Snake has been picked up for a belated US release on Digital and DVD by ITN Releasing on May 24, 2022, as Serpent of Death
Meanwhile, here’s our previous coverage of the movie:
Snake is a 2018 comedic action horror film about massive man-eating snakes that live on a remote island. Also known as Snakes and Chinese Anacona
Written and directed by Lin Zhenzhao (Restart the Earth; Snakes 3: Dinosaur vs. Python; Junkrat Train; The Enchanting Phantom; Snakes 2; Monkey King: The Volcano; Pen Fairy vs. Sadako).
The Chinese movie stars Huang Kailun, Zheng Yue, Xi Meili and Yang Yong.
A sequel, Snake 2, also directed by Lin Zhenzhao, was released in 2019 and Snake 3: Dinosaur vs. Python was released in January 2022.
Plot:
During World War II, Japanese soldiers come across a huge size snake in the jungle on an uninhabited island.
In 2018, a Chinese cancer research group together with Lin Qi, an elementary school teacher and author of an Encyclopedia on Prehistoric Animals, travel to the same island, now nicknamed ‘Resurrection Island’ to search for an important cadmium-filled plant, “the fruit of life, blood-sucking begonias”.
Beyond a fog barrier that lies around the remote island, they encounter vicious flying butterfish, exploding bomb fruits, glass fireflies, a giant man-eating plant (which looks like Audrey from The Little Shop of Horrors) and monster snakes…
Our view:
After a somewhat off-putting opening scene involving some Japanese soldiers being attacked by a mammoth CGI creation, Snake soon settles into a more enjoyable modern-day expedition in which its characters must face an array of dangers. The flying fish (recalling Piranha II, though they were all practical effects) are particularly silly yet undeniable fun. The swift pacing means that there isn’t much time between each attack. The less said about some of the typically puerile Chinese humour the better.
Snake is no classic, for sure, yet it provides enough adventure-horror to provide the kind of vacuous jungle-set entertainment that fans of brainless cinema will enjoy. As if to prove the point, two sequels have already followed.
Oh, and beyond the cliched “boss” villain there’s a welcome strong female character who isn’t afraid to attack the huge snake. Adrian J Smith, MOVIES and MANIA
Other reviews:
” …even allowing for its relatively early place in the history of Chinese attack animals, it feels pretty rote. If you’ve seen many Western entries, all of what you get here will be pretty familiar. Competently enough executed, to be fair. Just not as imaginative as the stuff around the fringes, which ends up being more fun.” B- Film Blitz
“It’s nicely paced with something popping up every few minutes to keep things from getting dull. And while logic and scientific accuracy aren’t the script’s strong points the film never gets insultingly stupid either. Apart from its attempts at humour that is, they were cringe-inducing in all the wrong ways.” 3.5/5 Voices from the Balcony
Choice dialogue:
CK aka Fattie: “Don’t worry. Women? It’s normal for a woman to have an attitude.”
Release:
The movie was released in China on 4th September 2018.
Technical details:
1 hour 19 minutes
Original title:
大蛇 “Big Snake”
Related:
More Asian movies
More Chinese movies
More snake movies
Trailer:
Full film free to watch online [may vary region-to-region]:
More Chinese creature features/monster movies:
12 Hours aka Polar Pursuit
Abyssal Spider
Alien Awakening aka Alien Invasion
Alien Monsters
Big Octopus
Big Shark Attack
Big Snake King
The Blood Alligator
The Bloodthirsty Bees
Bloodthirsty Spider
Bugs 3D
Chang’an Fog Monster
Cockroach Tide
Crazy Spider
Crocodile Island
Dinosaur World (2020)
Death Worm
Dragon Pond Monster
Escape from the Shark’s Mouth
Giant Crocodile
Giant Python
Giant Spider
Horror Shark
Huge Shark
Insect Disaster
Invisible Alien
Iron Blood Guard
Junkrat Train aka Rat Disaster
Jurassic Island
Jurassic Revival
Killer Bee Invasion
Killer Shark
The Labyrinth (giant centipedes)
The Lake
Land Shark
Mega Crocodile
Metamorphosis aka Mutant Tyrannosaurus vs. Giant Python
Monster (2022)
Monster 731
Monster Attack
Monster Attack 2
Monster Island
Monster of Lake Heaven
Monsters (2015)
Monty Python
Monty Python 2
Mutant Python
Mutation on Mars
Rage Centipede
Restart the Earth
Sand Python Siege
Sea Monster
Snake aka Serpent of Death
Snake 2
Snake: Dinosaur vs. Python
Snake Girl
Snake Island Python
Snake King (2020)
Snake King (2021)
Snow Monster
Underground Monster
Varanus Priscus
Variation Hydra
We Are Werewolves
We Are Werewolves 2
Worm Apocalypse aka Insect Disaster
