Anacondas: Trail of Blood (2009)

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Traveling around Eastern Europe, a research team trying to find out the origins of the earlier group run into a scientist concerned with the giant killer snake on the loose and try to outlast the deadly creature.This one was a decent if decidedly lacking sequel. There's still some rather good stuff here in dealing with the tactics of the snake as the last half is rather full of snake encounters featuring a lot of clever getaways which makes the scenes more enjoyable due to that, with the flower-scent-on-the-clothes trick is rather cool and unique and the several different ways of attracting the snake after different members of the group are really nice. Even just normal defensive tactics such as the traps around the safe-house and the gas-tank bomb make for some great moments spread throughout the film. There's also some rather fun action scenes in here which are the confrontations with the snake. The opening in the mine is one of the better scenes in the film which has a lot going for it in the rather claustrophobic surroundings of the area with the inherent tension, the action in the chasing through the different tunnels and the way it works the different escapes makes it really good, while the chase through the woods after the snake breaks through the camp is really good from the snapping twigs and off-screen noises of the snake breaking through the branches to the need for a hiding spot and really adds some nice action into the mix. There's also the fun to be had with the finale where the film mixes in a spectacular chase concept with the snake going after the fleeing car while a big brawl rages on the outside leading to a fun, exciting and really enjoyable scene. The last plus here is the film's blood and gore, even though there was a couple of things here that didn't work too well. One of the biggest factors here is the film's tendency to lead to a long series of scenes that offer up little excitement, lasting a while before snake attacks. The early parts of the film makes for lots of chewed up screen-time as they travel through the underbrush to get to the camp as well as the back-and-forth styles of the two other groups involved in the action, where the scenes with the mercenaries following them are pretty much there to see the body count get bigger. They don't serve any purpose at all into the film's main plot and feel more like they're in there to tie up the connections from the first one, which didn't need it as all of these different elements severely hampers the pace and the amount of time spent with the snakes. There's also a rather irritating habit of seeing everyone in here purposely put themselves in danger just to get the action going, from exiting out a car the opposite side the snake's attacking on to purposely blowing a hole into a wall where the snake's at as well as trying to run away on foot from a sixty-foot snake, it features a lot of these scenes that aren't so logical just so that an action scene can be brought into the film. The last flaw here is the atrocious CGI used for the titular creature which is pretty-much common-place for these films and doesn't really deserve more than that. Otherwise, these re the film's problems.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Shot back-to-back with Anaconda 3, this carries on the riveting saga of snakes, flowers and secret formulas. It's come a long, ridiculous way since it's humble origins. This continues the cheap, made for television feel. The CGI is just an effortless mess which just can't interact with it's surroundings. This snake must be as light as a feather to not disturb the dirt as it slithers. The original had the charm of campy "throat-o-vision" which was actually practical effects. The fourth installment doesn't even have David Hasselhoff. There were a few genuine laughs, which suggest this should have been a comedy. The grenade scene was just unexpectedly goofy, but pleasant.

Aaaargh! The dummy Anaconda spoils the party again! So many times while watching this movie, I felt - if only the damn snake could look more realistic! Probably low budgeting forced the creators to not create them as good as they looked in the 1997 JLO starrer or even the 2004 one? But at least they could have been careful with it's size. Some scenes show the freak snake to be long, consequent scenes show it to be shorter, and then long again! The growth hormones seem to have a mind of their own :) If not for this dumb snake & its crazy body, Anaconda 4 could have done decently at the box office.Crystal Allen does a better job in the sequel to Anaconda 3(2008 release), with some nice action scenes too(towards the end). Rest of the actors have small-bit roles, so none of them really linger in memory. I really felt John Rhys-Davies who plays the evil billionaire Murdoch(in Anaconda 3 too) had lot of potential in his role but the makers mess up again. Pity his talent gets chewed for nothing! Majority of the actors here, except maybe for Crystal Allen and Calin Stanciu(an explorer in the jungle), have this blank, disinterested expression on their face whenever they see mangled bodies or encounter the monstrous serpent itself. It's possible they had other talents beside acting for being here? Hmmm, I wonder what those might be....Verdict: Better work than the prequel but still a shoddy show. I think now is a good time to lay the Anaconda series to rest before more producers' money and pants get swallowed alive :p

Anaconda 4 (2009) ** (out of 4) Filmed at the same time as ANACONDA 3, this film here is a lot better but it still can't come close to the original. This time out a group of people find themselves in the Capathia Mountains where the billionaire from the previous film is yet again hiring someone to create a cloning like system. This time the blood orchids (from part two) are being used and sure enough, a snake gets into them, becomes huge and this time is able to regenerate itself. This film is certainly an improvement over the previous entry and the main reason is that the CGI is marginally better here. The snake still looks rather fake but not as fake as previously and the gore here isn't really used so that there doesn't have to look so fake. The story is still pretty weak as the main goal is to get a bunch of people fighting for their lives and trying to avoid the snake. Director FauntLeRoy handles the material here much better as the action is pretty good this time out and the actors aren't as bad either. Crystal Allen returns from the previous film as does John Rhys Davies. As expected, we get several death scenes and they're all rather campy as each one seems to try and top the previous in terms of over-the-top ways to die. I'm really not sure what plans are next for these Sci-Fi Channel reboots but let's hope this one here is the last and if the series must continue it comes in form of a big-budget remake. People constantly put remakes down but they usually turn out a lot better than needless sequels like this one here.