Basilisk: The Serpent King (2006)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

best movie i've ever seen.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Basilisk: The Serpent King is in my opinion not a good movie, however SyFy with movies like Titanic II, 2010: Moby Dick, Alien vs Hunter and Quantum Apocalypse have done worse. This does get plus points for the scene where the Basilisk comes to life in the museum, which is the best and most cool-looking scene of the film I feel, Yancy Butler who manages to give her role some credibility, an interesting idea and some nice scenery.On the other hand, Basilisk: The Serpent King does have one too many moments where it gets unintentionally comical or unrealistic, and this is not just the scene where the Basilisk kills the girl with the sceptre but also the scenes where they pretend to be mannequins and the Basilisk ignores him like literally and when you see 24-carat gold being carried like it weighed nothing at all.Also, while SyFy have definitely had much worse graphics, I think Alien vs. Hunter, Titanic II and Mega Piranha had the worst, there are some scenes where they do look on the cheap side, but I am not sure whether it was the graphics or the lazy editing that was the problem. The music was forgettable and for me not very dynamic. The script contains some very cheesy and inane lines that are awkwardly placed and delivered especially with the killing I mentioned(she actually tells the Basilisk off for ruining her dress which seemed made that scene awkwardly funny in alternative to nail-biting).The concept isn't so bad actually, the execution is what bogs the story down. It all feels very predictable, with none of the killings having any suspense or tension to them. At least three scenes don't make much sense, but I haven't yet mentioned the ending which felt very dumb and rushed. I have to give some credit and say it is not a dull story, which is yet another reason why this film is better than others that have all the flaws I have mentioned to am about to mention and suffer from this too.When it comes to the characters, Basilisk: The Serpent King also fails. The Basilisk actually is quite cool if not very menacing. The human characters though are shallow and stereotyped, you don't care for them or their situations at all. Butler aside, the acting is really bland or overdone, with uneven line delivery and one too many "pregnant" pauses in between. Finally, the title, would've been a somewhat obvious but epic title if the film hadn't contradicted the Basilisk's gender.In conclusion, not the worst SyFy has done, but not very good. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Opening scene mayhem introduces a formidable beast, a serpent with spiritual vengefulness. It can petrify victims to stone in Medusan fashion, and it can swat you like a fly too. Odd that it has Greek Mythological power, since it's lurking in the Mid-East desert. Treasure hunters and a full moon unleash the giant serpent to emerge and wreak more destruction.Promising start, but after that initial scene, this film decides it's a junior high school production, and degenerates into unbridled silliness. When the creature is unleashed, does it utilize its horrifying powers for a grandiose or symbolic attack? Like other monsters would? No, it just tears up a museum and a shopping mall. It also wipes out a bunch of "soldiers" who look like they trained for combat by playing war games with GI Joe dolls.The acting is painfully bad. Somebody recites a line loudly, and then pauses expectantly, as if waiting for a laugh track to be inserted. It reminded me of one of those tween sit-coms on Disney channel. The archaeologist guy (a Robert Downey look-like) wanders around with a pie-eyed gaping expression. He makes dumb quips, and he just looks weird. There's a stock nerdy geek, who has neon-yellow bleached hair and horn-rimmed glasses. The female love interest looks like she's going to laugh hysterically at any moment.The red-dress greedy rich femme-fatale wannabe girl deserves special recognition. Her tough vamp routine looks more like a shampoo commercial. She runs around with a big heavy gold staff, looking like she's going to trip over her stiletto heels any moment. One guess on how shampoo vamp ends up. And it'll seem way over due.About as scary as a Care Bears cartoon. For its unintentional humor, it's good for a couple of laughs.

This morning I chose to kick back and watch a couple of movies on the Sci fi channel. I watched Snakehead Terror first this morning and it was OK but I nodded off twice and I did not feel I missed enough to run the TVO back, however next up was the Serpent King and I am going to have to say this movie is pretty good for a B horror movie. The plot is pretty good and moves right along, the cgi is pretty good, the actors look like they are having a good time and there is a little bit of humor thrown in just for fun. What more could you ask for in a low budget film? I think they produced a pretty good film. I have seen big budget horror films with the best producers, directors and actors thrown at the mix and end up with no redeeming qualities at all. If you consider there seems to be hundreds of big bad killer snaky movies that all seem somewhat the same, this one stands out. So far it's been a nice lazy morning with no one complaining but the cats. Oh what the heck, I am going to complain about something. I wonder if the target audience for the Sci Fi planning group has changed to 20 years old and younger and who actually watches the ghost shows but kids? I have not found one person who admits that they watch the things. It is obvious to me they are targeted at children. The only thing I can figure is the cost of producing shows like the Stargate series. Shows like Stargate and Battlestar per episode cost a million dollars and the ghost shows cost ten thousand dollars, however if they don't do something about their Friday night lineup people will go back to going out and doing something as a family.

As a veteran aficionado of the SciFi originals, I had my usual expectations going into "Basilisk". Laughable special effects, transparent characters and formulaic situations clumsily stumbled into by unwitting victims of the CGI beast-du-jour; all comprising a solidly entertaining and heartily enjoyable experience. While "Basilisk" dutifully fulfilled many of my preconceptions, I have to say that it was a cut well above the standard Saturday night fare.This creature flick can rightfully take its place among such greats as "Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy" (Jeffery Combs can't make a bad movie), "Frankenfish" and many of the other SciFi offerings but I have to put "Basilisk" into its own category all together. The effects are of the same caliber as its worthy cousins, but I think that what lifts this one for me is the script. It is witty without being contrived and never leaves a slow moment or the feeling of awkwardness that comes with so many screenplays that try too hard to be hip (see: Lucky Number Slevin. Actually, don't see it, it's terrible). Cleavant Derricks does an outstanding job as the weekend warrior Colonel and his bantering exchanges with Jeremy London are the stuff of high theatrical art.So all in all, this one is not to be missed. Next time SciFi decides to air it, set the TiVo and prepare to be entertained. You will not be sorry.