rainey Dawn Very interesting movie! What makes this movie scary is that things like this really do happen in certain parts of the world... it seems South America mainly.Most people are familiar with the get bit by a zombie you will turn into a zombie scenario which is not that realistic. Romero's Night of the Living Dead or other zombie films are good examples of it. But Serpent and the Rainbow is not that type of a zombie film.Serpent and the Rainbow is a very underrated and extremely creepy film about REAL ZOMBISM. Yes I say REAL ZOMBISM! To understand the movie Serpent and the Rainbow on a deeper scale research REAL ZOMBISM: Scopolamine aka Devil's Breath is one such drug from the Borrachero tree it is also known as Angel Trumpet: Brugmansia. This plant is known turn people into a zombie-like state... people will even give up their free will.If one is interested in real zombism and other magic from South America I recommend a book by Jaya Bear: Amazon Magic: The Life Story of Ayahuasquero & Shaman Don Agustin Rivas Vasquez -- very good book that goes well with the the theme of the movie "Serpent and the Rainbow".Yes I loved Serpent and the Rainbow! It maybe Wes Craven's best movie to date! 9.5/10