‘There is no antidote’
Venomous – aka Snakes – is a 2001 action horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray (Scalps; Star Slammer; Evil Toons) [credited as Ed Raymond] from a screenplay by Dan Golden and Sean McGinly.
The film stars Treat Williams (Night of the Sharks; Deep Rising; Age of Dinosaurs), Mary Page Keller, Hannes Jaenicke, Catherine Dent, Geoff Pierson (Dexter), Brian Poth, Nicole Nieth, Christal Chacon, Jim Storm, Rick Hurst, Melissa Hayden, Marc McClure, Andrew Stevens.
Plot teaser:
In 1991, a group of Iraqi commandos penetrates a secret American government lab, releasing genetically modified rattlesnakes. Over the following years, the snakes breed and multiply. In the present days, an earthquake drives them from the underground to the surface, and the snakes infect whoever they bite with a fatal virus. A small-town doctor tries to correct the situation, but the government wants to hide the traces of its wrongdoings…
Reviews:
‘Venomous is just too predictable and cheap. Snakes attack good people, good people get sick, good people die. The military is corrupt and eventually get their just desserts in a way that you will probably guess by frame two. It’s too freaking obvious for me to recommend!!! If you’re a Treat Williams fan and want to see him battle some creatures, just rent Deep Rising.’ Arrow in the Head
‘Williams is as good as usual (far better than the film deserves) and the movie never becomes the exploitative gorefest you’d expect. In fact, aside from a few questionable action sequences (usually involving army helicopters), the film remains surprisingly plausible all the way through. If you can accept that idea that the government would sanction the creation of mutant snakes to combat Saddam Hussein, the rest of the movie will be easier to swallow than a glass of Ovaltine.’ Reel Film Reviews
‘The gore effects are non-existent, there’s absolutely no hint of nudity (unless you frame-advance Nurse Grimace falling down in a skirt), and the tension is nonexistent, though probably magnified if you’re afraid of snakes. B-roll of such things as helicopters exploding and a stealth bomber in flight are hastily written into the plot (if you’re having trouble seeing how a peckerwood snake-opera justifies a stealth bomber attack, you’re not going to find any answers in Venomous), and the acting aside from ever-solid Williams ranges from embarrassing to “it’s in my beautiful eyes.’ Film Freak Central
US army General: “I say we turn the flame-throwers on the slithering bastards and be done with them.”
