Frequently silly but entertaining
hostage crisis nail-biter...which needed a whole lot more mamba. Blue Underground
has released, in a dual format Blu-ray/DVD 2-disc combo pack, VENOM, the 1982
U.K. snake-in-a-siege thriller (released here in the States by Paramount Pictures)
scripted by Robert Carrington from the book by Alan Scholefield, directed by
Piers Haggard, and starring Sterling Hayden, Klaus Kinski, Sarah Miles, Nicol
Williamson, Cornellia Sharpe, Susan George, Lance Holcomb, and Oliver Reed.
A financial and critical failure upon release, VENOM was an early cable and
VHS hit when those two exhibition forms ruled, spawning a small but vocal fan
base for this snake suspenser. Despite plot holes big enough to have a black
mamba spring through, and notwithstanding the deadly mistake of downplaying
the snake’s on-screen presence, the basic requirements of this genre mash-up
are met...while that cast of pros and/or blowhard hams is irresistible. All
the extras from BU’s 2003 special edition DVD are ported over here, including
the director’s commentary track, original trailers and TV spots, and a
stills and poster gallery (new thoughts on the movie are included in a 20-page
booklet). A substantial 2K upgrade to the 1080p HD widescreen 1.85:1 transfer,
however, along with three audio track options, make this Blu a tempting double-dip
for fans, and the best way to go for newcomers.
Severely asthmatic 10-year-old Philip Hopkins (Lance Holcomb, GHOST STORY) is
anxiously awaiting the departure of his loving-but-suffocating mother, Ruth
(Cornelia Sharpe, SERPICO, THE NEXT MAN), who is leaving their swank London
townhouse for Rome, where Philip’s millionaire father is working. As soon
as his overprotective mother leaves, unbeknownst to her, Philip will get a brand
new addition to his bedroom menagerie: a common, harmless African house snake,
courtesy of his grandfather, former world-famous safari guide and white hunter,
Howard Anderson (Sterling Hayden, THE KILLING, DR. STRANGLOVE). What Philip
can’t know, though, is that friendly house maid Louise Andrews (Susan
George, STRAW DOGS, DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY) and surly, menacing chauffer Dave
Averconnelly (Oliver Reed, THE DEVILS, BURNT OFFERINGS)—both relatively
new additions to the Hopkins household—are in league with international
criminal Jacques Muller (Klaus Kinski, NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE, CRAWLSPACE). Muller
arrives that night from Europe and the plan is set in motion: kidnap the boy
and hold him in a safe house for ransom. What the kidnappers don’t know,
though, is that there’s been a catastrophic mix-up at the pet shop: Philip’s
common house snake is actually a Dendroaspis polylepis, the deadly
black mamba, the most aggressive, deadliest snake in the world, capable of land
speeds of seven miles per hour, launching itself 15 feet through the air, and
inflicting multiple bites with a powerful venom that can kill a man in less
than an hour. That snake is loose in the house, and when Dave blows
his cool and kills a copper, initiating a siege at the townhouse, Commander
William Bulloch (Nicol Williamson, EXCALIBUR, SPAWN) of the London Metropolitan
Police doesn’t know if he’ll lose the hostages to the murderous
kidnapers...or the mamba.
I vaguely remember VENOM’s 1982 theatrical run (the TV spots were grabbers),
but I don’t think I saw it until its repeated cable runs in the mid-1980s.
There, it seemed to benefit somehow from the commercial interruptions (curious
how that happens with some movies), its narrative gaps lessened and obscured
by the incessant soap and insurance pitches, and its claustrophobic setting
fitting well on the small screen. Seen uncut in this sparkling new Blu transfer,
its flaws are more easily noticed, to be sure, but it’s still quite fun
despite (or perhaps because of?) its goofs and its overripe performances. According
to multiple sources, including the director’s own commentary track included
on this disc, VENOM was a compromised, unhappy experience for most involved.
Originally intended as a project for Sean Connery (who, despite some other opinions
online, wouldn’t necessarily have been a guarantee of box office returns
for the movie in 1982), VENOM eventually was independently financed by, among
others, members of the Guinness alcohol concern and George Harrison’s
HandMade Films (which released it in the U.K.). American director Tobe Hooper,
of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE notoriety, was hired right after completing the
as-yet-unreleased THE FUNHOUSE, by DOG DAY AFTERNOON producer Martin Bregman.
