Spasms

‘You scream, you expand, you explode. A new source of evil is discovered and is out of control.’

Spasms is a 1983 Canadian horror film directed by William Fruet (Death Weekend, Trapped). It stars Oliver Reed (Paranoiac; Blue Blood; The Brood), Peter Fonda (Open Season; Race with the Devil; The Harvest) and Kerrie Keane.

Jason Kincaid (Oliver Reed) has a massive serpent captured on a remote island. He brought it to the US because it killed his brother, and he now shares some kind of psychic link with it. He enlists the help of psychologist Tom Brazilian (Peter Fonda) to study the animal and the mental connection, but they do not count on a group of snake worshipping Satanists to complicate matters by accidentally setting the beast free.

The screenplay by Fruet and Don Enright is based on the novel Death Bite by Michael Maryk and Brent Monahan. The production ran out of money before shooting was finished and the final scene had to be heavily padded with flashback sequences in an effort to lengthen the movie to a respectable runtime. The film’s bladder special effects were designed by Dick Smith (The Exorcist; Ghost Story; Scanners).

The film’s score was composed by Eric Robertson and Tangerine Dream (The Keep; Firestarter).

According to interviews with director William Fruet and other people involved in movie at the time when it was released, a longer version of the ending fight between Oliver Reed and giant snake was planned and filmed, it included parts where he stabs the snake and snake swallowing his arm but due to the problems with effects the scene was not finished and had to be cut. A scene where a sailor who is bitten by snake gets his arm swallowed by it was also cut, and there was also a nightmare sequence in which some victims of the snake show up covered with gory wounds. Director said that he shot some additional violent scenes for the Far East versions of the movie but none of these sequences were ever reported to be included in any version of the movie.

The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by Producers Distributing Corporation in May 1984. It was issued on VHS by Thorn EMI Video in the US and VTC and Xtasy in the UK. As of 2015, Spasms has yet to be officially released on DVD or Blu-ray.

Reviews:

“Spasms is what it was intended to be – a cheap horror movie about Oliver Reed sweating profusely while a gigantic snake bites people – and nothing more. Uneven though the execution may be, director William Fruet managed to deliver an entertaining mess despite the odds. And that’s all you can ask from such a film.” Thrill Me!

“I’ve always thought that mediocre is the worst thing a movie could ever be and this has all the charm of that copy of People’s Friend you couldn’t be arsed looking at, not even the ads for everlasting shoes, in the doctor’s waiting room last week. A real mind-number that is only partially saved by Tangerine Dream’s soundtrack and a pert pair of erect nipples during a single shower scene.” The Spinning Image

“Spasms is an interesting snakesploitation movie hampered by a meager budget. Oliver Reed gives a strong performance (and just coming off the set of Venom he surely had practice), which is certainly more than the role deserves. He chews the scenery, and invests plenty of emotion in the role. There are times when he is so intense that his hands shake uncontrollably, though this may be due to his chronic alcohol addiction at the time.” Canuxploitation