The Serpent and the Rainbow
Directed by:
Wes CravenCinematography:
John LindleyComposer:
Brad FiedelCast:
Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield, Brent Jennings, Conrad Roberts, Badja Djola, Theresa Merritt, Michael Gough, Paul Guilfoyle, Dey Young (more)Plots(1)
Wes Craven directs this terrifying story of one man's nightmarish journey into the eerie and deadly world of voodoo. A Harvard anthropologist is sent to Haiti to revive a strange powder that is said to have the power to bring humans beings back from the dead. In his quest to find the miracle drug, the cynical scientist enters the rarely seen nether world of walking zombies, blood rites and ancient curses. Based on the true life experiences of Wade Davis and filmed on location in Haiti, it's a frightening excursion into black magic and supernatural. (Fabulous Films)
(more)Reviews (2)
Good. Decent atmosphere, a brilliant Bill Pullman and a pretty innovative story elevated this film to a slightly above-par level. The only problem I have with The Serpent and the Rainbow is purely personal. Voodoo is a topic I really don’t care for and whenever it shows up it kills a film. This one wasn’t boring, though, it’s entertaining enough in a B-movie way, but I certainly don’t need to watch it again.
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I like Bill Pullman and his presence and performance are pretty much the only things that impressed me about this film. Maybe it's not so much the director's fault, but rather the premise itself, from which nothing good can be extracted, yet Craven definitely could have pushed the envelope a lot more in terms of atmosphere or scares and not just try to scare the viewer with visions taking place in a dream (force of habit I guess). The story moves towards its conclusion without much emotion and at the end I was left with a feeling of emptiness rather than satisfaction, which is why I have to round down from 2.5*.
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