Post by moviemouth on Oct 2, 2021 2:02:38 GMT
What makes this movie stand out is the cast. Oliver Reed, Sterling Hayden, Susan George, Nicol Williamson, Michael Gough, Klaus Kinski and Sarah Miles. That is a lot of talent for a dumb horror movie like this. It isn't terrible or anything and I can understand why Siskel had fun watching it, but it is really just a waste of talent.
The cast is effective and they don't put in their best work, but they aren't phoning it in either. The cast is what makes the movie work at all. The issue with the movie is the story isn't developed in a way that is interesting and the snake stuff is underused. What sets this movie apart, besides the cast, is the horror element and that element isn't integrated into the story very well. The actually hostage stuff is quite mundane and the writing is lazy. They had an opportunity to make something more suspenseful, more scary and more interesting than they did, and that is unfortunate. What we get instead is a movie that is just okay and the only reason it is even that good is because of the cast and the use of a real black mamba. One thing I definitely miss about old movies is the use of real snakes. It makes a big difference that you know you are seeing an actual black mamba on screen.
5.5/10