Freud would have a field day

reviewed Tue, 02 Dec 1997 19:00:57 EST

Still on a monster-movie high from Alligator, I rented ANACONDA, another self-consciously B-movie in the tradition of Alligator and Tremors, only without any of the wit, creativity, or tension (and with bizarre vibes of Apocalypse Now). The most exciting thing you can do while watching this movie is to try to guess the order in which the extraneous characters will be killed. Will the first victim be the snotty Brit? Or the horny young couple? Or the greasy third-world boatman? I actually fast-forwarded through much of this movie, something I rarely do --- the only reason I stuck with it was that the opening blurb tells us that sometimes anacondas regurgitate their prey to "kill it a second time." Now, Luis Llosa is no Chekov, but you just know that he ain't gonna show a gun like that without making sure it goes off. And sure enough, about an hour into the movie, you come to a scene that makes it worth the price of rental: A GIANT SNAKE VOMITS UP JON VOIGHT!!! I cannot over-emphasize this: YOU GET TO SEE A GIANT SNAKE VOMIT UP AN ACADEMY-AWARD-WINNING ACTOR. I don't believe any other movie at the video store can boast as much.

Back to homepage
Reviews A to F
Reviews G to L
Reviews M to R
Reviews S to Z
Search