Rattled (1996)

Powerful

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

"Paul Donohue" (William Katt) is a consultant for a new construction project which involves the use of repeated blasts of dynamite to clear a large area of wilderness. What nobody knows is that these blasts have disturbed several huge rattlesnake dens which unleashes several hundreds of these hungry and extremely aggressive snakes upon a newly created housing development. Unfortunately, due to a few isolated incidents the residents are completely unaware of the danger that awaits them until they find large numbers of these reptiles slithering into their yards and homes. Now rather than reveal any more of this picture and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this particular film turned out to be more suspenseful than I initially thought it would. Part of the reason for my doubts rested on the fact that made-for-television movies are quite often deliberately neutered in order to play to a general audience. This film was no exception to that rule. Fortunately, the director (Tony Randel) managed to keep a certain amount of tension going to effectively retain my interest for the most part. Likewise, the performances of Shanna Reed (as Paul's wife "Krista Donohue"), Monica Lacy (as Krista's daughter, "Michelle") along with the aforementioned William Katt were also pretty decent. On the flip side, I thought the family drama involving Krista's son "Adam" (Michael Galeota) was quite annoying and reduced the film's overall effectiveness. In any case, all things considered I rate this movie as about average.

"Rattled" is a well-intended, but painfully boring and derivative TV- drama/thriller about a stepfather trying to get along with a stubborn stepson and preparing for the arrival of another baby, whilst at the same time supervising his ambitious water reservoir construction project. Oh yeah, before I forget, there are also a couple rattle snakes that are becoming aggressive and murderous because of the constant drilling in the mountain. Insignificant and totally forgettable flick with too many soap-opera sub plots and pathetic middle-class characters drawings. I guess that's what you get in TV-horror book adaptations. Same thing went wrong with Peter Benchley's "The Beast", in fact. There are many fruitless attempts to build up suspense, while I count only one remotely worthwhile efficient sequences; namely when the cute teenage girl is home alone. Apparently, flushing the toilet isn't the most effective snake-fighting method! Furthermore there's a professor/expert who never stops giving lectures on bizarre – and often irrelevant – snake trivia facts, a worthless two minute cameo of Clint Howard (traditionally the first person to die) and a truly annoying 8-year-old who sadly survives multiple snake attacks. Throughout nearly the whole the film I kept on wondering where I knew lead actor William Katt from. I totally forgot that he was Carrie's date to the prom! That was in fact the most exciting moment in the film for me! Remember that he played in "Carrie" and "House". Avoid this wannabe tense. If you fancy horror movies with snakes, check out the sillier ones like "Venom", "Sssssss", "Rattlers" and "The Snake Woman". Heck, even the "Anaconca" flicks and "Python" are more fun.

Why did it have to be snakes? Maybe because director Tony Randel (a graduate of the Roger Corman school of budget horror film-making) already did "Ticks". Judging by the Amityville rip off poster for the Eden Valley water Project at the top of this film, he really wishes he could have done Jaws IV too. Instead he's helming the slow moving bore, "Rattled".This snake fright film is bogged down by a LOT of family drama about Paul (William Katt) and his new wife Krista (the delightful Shanna Reed) and how Krista's kids Michelle (hotty Monica Creel) and Adam (annoying Michael Galeota) are dealing with having a new man in their family. Paul is the designer of the Eden Valley water Project where they're building a lake community by blowing up some hillside, not knowing the hills are alive with the sound of slithering.Kids are in jeopardy, workmen are in jeopardy, more kids in jeopardy, hotties in jeopardy...who will live? Who will die? Who will care? Not me, and not you.

Bite the kids! Bite the kids, dang it! What's an angry rattlesnakes movie without satisfactory bite scenes? Especially when the kids in it are particularly dumb or bratty. But like most creature flicks, this movie stays away from using kids as meals. Why, I wonder. Do the people who make these movies think militant moms would watch them and protest? Chances are, the people who watch such movies, the people like me - couch potatoes and/or B-movie buffs, would want to see kids get mauled/eaten/bitten. If not for the sheer satisfaction, then for the logic: kids aren't as smart or wise as adults (except the Boy Wonder, Wesley Crusher, maybe) , and adults certainly get whacked/devoured/chomped on enough.Otherwise the snakes look pretty real (maybe they are, I can't tell). There are enough suspenseful scenes to carry the movie, though not as many payoffs (read: bitings) for the twisted B-movie aficionado that I am. 6/10