Dennis Alan heads to Haiti in hopes of obtaining a mysterious potion that represses the nervous and respiratory systems without causing death; this draught would also scientifically explain the myth of the zombie. Once on Caribbean soil, however, Alan encounters powerful cults, government corruption and a poverty-stricken populace ready to revolt -- and he finds himself deeply seduced by voodoo, though his sense of logic cannot comprehend its mystical nature. But more earthly dangers lurk in the form of an evil magistrate and the local police, who do not hesitate to torture Alan when he defies their leader. In the end, Alan emerges from the experience radically changed, with the realization that Western notions of science cannot explain the many things he's witnessed in this world.
The real-life story of a Harvard anthropologist who takes an assignment from a rich pharmaceutical firm to investigate a "miracle" drug found in a well-established religion in Haiti, "voodoo." He soon finds the local fascist police force has taken as much interest in his findings as has the drug firm. From the book by Wade Davis.
The screenplay was inspired by the Wade Davis' 1985 book.
Serpent And The Rainbow Reviews:
"...Craven's cross-over into the mainstream....An excellent cast, one that raises this far above the level of ordinary exploitation..."
-- Janet Maslin, New York Times
"...Distinguished by superior production values, [the] film is intriguingly eerie..."
-- Jagr., Variety
"...Ambitious, entertaining....A highly visual and skillful blending of supernatural and political terror, high adventure and anthropology..."
-- Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Customer Serpent And The Rainbow Reviews Customer Serpent And The Rainbow DVD Reviews
Average Rating: (4.5 out of 5 stars)
Not just a good Halloween flick Saw it when it first came out and still a shocker. Submitted by jazzsax (Wayne New Jersey) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
scary stuff a great film. Based on fact, the voodoo is taken seriously. A very scary movie, bear in mind it may just be happening Submitted by poltergeisttoo (u.k.) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
A medial litote among Wes Craven's melange of films "The Serpent and the Rainbow" is verily an eclectic and hallucinatory headtrip of a piece by Wes Craven. One quirk that truly engaged me concerning this work is, perched austerely upon the purlieu of its rich and highly cultural ambience, that one cannot tell upon seeing it initially that it is even a synthesis bourn by Craven. Craven has indeed culled a theatrical deviation here from his conventional Wes Craven milieu, showcasing his aptness to conceive from a myriad of not only divergent secular, but religious vistas as well. We are saturated in the cultural cynosure of a foreign realm, an almost somnambulatory world where our couth reality and Craven's unfettered phantasm become a gray and ambiguous blear on a strip of film, where which the latter side, composed of Craven's chimerical perceptions- capriciously explodes in our face with grimacing cadavers, crucified carrion and razor-teethed witch-doctors. Albeit I will not further venture into the rather rambling and redundant realm of plot summary, I will propound my stratum of the film- I loved it on a number of parallels: One being that it is a titillating work in its vividness; at times, the work's controversial and funereal surreality is even remotely comparable to the pith of a documentary, for the film harbors an attitude of "truth is stranger than fiction," being that it is based on a story that one will find in the Anthropology section of a bookstore. I must transfix my gloatings upon the film's propensity to surprise and shock- it delivered such imperatively sadistic elements with celerity and expedience, while simultaneously, the peice sustained a moody, melancholic and atmospheric feel that guarantees the germination of gooseflesh upon the viewer. The biographical feel of the movie is most appropriate, and although Craven's makeshift, narratable augmentations are occasionally quixotic and imperious, the contrast provided by the antithetical and ambivalent alloy of fiction fused with non-fiction provides the film with an offbeat and esoteric synergy that builds to a raw yet climactic catharsis. Those who have seen "Nightmare On Elm Street," "Scream," "People Under the Stairs," "Hills Have Eyes," and "Last House on the Left" will certainly draw exhileration from this craftily quasi- D.I.Y.-esque piece and will appreciate its different approach and attitude when put up to the sallow illumination of Craven's other films. Filmed on-site in Haiti, "Serpent and the Rainbow" is a treat for those seeking intellectual and cultural solace from a filmmaker's authentic and genuinely virtuoso efforts. Submitted by Derek Rilez (Dorchester, MA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
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Serpent And The Rainbow DVD Features
Region 1 Keep Case Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85 Audio: Dolby Surround - English Dolby Surround - French Dolby Surround - Spanish Interactive Features: Scene Access Interactive Menus
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