Rumors are rife about what followed, but within two weeks of the start of principle
photography, Hooper was fired (Hooper has never commented on this). After a
rather frantic search, U.K. helmer Piers Haggard, who had recently received
raves for his TV production of PENNIES FROM HEAVEN, as well as having directed
well-received horror/sci-fi flicks such as THE BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW and
THE QUATERMASS CONCLUSION, was implored to join the shut-down production. Constantly
playing catch-up, and denied the ability to change the script (he couldn’t
even re-paint the sets), Haggard dug in and got on with it, scrapping Hooper’s
footage and redesigning Kinski’s wardrobe for a sleeker, more modern Euro-terrorist
look. He also got a new cinematographer, Gilbert Taylor, of THE OMEN and STAR
WARS fame. What Haggard didn’t get were two cooperative lead
actors. Kinski and Reed were already well-known hellraisers and troublemakers;
making a movie together was like oil and water for the forceful duo, and soon
production slowed up due to Haggard having to referee the two (apparently Reed’s
favorite term of endearment for Kinski was “Nazi bastard,” while
Kinski reportedly threatened to kill Reed on several occasions). The budget
expanded (reports place the finally tally at around $9 million—far too
much considering the box office pull of these particular actors in 1982), and
when VENOM was released here in the winter of ’82, it failed to turn a
profit, nor garner much praise.
Whether brevity was already
a part of the script, or whether subplots and exposition were jettisoned when
production was shut down prior to Haggard having to play catch up, VENOM admirably
gets right to it. We don’t know why the kid has asthma; we don’t
know why the father is in Rome; we don’t get details on the mother’s
trip there; we don’t get background on how the kidnappers came together—none
of that. We’re in the house, and we’re ready for the kidnapping.
However admirable this concise focus is in terms of set-up, certain crucial
plot points in VENOM needed a bit more attention. Why is so much time taken
up with showing little Philip suffering from asthma...when nothing really is
done with that angle in the story? We know with the house kept at 75 degrees
(for his condition) that the snake will then take to the air ducts (a clever
device), but why not use his medical problems for a dramatic crisis at some
point? It’s a lot of effort for no payoff. Why in the world does Oliver
Reed shoot that copper...other than to initiate the siege? Putting it down to
his nerves is shaky, lazy scripting, at best, particularly when the scene is
orchestrated by Haggard in such a blasé, matter-of-fact manner. How could
anyone believe that a copper of Nicol Williamson’s supposed fierce intelligence,
would allow Sara Miles’ toxicology doctor to go up to the barricaded house,
only to be easily snatched away inside (Williamson grabbing his head in grief
looks more like Williamson the actor grabbing his head in embarrassment from
this silly plot point)? Smallest, nit-pickiest point of all of these, but perhaps
most crucial is: how could those snakes possibly get mixed up? The entire movie
turns on this fun plot twist, but clearly scripter Robert Carrington (WAIT UNTIL
DARK, KALEIDOSCOPE) either couldn’t work the problem out, or more explanation
was left on the cutting room floor. Those two wooden boxes would look exactly
the same? They wouldn’t be labeled “Common house snake” and
“DANGER! DEADLY BLACK MAMBA!” with a skull and crossbones? And why
would the posh London Institute of Toxicology get their specimens from a decrepit
pet shop in the last bombed-out section of London’s East End? It’s
just utterly ridiculous, and while it’s by no means a deal breaker, it
gets the audience laughing at the movie, instead of shivering from the possible
reality of the situation.
These fudges and abbreviations are vexing, but not fatal. But VENOM definitely
falls several notches due to director Haggard’s inexplicable unforced
error of limiting the on-screen time of the deadly mamba to just over three
minutes (a seamless combination of real mambas shot on a closed set, and
models, were utilized). In his commentary track, Haggard states it’s vital
the audience never sees “the monster” in a horror movie...which
certainly can be true at the beginning of a story. It’s an obvious but
tried-and-true suspense builder, allowing us to let our imaginations run wild.
But it only works for an entire movie in the rarest of occasions (NIGHT OF THE
DEMON, until they blew the ending, or BURN, WITCH, BURN, for example). For a
meat-and-potatoes genre outing like VENOM, however, pretensions to the finer
sensibilities of suspense should have been jettisoned for money shot after money
shot of those terrifying mambas in action (I’ve watched a lot of horror
movies, but those snakes are the scariest goddamned things I’ve ever seen).
