Venom

Director - Piers Haggard (Return to Treasure Island)
Starring - Klaus Kinski (Nosferatu), Oliver Reed (The Pit and the Pendulum), and Nicol Williamson (Spawn)
Release Date - 1981
Genre - Horror/Crime
Tagline - "The object of man's most ancient fear"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     This review is bitter sweet.  Venom is one of those films that I have wanted to see for some time but it marks the end of watching horror before I start my July out watching anything but my beloved genre.  Back in January I took the month off from horror and reviewed films from other genres.  I plan on doing the same throughout July but I wanted to end the month of June out with a bang.  What better way to end the month than with a new Blue Underground release.  When I heard BU was releasing the film on blu I had to see it.  I reached out to them and they were kind enough to send a copy my way.  Thanks guys for allowing Horror Society to check it out.

     The film follows a young boy who has a love for animals.  His mother is wealthy and often leaves on business trips.  One day she leaves for another trip and leaves him with her servants and his grandfather while she is away.  What she doesn't know is, is that her servants are sick of her shit and plan on kidnapping her son and extorting money from her.  However, what they are unaware of is that the young boy had just ordered a harmless snake but was accidentally sent a black mamba.  Now the black mamba is out in the house killing at will forcing the young boy's captors to fight for their lives while trying to deal with the police.

     When I was in middle school a made for television film was released about rattlesnakes .  The movie was kinda shitty but I enjoyed it.  That was the time I started looking for other snake flicks and found Venom.  The film looked fun and had one hell of a cast but after actually seeing it first hand I have to say that I am disappointed.  The acting in this one is great.  Kinski was brilliant but I feel he did not give the film the attention that he would typically give a role.  I felt like he wasn't 100 percent.  With that being said, Oliver Reed was fucking intense and his performance was squandered.  He really needed a bigger role and more of a chance to shine.  He was intense and brilliant.  The story for this one is pretty boring.  The story is simple enough, focus a crime story around a kidnapping and toss a poisonous snake in the middle of it.  Sadly, the scenes drag on for far too long and the viewer quickly loses interest.  Personally, this would have been fixed if there was two or three snakes to keep the characters on their toes.  Finally, the film has a few on screen kills that are just as boring as some of the scenes.  The kill with the snake is quick, out of focus and from the snakes point of view.  No blood with this gag and its over before it gets good.  We then get a a few gunshot kills that are just like the snake kill.  They are quick and sudden with no gratification for the horror fan.  The effects are minimal and not that bloody.  Overall, Venom is a decent film but is boring for the most part.  The cast does a great job but Klaus Kinski was a bit of a disappointment.  He is still better than most actors.  Give this one a look just don't expect something life changing.