‘The most dangerous snake in the world…’
Not the Tom Hardy Marvel thing but something else entirely. We have Texas Chainsaw director Tobe Hooper starting the film and then leaving the project halfway through. We have noted hellraiser Oliver Reed sporting a terrific moustache. We have the infamous cinematic lunatic Klaus Kinski causing all sorts of problems behind the scenes. And in front of the camera, we have an actual Black Mamba Snake slithering about the place. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Venom…
A trio of idiots led by Reed and Kinski attempt to kidnap a young boy to receive a ransom but there is also a snake biting everything in sight due to a mix-up somewhere along the line. We are often treated to roving camera shots from the point of view of the snake but hilariously they are always at eye level which suggests that the snake can fly.
Hooper was eventually replaced as director by Piers Haggard who subsequently commented ‘I took it over with barely ten days of preparation—which shows’. The result of all this madness is a strange but oddly alluring film that meanders along without ever really knowing where it is going. The shots of the snake itself are pretty cool but it’s hard to care too much about any of the characters when they are so cartoonish and when they are contained in such a ludicrous plot. That being said, Venom is never boring and it does provide a weird snapshot of London at the start of the ’80s.
Come for Kinski’s mad ravings and wild-eyed stare and stay for Reed’s glorious moustache – it really is phenomenal.