Another giant fill-in-the-blank monster movie from Nu Image and the Sci-fi Channel, with predictably cheap CG creature FX on a par with the likes of BOA VS PYTHON and the usual array of Eastern European actors (pic, as usual, was shot in Bulgaria) pretending to be regional Americans. It’s easy to shit on these types of movies but, the truth is, at their best they’re kind of undemanding fun, and flicks like MEGA SNAKE do resurrect the spirit of 50’s B movies with amiable, unpretentious glee.
This one features Michael Shanks as a Tennessee paramedic with a life-long fear of snakes ever since his snake-handler daddy got fatally bitten by one of the slithery creatures when he was a kid. The script “borrows” a major plot lick, and indeed an entire sequence, from GREMLINS to get the shenanigans promised by the title into gear. Shanks’ brother comes across an extremely rare and unique species of snake kept in a sealed jar by a stern Cherokee tattooist. The snake is said to be the mythical breed that once killed a bunch of Indians and grows with extreme rapidity.
It also comes with its own set of three rules, a la the mogwai in GREMLINS : never let it out of its jar, never let it eat anything living and never fear the heart of the snake. This film’s equivalent of Keye Luke notes “It’s not for sale”, but, of course, the arrogant white man takes it away, the jar gets smashed, the formerly miniature snake begins growing right away to extraordinary proportions and it merrily chomps down on an assortment of kittens, chickens, dogs and people. Shanks is too busy trying to sort out his messy love life to notice the snake problem his brother is desperately trying to sort out.
All the clichés you’d expect from a movie like MEGA SNAKE are present and correct : there’s the dopey rednecks who instigate their own snake-hunt, and the unsympathetic mayor who, in the long-tradition of Murray Hamilton-types, refuses to let a 100 foot snake spoil his plans for an upcoming County Fair. The inevitable mayhem at said fair provides the movie’s climax, with a suitable ensemble of stoners, horny teens and kids in peril, plus a cool moment in which patrons on a rollercoaster end the ride minus their heads. No one in town seems very shocked or bemused to discover that a still-growing monster snake is on the loose…and they aren’t especially bothered by the growing body count including various loved ones and friends.
It’s no world beater, but this movie has fun with its old-school creature feature premise, and even finds occasional new wrinkles, including a climax in which our heroes have to defeat the snake from within, having willingly gotten themselves swallowed. The dialogue favors lines like “This is definitely the work of a giant snake!” and gets the kind of sincere deadpan delivery the genre demands.
Tune in for two stand-out moments of inspired silliness that, although played straight, suggest the filmmakers were keen to play the giant snake shtick to the hilt. One very funny look-behind-you bit features a guy on a sofa too busy dipping into a bucket of chicken to notice the snake behind him, a snake that bobs and weaves with deft timing to avoid being seen. And there’s a bravura set piece in which the Mega Snake eats a wholesome picnicking family : kudos to the Dad for taking on the snake with just a spatula and defiantly shouting “This one’s for the good ol’ red white and blue!”.
– Steven West
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
