The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)

I wanted to but couldn't!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Sent to a Haitian village, a botanist for a US pharmaceutical company is asked to explore the uses of a psychotic drug used there and as he continues looking into the stories is soon immersed into the world of voodoo and ancient spells that goes way over his head and has to fight for his very soul.This is quite the chilling and enjoyable effort. Among the films' positives is that this is one of the very few horror films ever made that treats its subject matter as accurately as possible. It's true that all the depictions and discussions about voodoo and its power are real. Those are real practitioners of voodoo performing on film, and how it happens in the film are real representations of how voodoo works. That adds to the realism to the film, because real-life horror is far scarier than anything else a human mind can come up with. Whatever the people in the film are doing to the characters to turn them into zombies are very powerful and the spells and potions used to control and create them are just as powerful. This includes the practice of making a zombie which is fully explored, and the process is an incredibly creepy one. We get to know it in intricate detail as the realness of it makes it that much more compelling. That means this gets so much better when he has been overwhelmed with the voodoo world and everything comes crashing down, as once he knows the process of creating the drug the movie kicks into hyper-drive as he is just relentlessly tortured by what he knows. That it happens in a quick manner of time is staggering, which is mainly based around the continuous dream sequences he keeps having while being tortured that are truly trippy and delirious. The first one, where he's inside this candlelit room and witnesses a wedding being performed where the bride wanders over to him with the veil down is one of the biggest scares, while another big one is where he's dissolved into a wall of blood among the other numerous quick shots of charred hands or vicious being charging at him. It was also nice since the torture inflicted on him was more mental than physical which also manages to include the heart-stopping climax which is justifiably famous. Alongside the wild real-life tendencies that add a further touch of realism here, this one generates a lot to like and barely any real flaws. The biggest flaw to be found is the fact that it's so long before anything really happens here that it can feel somewhat challenging in terms of pacing. The film is basically more of an adventure film for the first half as he's immersed into the world and around the mystery in the village which isn't all that horrific beyond the nature of the events happening which isn't all that exciting to see play out. This one still manages to maintain a solid pace, but it remains all the more removed from the genre for a large stretch of time. Likewise, some might also be put off because of the supernatural and religious themes portrayed in the film. Since they are very accurate, it may upset the very religious persons out there where this is something that some may be put off against because it may clash with their faith. Witnessing some of the blasphemous actions throughout here could be upsetting, but overall it's not all that bad here.Rated R: Intricate details and discussions about occult themes, Violence, Language, Nudity and a mild sex scene.

The movie starts off a bit roughly, then takes on a nice pace and settles in, delivers its plot and introduces the various characters, all the while showing life in Haiti, some of the cultural aspects there.It should be said Zakes Mokae, the 'bad guy', puts in a fabulous performance.Other than that, the ending ruins so much of the potential the whole film may've been driving towards, there's not much commentary to be made really. We get the gist of it, but it totally explodes in that last act and there's little to salvage, really.Good for a while, not good as a whole.

In 1985, after a successful research in Amazonas, Dr. Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) from Harvard is invited by the president of a Boston pharmaceutics industry, Andrew Cassedy (Paul Guilfoyle), to travel to Haiti to investigate the case of a man named Christophe (Conrad Roberts) that died in 1978 and has apparently returned to life. Andrew wants samples of the voodoo drug that was used in Christophe to be tested with the intention of producing a powerful anesthetic. Dr. Alan travels to meet Dr. Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson) that is treating Christophe and arrives in Haiti in a period of revolution. Soon Alan is threatened by the chief of the feared Tonton Macuse Dargent Peytraud (Zakes Mokae), who is a torturer and powerful witch. Alan learns that death is not the end in the beginning of his journey to hell."The Serpent and the Rainbow" is one of the creepiest and most originals zombie movie ever produced. Directed by Wes Craven, the story uses the background of political environment of Haiti and entwines horror and politics. Bill Pullman has good performance and Cathy "Mona Lisa" Tyson completes the romantic pair of the story. But Zakes Mokae "steals" the movie with a scary performance in the role of the wicked Peytraud. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "A Maldição dos Mortos-Vivos" ("The Curse of the Living Dead")

The Serpent and the Rainbow has some great scenes of what is supposed to be Haiti, and I suppose some of it is, and there are some great sets as expected and some great scenery. The story itself is actually interesting however, the film is marred by poor dialog and a rushed feel. Also, the ending is flawed by Hollywood special effects that seem out of place in the otherwise gritty and rustic feel of the prior scenes.Bill Pullman's acting lacks conviction and he never really seems to get into his character too deeply. His characterization seems to have a loose, slightly comic feel to it.I would have much rather have seen something less slick and perhaps more low key or mysterious with some of the situations. Even Angel Heart, which is also about Voodoo, is able to convey mystery and death without splashy animated special effects. This is not a bad film and it does contain some very interesting scenes. Some of the dialog and acting seem a bit thin and weak at times which is too bad. It's strengths are the sets, the lighting and the atmoshpere.