The Serpent And The Rainbow (1988)

Eight years before he scored a phenomenal hit with Scream, horror master Wes Craven made a worthy effort to "legitimize" horror with this chilling supernatural thriller, based on the best-selling book by Wade Davis. More ambitious than most horror films, this one allowed Craven to generate compelling plausibility with the fact-based story of a Harvard researcher (Bill Pullman) who travels to Haiti to procure a secret voodoo powder that places people into a state of simulated death. His investigation into the hidden world of black magic grows increasingly dangerous until he's caught in a living nightmare--a potentially deadly predicament that inspired the film's advertising tag line: "Don't bury me... I'm not dead!" Craven pays particular attention to authentic details of Haitian society and the role voodoo plays in Haitian culture, and the film gains additional atmosphere from location shooting in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Craven would, of course, continue to thrive by making more "conventional" horror films including Scream, but this remains a fascinating departure for one of the genre's most celebrated directors. - -Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

 The Serpent and the Rainbow
Although slightly distorted by Hollywood, this video tells the amazing and true story about an Anthropologist named Wade Davis who was solicited by pharmaceutical companies in the United States to find the Haitian Zombie powder for use in American operating rooms as anesthesia. February 16, 2008

 Don't bother
Very bad. I stopped watching it about half way through. The story is not very believable. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it. There seemed to be a lot of yelling, very drawn out yelling. The story is very slow and it lost my interest. July 9, 2007

 [2.5]--How can I not forget this movie, it so desperately needs a makeover..
..and being that this movie is close to twenty years old makes it possible. The book passed through several hands as a film property and eventually ended up in those of Wes Craven. His name was most certainly at the forefront of horror directors. The result: ugly stereotypes, anorexic socio-political allegory, scant scares, and Bill Pullman - that's "The Serpent and the Rainbow" in a nutshell. Based on Wade Davis' novel, Wes Craven's lame documentary-flavored horror story follows anthropologist Dennis Alan (Pullman) as he searches revolutionary Haiti for a mystery drug that reportedly raises the dead. With the help of a local psychiatric institution doctor (Mona Lisa's Cathy Tyson), Alan undergoes a crash coarse in the island's history, discovering a culture where 110 percent of the population practices voodoo, including an evil political leader (Zakes Mokae) who's using zombifying white powder as a means of silencing opponents. Imagery of people being buried alive is the film's calling card, and Craven handles his suffocating coffin-encased dream sequences with sufficient skill. Yet in every other respect, the film is either offensive or incompetent, from the sight of blacks behaving like superstitious witch doctors or the dance floor-gyrating possessed, to Pullman's unbearably overwrought performance as the altruistic Alan, to the persistently aggravating narration, which wants to function as helpful connective tissue between scenes but instead only provides a wealth of superfluous information that neither complements nor amplifies the already dull, pointless action.

I have seen this movie twice in my life and if its one thing "Serpent And The Rainbow" is, it's stylish. Filmed in my homeland, the movie is loaded with colorful scenery. There's tons of unforgettable religious imagery (due in no small part to the colorful nature of voodoo) as well as lots of great scenes in Haitian graveyards that stick in the brain. There's also tons of Craven-style shots (the nightmare sequences reminded me immensely of Cravens previous works) as well as some bits that came out rather nicely (the shot of a man inside the coffin being lowered into the ground). Performances are decent, especially Zakes Mokae, who plays Peytraud with subtly psychotic menace. Pullman is as wooden as ever (how does this guy keep his job?) delivering lines right from that invisible teleprompter hanging about six inches from his nose.

I also question the "based on a true story" factor: people tearing their own head off and tossing them isn't true to life. Hollywood, at times, loves to pick on voodoo given its "minority" status among the faiths and treat it a bit backwards. In reality Voodoo is not based on evil premises as is often portrayed, but instead has it's foundation in Catholicism. The Spirits that are such cornerstones of Voodoo are, in effect, angels with God and Jesus reigning supreme over all. And, there is a dark side. It is the dark side where the elements of control over others and evil show themselves, and this dark world of evil Voodoo is indeed scary. The trouble is, when making a movie with Voodoo elements it takes time and effort to explain the reality of the practice...and it is much easier to just rely on the frightening stereotypes instead. But in this film Craven explores voodoo on a rather scientific level. Although many of the events depicted are still mystic, they are always rational, and if they actually venture into the realms of the supernatural, Craven makes sure the viewer understands that voodoo has also very much to do with mental states and hallucinations inseparably embedded in the Haitian culture. This movie could have been so much better if Craven would have learned that the scariest things often have nothing to do with special effects but the root of all. Recommending this film probably wouldn't be very wise in my part but reading the book is highly beneficial.

April 20, 2007

 Good, but could have been great.
Bill Pullman (you may know him from Independence Day) stars a Harvard Anthropologist who is sent to Haiti to investigate some of the holistic drugs and plants that the natives use. While in Haiti he is given a strange mixture that shows him his sacred animal and it guides him back to saftey after he has horrific visions. Once he returns to the States he is hired by a desperate drug company to return to Haiti and find a plant that is supposed to bring the dead back to life. When he returns to Haiti he is dragged into a web of voodoo rituals and rites that may engulf him forever...

The main problem I have with this film is the direction by Wes Craven. He hasn't quite grasped the fact that sometimes the scariest moments don't come from special effects. This movie should work, and it should work very well. It doesn't. Even though Craven was given a better than average screenplay to work from, from an even better novel, he messes up every chance he has to truly bring this film to the next level.

While better than your average horror film it could have been great. A classic even. Bill Pullman gives us a great performance as he usually does. If Craven did only one thing right with this film it is the atmosphere. He has created a truly bleak and harrowing atmosphere around the whole used up voodoo plotline. From the strange Amazon rainforest style music to the casting of the minor roles the atmosphere is pitch perfect for this film. As most everyone knows, Craven would go on to do great things in the genre (well at least succesful things) and make a name for himself as a horror master. This is evidence of the better things that would follow. While I have mixed feelings about it, you should check it out. April 11, 2007

 Uneven, but compelling
This film is a VERY loose adaptation of the non-fiction book of the same name. While the book was a work of serious scholarship, the film is, well, a Hollywood movie. Nothing wrong with that, of course, it's just that the book and film share a title and not much else. That said, the movie has more going for it than against it, and I would recommend it (but not for the kiddies). The greatest strength of the movie is the performance by Zakes Mokae as the sadistic chief of Haiti's not-so-secret police. It would take someone more eloquent than I to describe it. Just believe me when I tell you that you won't forget it anytime soon after. It's not often that I find myself grinding my teeth during a movie that I know is fiction, but this performance did just that. I understand Mr. Mokae lives in Nevada now. In the unlikely event that he should read this review, I wish to thank him for a splendid, if disturbing, performance. The cinematography is really quite good with some truly creepy scenes rendered, and the plot and dialog are fine. There are two factors that work against the film. The first is Bill Pullman, playing the Harvard researcher. I don't intend any offense towards Mr. Pullman nor his fans. However, he just doesn't seem right for so many of the parts in which he is cast, such as the President in Independence Day, and here. His overall demeanor just doesn't convey "Ph.D. field researcher". The other significant fault is the descent of the storyline into near ridiculous fantasy in the closing scenes. It's quite similar to The Abyss in this regard. Some reviewers seem to have issues with Eurocentrism and racial implications within the film. I personally didn't consider anything I saw out of order, but this is a very subjective area in my estimation, and others could very well see things differently. Overall, not a half-bad horror/fantasy film. 3.5 stars, maybe 4 if you're really in the mood for something like this. February 16, 2007

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