This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It seems safe to say that we are experiencing something of a wave of interests in zombies at the moment. Yet I'm sure many of those who are interested in the various movies, shows and books based on the undead might well be unaware of their real world roots in Haiti and voodoo. Offering something of a contrast with George Romero, 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead is this film from 1988. Directed by Wes Craven and inspired by the real events detailed in Wade Davis' book of the same title, The Serpent And The Rainbow presents a look at the real-life "zombie" phenomenon with dashes of horror added to it.Note that I used the word "inspired" above. The film itself claims to be inspired by true events and cites that it is inspired by the book rather than based on it. I must confess that I've (yet) to read the book but watching the film and doing a bit of online research makes it clear that a liberal amount of adaptation must have taken place. The real life ethnobotanist (a scientific field that mixes elements of anthropology and botany) Wade Davis becomes the fictionalized Doctor Dennis Alan in the first of many changes the film makes. Amongst the changes are a shifting of the time frame in which events take place from across several years in the late 1970s and early 1980s to a short period of time in 1985-86 (which was in fact after the book had been published). Nor does it appear that Davis went through many, if any, of the hellish experiences presented in the film. In other words, it is VERY important to take what the film presents in terms of events with a grain of salt though there are, to mix metaphors, nuggets of truth in an otherwise barren landscape of fiction.Judging the film on its own merits, it's actually pretty good for what it is. For much of its running time, we're presented with a film that's part Indiana Jones, part The Omen as the cynical American Doctor Alan goes to Haiti in search of a presumed drug responsible for the zombie phenomenon and begins to encounter a series of strange people and events that leads the film into psychological horror territory. Not that the film has the budget or story for Indiana Jones large scale action sequences but it's hard not to see Doctor Alan as something of a Jones type though his brashness and cynicism quickly lead him into trouble. With the horror being played out in largely dreams and hallucinations, combined with threats and a moment of slightly overplayed but unsettling torture, the film has an air of menace to it that lends tension to proceedings. For its first seventy minutes or so, while the film is firmly in this territory, it works.It's in the last twenty-five minutes or so that the film goes off the rails a bit. Having presented a solid tale of intrigue and psychological horror, the film shifts into full-on horror film mode for its last act. In a full departure from real events, we see Alan go through the zombie process and have a showdown with the sinister head of secret police who it turns out is at the heart of the phenomenon. Neither the writing, nor the special effects for that matter, are up for much here (nor are they in another major departure from real events earlier on in the film) as clichés including the villainous cult leader combine with low budget effects to give the film a rather unsatisfying ending.More satisfying perhaps is the film's cast. A young Bill Pullman does quite well as Doctor Alan, bring the right amount of both American naiveté and scientific cynicism to the role as someone who has to deal with increasingly strange happenings while also just trying to get out of the country in one piece. Indeed the film's American characters, including Paul Guilfoyle and the always delightful Michael Gough, probably come across best of all the performances. The film's Haitian characters are, largely due to the script, little more than walking and talking clichés. The standouts from those include Zakes Mokae as the villainous head of Haiti's secret police who, despite the clichés attached to his character, gives quite a good performance under the circumstances and Conrad Roberts as Christophe Durand (a character inspired by the real-life zombie case of Clairvius Narcisse). Despite some of the script issues that hamper them, the performances by and large work and serve the film well.Looking past the script and sometimes iffy special effects, the production values are quite good as well. The film benefits immensely from being shot in location in both Haiti and the nearby Dominican Republic, both of which lend the film a strong sense of both place and (perhaps more importantly) verisimilitude that it might otherwise lack given its subject matter. The sets, costumes and especially the make up all look good when they're trying to be done subtly and not (as mentioned earlier) when they're put to full on "horror" effect. All of which leaves the film feeling solidly made at the very least.Despite its far removal from reality and its ill-done shift to "horror" movie in its last act, The Serpent And The Rainbow stands up decently. As a tale of intrigue and psychological horror, as well as presenting an interesting look at the real-world inspiration behind zombies, it works quite well thanks to its cast and production values. Those expecting a horror film might be disappointed while those hoping for something that plays more to the film's strengths will likely be left feeling likewise with its last act. The film seems to fall between the two and, due to being unable to pick a side and stay there, ends up being intriguing though perhaps a tad unsatisfying in the end.

Very interesting movie! What makes this movie scary is that things like this really do happen in certain parts of the world... it seems South America mainly.Most people are familiar with the get bit by a zombie you will turn into a zombie scenario which is not that realistic. Romero's Night of the Living Dead or other zombie films are good examples of it. But Serpent and the Rainbow is not that type of a zombie film.Serpent and the Rainbow is a very underrated and extremely creepy film about REAL ZOMBISM. Yes I say REAL ZOMBISM! To understand the movie Serpent and the Rainbow on a deeper scale research REAL ZOMBISM: Scopolamine aka Devil's Breath is one such drug from the Borrachero tree it is also known as Angel Trumpet: Brugmansia. This plant is known turn people into a zombie-like state... people will even give up their free will.If one is interested in real zombism and other magic from South America I recommend a book by Jaya Bear: Amazon Magic: The Life Story of Ayahuasquero & Shaman Don Agustin Rivas Vasquez -- very good book that goes well with the the theme of the movie "Serpent and the Rainbow".Yes I loved Serpent and the Rainbow! It maybe Wes Craven's best movie to date! 9.5/10

Years ago I heard a brief plot summary of this film and thought it sounded a little boring. However, when I finally came to see it earlier this year - I was very surprised. I've not actually read the book, so I won't go into that - although it is on my 'to-read' list.What I liked most about this is the way it plays out as a supernatural adventure, a lot of horror films nowadays are more worried about creatively killing off characters and using snapcuts. But this film builds up a dream-like feeling of dread and sustains it the whole way through, with some truly memorable and disturbing scenes. Although I must say that the battle at the end is a tad over the top, but I'm not cynical enough to let that change my positive review too much.Bill Pullman's lead character is a kind of geekier Indiana Jones, and as much as I say 'geekier' he is still able to scrap with the best of them - he has no hesitation when it comes to smashing someone over the head with a bottle certainly.In short this is a well-worked adventure story with subtle, creeping horror themes running throughout it - put down that slasher film and watch this.

Anthropologist Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) goes to Haiti to find how supposedly dead people are coming back to life as zombies. A doctor (Cicely Tyson) there tries to help him. He soon finds out he's in over his head and his life is in danger.VERY confusing and unsatisfying horror movie from Wes Craven. For starters it goes all over the place. The movie does not move smoothly--it leaps around. Half the time I didn't have a clue about what was going on--or why! Pullman's character is also extremely dumb. It's made VERY clear that his life is in danger early on and he never does the reasonable thing (i.e. leave) but stays on. Also his character goes through utter hell in this movie. SPOILERS! He's beaten up, tortured, buried alive and (in a truly unnecessary moment) has a spike driven through his scrotum! END SPOILERS! It's not dramatic or scary just sick. There's also far too many dream sequences or hallucinations that lead to nothing but are added just to give the audience a sudden jolt. The only bright spots in this mess were good performances by Pullman and Tyson--but they're great actors who deserve better. I guess Craven was trying something different with this movie (it was "inspired" by a true story and book) but he doesn't pull it off. A 3 all the way.