Sssssss [DVD]

like scary shows

No CGI here. This was the last generation of low budget monster make up effects. It was also a throw back to the classic mad doctor movies of the 40's and early 50's. Great cast , but they were not known for Sci Fi or horror films. It kind of makes this film that much more special,,,or not. The climax is unforgettable.

Snakes...my girlfriend hates them...and when I say `hate', I mean she loathes them to the point where she won't even look at images of them. Myself, I have a fear of spiders, particularly those large, hairy ones (I think it has to do with all those legs), but at least I can enjoy films that feature them. Needless to say, Sssssss (1973) is a film I'd never be able to get her to watch with me...at least not without some serious sedation. Directed by Bernard L. Kowalski (Attack of the Giant Leeches, Krakatoa, East of Java), the film stars Strother Martin (Cool Hand Luke, The Wild Bunch), Dirk `Eggs' Benedict ("Battlestar Galactica", "The A-Team"), and Heather Menzies (Hawaii, Piranha), probably best known for her role as Louisa von Trapp from the film The Sound of Music (1965). Also appearing is Richard B. Shull (Splash), Tim O'Connor (Across 110th Street), Jack Ging (High Plains Drifter), and former USC football player and professional boxer Reb Brown ("Captain America", Yor, the Hunter from the Future), in his first silver screen appearance.Strother Martin plays Dr. Carl Stoner, a herpetologist (one who studies reptiles) who specializes in the filed of ophiology (snakes), assisted by his daughter Kristina (Menzies), both of whom live on the outskirts of a small college town. Seems when the good doctor isn't collecting venom samples or engaging in snake handling demonstrations for the slack jawed yokels, he's busy working on a serum derived from snake venom whose purpose has yet to be determined. In need of a new assistant (his previous one `left' under mysterious circumstances), Stoner contacts an acquaintance at the college, a professor named Dr. Ken Daniels (Shull) who offers up a young student named David Blake (Benedict). David accepts the opportunity and moves in with Stoner and his daughter, where the doctor immediately begins David on a series of `inoculations', supposedly intended to build up his immunity to snake venom for protection in the event he gets bitten (yeah, right). Anyway, David and Kristina start getting chummy (precipitated by a skinny dipping incident in a nearby lake, one that includes some carefully placed foliage), and David starts noticing some very subtle changes in his body to which Stoner brushes off as perfectly normal side effects to the inoculations (oh, those scales are the result of an allergic reaction...sure). After some business with a local jocko a-hole college football star (Brown) who's got the hots for Kristina, David soon finds himself in a world of trouble as the changes, while still occurring, aren't so subtle anymore. Stoner, learning of Kristina's involvement with David, tries to warn her off, but she sees the attempt as purely interference from an overprotective father (seems she's unaware of her father's experimental activities). As you can imagine, things start going seriously downhill from here...While Sssssss was a feature film, it does have a made for 1970s TV feel about it most likely due to the fact most of the performers (with the exception of Martin) and the director previous experiences were limited to television work. I did enjoy this film, but there really wasn't a huge mystery in terms of what was going on or where the film was headed as the story, especially the opening sequence, tended to give away enough for an experienced viewer make their own conclusions early in the feature. Despite this I still thought the film was a lot of fun, as it moved along well and featured enough creepiness to keep me engaged throughout (the transformation bit at the end was seriously warped). I thought Strother Martin did pretty well, as he wasn't really an evil scientist, but a seriously demented figure who took the whole naturalism gig a little too far, able to rationalize his activities (to himself, at least) for the sake bettering mankind. I did learn a number of things from this film including the following...1. Old men and snakes enjoy a nip of booze now and again.2. Never go sticking your grubby mitts into a herpetologist's car.3. People tend to fear snakes for same reason they fear minority groups.4. In terms of snakes, the king cobra seems the most uppity.5. The Leather Tuscadero mullet hairstyle seemed oddly popular with women in the early 1970s.6. The ability to shoot accurately apparently isn't a prerequisite for becoming a law enforcement official in a small town.7. Never get into a tussle with Reb Brown as he'll toss you around like a rag doll.8. Reb Brown doesn't have to pay for it...never has, and never will.9. Nothing gets a woman you don't know in the mood for action like climbing up the side of her house and sneaking in through her bedroom window at night while she's sleeping.10. Never get on the bad side of a herpetologist as they may just toss a poisonous snake in the shower with you.11. Snakeman have a really annoying preponderance towards whimpering.12. Strother Martin had a lot more guts than I ever will as far as his willingness to mess about with poisonous snakes.It should be noted most all the snakes depicted in the film were real. Whether or not any were harmed during filming is unclear. The film is rated PG so the violence is pretty low key i.e. safe for television broadcast, but there are a couple of nekkid sequences involving the showing of male bumcakes (primarily Reb Brown in a shower with a semi-opaque shower curtain). There's a really funny bit where David and Kristina go skinny dipping, and both strip down, most of their naughty bits obscured by some strategically placed leaves. I thought the makeup, specifically in relation to David developing reptilian features, quite good, at least for the time the film was made. One aspect of the film did seem a little strange, and that was the ending. While it was downbeat, it also felt abrupt as if perhaps the writers had painted themselves into a corner and had nowhere left to go, so they just ended it as best he could. Regardless, the film is still a lot of fun, especially if you dig on ookie creature films of the 1970s.The picture, presented in widescreen (1.85.1) anamorphic, looks very good, showing the occasional sign of aging (a few dust specks here and there), and the Dolby Digital 2.0 comes across well. There's not much in the way of extras except for a rough looking theatrical trailer and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.Cookieman108

Bought for my brother. He loved it.

This is a good no brainer type of movie. Strother Martin is perfect in this role !! Yes the special effects are hokey, but that's ok. I remembered the movie but not the ending. No spoiler alerts here but the ending leaves questions !

The effects and the writing are really what keep the movie from any chance of being looked at seriously. The pacing and the idea itself keep the movie going and the acting is sincere enough you never hate what your watching. If you like B-horror I think you have to love this. If your so-so on B-horror, I think this holds attention better than most. There really isn't that sense of humor where the movie pokes fun at the genre. The name of the movie is misleadingly silly, except the effects are so unapologetically cheap. I love watching people throw an idea at the wall.

I last saw this when i was a kid,never forgot the Snakeman, it was great to actually see it,and remember what fun movies were then

Saw it when I was younger loved it.