I’ve seen every cliche of the “besieged house” subgenre, and
absolutely nothing new from it is offered in VENOM. However, a “snake
on the loose” movie isn’t nearly as familiar, so give me more of
that. After all, the movie is called VENOM, not “SEIGE.” I want
to see the snake more than I want to see Nicol Williamson furrow his brow while
shouting up at a dark window, for god’s sake. The movie’s best scene—the
snake attack on Susan George—is a brilliant little bit of horror, with
the snake’s distorted anamorphic P.O.V. mixing with truly frightening
shots of the snake biting her face (George’s lingering, horrific death
is a wow piece of committed acting—she’s terrific). Why wasn’t
the whole movie at that level? Why weren’t there more “near-misses,”
like the snake in the liquor cabinet (jesus that snake looks petrifying)? Unfortunately,
the two other main snake attacks are mistimed, with Ollie’s iconic genital
strike (it slithers slowly up his leg...) cut off way too soon (you’ve
got Ollie Reed being bitten on his todger—why in the hell would you not
include him rolling around, screaming and writhing in agony for a few more seconds?),
while Kinski’s assassination by snake and gunfire is hilariously drawn
out.
That all reads quite negative, but in the end, you wind up laughing at
this kind of silliness in VENOM (which was not the moviemakers’
aim), and in that vein (sorry), you can find basic if uninspired entertainment.
Of course VENOM’s main draw is that dream cast of hambone originals. Now,
calling Reed, Kinski, Williamson, Hayden, and Miles “hams” is not
meant to denigrate in any way their abilities as serious actors; it’s
only to point out when they appear in material that’s frankly beneath
them, just the expectation alone of their “acting up” gets the audience
going. George (no ham) as usual acquits herself well...although it’s a
crime to tease us with that promising lingerie shot, and not follow up with
the actual goods. She walks away with the acting honors here for the most reasoned,
balanced performance (and her death scene is tour de force). The rest?
Well...Miles is always incongruously smiling for some unknown reason, as if
her character is having a bit of a lark...or she’s hit her head on something
(why is she flirting with Ollie at one point?). Hayden trots out his usual hash-induced
phony hand gestures and grotesque facial twistings (a great actor who simply
could not face an ordinary scene with ordinary, face-value sincerity). Williamson
is criminally subdued here (we want to see him rant and flip out and lose it),
although that wretched Scots accent—from Scottish Williamson—almost
makes up for the rest (why didn’t they let him stay in the house
after he broke in? Another layer of suspense as he makes his way to the kidnappers,
while avoiding the snake, seems like a natural). One would hope that Kinski,
top-billed here, would lose it on-screen at least one time, but he’s remarkably
focused and razor-sharp as the kidnapping mastermind, bringing a grim, tense-smiling
authority to the role that’s way out of proportion to the movie’s
meager demands. As for Ollie Reed, it’s a shame his role calls for him
to be a sweaty, violent dolt (which he does effortlessly); it would have been
far more interesting to have him be the equal of Kinski (no wonder Reed hated
his guts, what with that role). But such as it is, it’s a typically forceful
turn from this underrated actor, during an increasingly downward time in his
career. VENOM certainly did him no favors in that department (I doubt any of
these actors highlighted in their resumes), but they’re all at least game...if
not as gamey as we’d like. And the movie can’t help but deliver
a modicum of suspense and horror with that set up (despite the chilly British
reserve). It’s just too bad VENOM’s most elusive star didn’t
get the chance to change that.
BU’s new 2K transfers of VENOM looks the best I’ve ever seen it.
The 1080p HD anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen image is crystal-clear, with surprising
density and impressive fine image detail. Colors don’t look muted and
muddy as they did in previous incarnations, but rather cold and brutal now,
as intended. Three English audio tracks are available. The 7.1 DTS-HD and the
5.1 Dolby Digital Surround EX tracks are certainly the ones most viewers are
going to gravitate towards first, but to be honest...I preferred the original
2.0 DTS-HD (a purist about these things). There’s not much on the original
soundtrack to swish around, apparently, so if you’re into hearing cars
honk off to the side of Nicol Williamson, or some faint slithering from right
to left, I suppose these manufactured stereo outings will impress (no question
the snake attacks do pop, impressively so, on these tracks). Everything’s
clean, with absolutely no hiss (sorry). English, Spanish, and French subtitles
are available. A standard DVD carrying the same HD transfer is included here.
Extras include the 2003 director’s commentary track with Piers Haggard (moderated by Jonathan Sothcott). Haggard makes it clear this was a contract job taken at the last moment, one to get through rather make his own since it was such an unpleasant shoot (you don’t get a more plain or final summation than, “It could have been better,”). He’s very free—and quite funny—with his memories of Reed’s and Kinski’s battles...although I was hoping against hope that he was going to shed some light on Hooper’s firing. And he’s refreshingly honest about where the movie goes wrong, being neither fish nor fowl: not enough siege, not enough snake. An original trailer (1:20) is included, along with an original teaser (:27), and three TV spots, all :30. A poster and stills gallery is included, too. (Paul Mavis)