The Killer Snakes

One of the oldest nemeses of man has to be the snake. The very first account of human behavior in the Bible uses the snake as the antagonist. The fear of snakes is among the most common to afflict people. After all these are creatures that unlike anything else can achieve rapid movement without the benefit of legs or wings. The slither along the ground or in trees and can coil their bodies ready to strike in the blink of an eye. Although their bites are small many species of snakes contain fast acting poisons that can paralyze or out right kill a victim. There is little wonder as to why these creatures have been used as villains or murder weapons in many films. Now, thanks to the prolific DVD distributors, Image Entertainment, we get the 1975 cult classic ‘Killer Snakes’. From the creative minds of the Shaw Brothers this flick does not use a catchy title to draw people in. There is a true in advertising here; there are plenty of snakes and they are indeed killers. If you have a phobia of snakes you will have to be heavily sedated to watch this film. Every possible, horrible scenario you have ever had nightmares about is graphically shown here. This is not a light hearted movie and definitely not for the squeamish out there.

If you are at all into the classic Hong Kong action flicks of the seventies then you most likely have come across the Shaw Brothers many times. Sir Run Run Shaw and his younger brother Runme created one of the most prolific and famous movie studios in Asia. They are largely responsible for the amazing popularity of the genre in the West. A large part of their success is they were extremely loyal to their cast and crew. Most of their films featured actors from the same pool of talent. This also went for their directors; they had a stable of people ready to make another Shaw Brothers film. This allowed the members of the production to work very well together from day one. This is also what makes this film work so well. ‘Killer Snakes’ is a dark flick, almost existential in its nature. The brothers set out to gross out their audience and they succeed wildly. They have never been shy about violence but in this movie they take things to an extreme level.

Not only is the violence push to the extreme here so are the psychosexual aspects. No Shaw Brothers movie could ever be mistaken for a ‘chick flick’ but this one borders are being overtly degrading to women. Most all of the men are sadistic freaks while the women are relegated the position of being little more than a destination for the sexual perversions of the men. Because of this the city of Hong Kong is shown as one of the most base, degraded locations on earth. To be fair this movie is not only misogynistic but completely misanthropic as well. In fact there is not a single person in this movie that is remotely likable. You are not going to want to emotionally connect with any character here. If you do find yourself bonding with or even understanding any person depicted here do society a big favor and commit yourself to in patient care in a psychiatric facility immediately.

Zhihong (Kam Kwok-leung) is a man who has always been the target of any bully in the area. He lives in a broken down shack that is adjacent to a local snake store. The ceiling and walls are covered with pornography, heavy on the bondage. He manages to earn a meager living by making ointments and potions of some sort out of certain organs of snakes. One day a cobra escapes from the shop next door and Zhihong takes it in. He heals the snake and discovers that he has the uncanny ability to not only establish communication with snakes but he can direct their actions. The only person that shows him the slightest human kindness is Xiujuan (Maggie Lee). Of course this leads to Zhihong having a major crush on the young woman. In order to impress her he decides to get his life on a better track. He gets a job as a delivery man but no sooner than he starts his rounds he is set upon, beaten and robbed resulting in him losing the job. Around this time Xiujuan is also experiencing problems that will result in a change of careers. Her father is extremely ill and she has no way to pay the expensive medical bills and the overdue rent. In desperation she becomes a prostitute. Now Zhihong was not wrapped tight to begin with but all of these events coming at the same time are just what is needed to push him over the line. After he gets tossed out of the local brothel and once again beaten he feels it is time for some payback. He goes back with a horde of snakes he acquired from the conveniently placed snake store and orders them to kill the body guards at the brothel. He then kidnaps the prostitute who rejected him and brings her home. After some very sick foreplay he uses a snake to molest the woman. Zhihong feels that a great use for his new power would be to rescue the girl he loves. He kidnaps her madam, strips her, ties her up and then, guess what, brings out the snakes, no, this time he switches things up and uses a giant lizard.

This is also not a film for animal lovers. If there is a PETA membership card in your wallet please direct all comments directly to the Shaw Brothers organization. The snakes are cut open for their organs, sliced and dice on the ground and mid air and generally hacked to pieces. Considering the depraved treatment the humans get here, albeit staged, the snakes do get the short end of it.

Back in the seventies when the grindhouse was a certain type of theater and not a revised genre the Shaw Brothers were kings. They turned out everything that the audiences of those dilapidated movie houses wanted. Our American grindhouse masters like William Castle and Roger Corman could not hold a candle to the Brothers. True to form this film is jam packed with gratuitous violence, nudity and perversion. When rated by the MPAA in 1975 it received the rating it so richly deserved, ‘X’. Once again if this film excites you get help before you are the target of the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit.

Image does know how to present a DVD like this. The video is a 2.35:1 transfer that as held up pretty well over the decades. The audio is in Cantonese 5.1. You can also select English subtitles or English dubbed. This is a brutal flick that borders on the depraved. Keep it away from the kiddies but if you are into some of the most radical offerings in Honk Kong thrillers this is just the thing for you.

Posted 01/10/08