User reviews

Okay, I liked Anacondas. I thought it was a fun, old-fashioned jungle movie. But why on earth would you pick that movie to rip-off? It strikes me as a one-time deal, and it's really amazing it turned out as good as it did. Snake King is a pretty much carbon copy, with almost all the enjoyability taken out and a ton of pretentiousness put in. It starts out looking like an enjoyably predictable jungle adventure with giant snakes and human-sacrificing tribes. However, half-way through it takes a hard right and portrays the tribe as a peaceful, wise group who will all die if the snake is killed (because the script says so, okay!). The villain, heroine, and hero are all immediately identifiable as such (incidently, the hero never does anything heroic except for arguing with the villain. otherwise he's generally being saved all the time.) The snake in the movie makes no sense. It apparently has multiple heads, but why is never even touched on, nor is it touched on how the water gives you immortal life, or anything (the snake, like the tribe, is allowed a certain "heroic" stance, despite the fact that it was just scene killing many people in gruesome ways, like the tribe. But, you know, PC). Ultimately, not a movie to waste your time on, except perhaps from a bad DTV standpoint, but even then the lack of anything interesting for the monster to do (and the attempts to make it seem less of a monster for no reason) does take away considerably from the fun.

Someone at the Sci-Fi Channel must have thought making a movie about a giant, five-headed snake in the Amazon would make for a nifty monster movie. It probably could have if it hadn't been for the fact that the giant, five-headed snake is so huge that we generally only see one, two, or three heads on the screen at any given time. That is until the climax of the movie when all five are finally shown, albeit briefly, and even then you never really get a full body view of the creature to figure out how everything is interconnected. The movie establishes that the snake has a tail so they can't use the excuse of it having heads at both ends. I want to know where the hell the fourth and fifth heads disappeared to for the first three quarters of the movie. Were they on a smoke break? Were they given conscientious objector status for refusing to take part in the killing if innocent people? Were they off auditioning for a role in Python 3?

Oh, but wait, there are still more problems with the giant, five-headed snake. Despite the fact that it appears to be big enough to give Godzilla a heck of a fight, this colossal, multi-headed snake is still able to hide undetected in the jungle brush until it's too late. The noise it makes when slithering through the jungle is minimal and keep in mind we are talking about an enormous monster with five-heads, each at least the size of an automobile. If it wasn't constantly roaring (This snake doesn't hiss. It roars.), then it would barely generate any noise at all. People are constantly running away before coming to a stop and looking up just in time for one of the heads to lurch down and nab them. Despite being gigantic it still consistently managed to not only move around unseen, it actually sneaks up on people.

And if that wasn't enough, there are some serious continuity issues regarding the giant, five-headed snakes' size. It appears to suffer from Deep Star Six syndrome, and by that I mean its size changes depending on what is required of it in the scene. This is highlighted in the climax set inside its lair where it seems to shrink and enlarge at random. Each head is the size of an automobile and its cave entrance only appears big enough to fit one head and neck at a time so we don't even get an explanation as to how the thing even manages to get inside this cave chamber to begin with. Heck, at one point, this gargantuan serpent even manages to hide underwater in a small river just waiting to spring out and surprise someone. Good grief!

These are just the problems with the monster. And don't argue suspension of disbelief because there is a huge difference between suspension of disbelief and insulting one's intelligence. Worst of all, the CGI used to bring the giant, five-headed snake is some of the least convincing I've ever seen in a Sci-Fi Channel movie, and believe me, that is really saying something.

The fact that the monster turned out to be such a conceptual catastrophe is kind of a good thing because I'd hate to see a potentially cool movie monster wasted on a production as lame, formulaic, and downright dull as this stinker was. A complete waste of time and energy.

This was one hell of a stinker. Comparing this to an early Dr Who episode from 1960's Who had the worse scrip: The Snake King Who had the worse dialog: The Snake King Who had the worse acting: The Snake King Who was more predictable: The Snake King Who had the most fake special effects: The Snake King (This is going against cardboard cutouts, men in wetsuits, and obvious miniatures.) The Snake King did have one advantage over the Dr Who episode it was in colour.

It does have a good drinking game if you have a drink every bad line or when a henchman gets killed you are more likely to pass-out from alcoholic poisoning than pass halfway through the movie.

I watched it on the sci-fi channel. I couldn't help laughing at the special effects and the story line. Stephen Baldwin was horrible in it! Bad acting overall from everyone in the movie! Sci-Fi should be sick with themselves about this load of garbage! The story goes pretty much like this, Some researchers go out in search of a fountain of youth that is supposedly somewhere in the jungle. But there is one problem though, to get to the so-called fountain of youth water they have to get past the deadly predator (the snake king), or should we say CGI King. The storyline as I mentioned earlier is totally silly, the snake doesn't even attack some of the people for some reason, what's up with that, maybe he knows them (they must be buddies! Come on, please!) Also when the snake kills the people, it looks ridiculous. Also you never understand why the snake has 3 heads. Please don't waste your time with this garbage!

Can bad movies ever get any worse? Maybe. But for the moment, Snakeman beats everything in its shear awfulness. The snake is just SO fake, even the one in Python would choke on its own tongue. The actors are bad, they couldn't act if there lives depended on it, even if they sold their souls to Sponge Bob Squarepants first. I don't understand why the many-headed snake is actually a good creature, it seems to enjoy tearing and ripping and killing people in various and imaginative ways, yet it gives the Mysterious Indian Tribe that Stinks its great gift of eternal youth... This mystifies me. The teams that are sent to the rather fake looking jungle seem to be well equipped with big and savage-looking automatic rifles, large vicious snakes are probably commonplace in the jungle... Not a good film, if it appears on your TV, switch the channel or it will take a little bite out of your intellect.

Here we have Snakeman, or maybe it's really some other title, telling the story of a nasty snake monster in the Amazon which has a penchant for munching on people parts. Stephen Baldwin, the not-too-talented younger brother of Alec, may be the Snakeman, I don't know. We can't be sure because the plot involves the snake monster eating everyone. It has nothing to do with a "snakeman". Why do they make movies like this? Because they get suckers like me to watch them, that's why. Terrible CGI effects only cheapen this Anaconda rip-off. Some of the gore effects are quite amusing, as when the gun-for-hire decides to pull his own guts out of his stomach after being bitten there by the snake monster. Think we'll see "Snakeman Returns", "Snakeman Forever", or "Snakeman: The Beginning"? Let's hope not.

I was real surprised with "Snakeman". It was actually a pretty good little independent movie. First, it was well shot. The director chose to use film instead of digital (which a lot of B-movies) do. And there were some great jungle shots of the Amazon. Second, the movie was fairly well acted. I really thought everyone in the film was a pretty seasoned actor. Stephen Baldwin was definitely a good hero. Third, they had some real cool production design. They had snake pillars in the jungle. I love that whole look.

The only real downside was that there were some fairly bad CGI shots of the snake. But, it's definitely entertaining if you're looking for that whole "monster in the jungle" concept.

After a group of researchers discovers a mummy in the Amazon who proves to have lived to an age of at least 300--he had some physiological peculiarities--a "big, evil corporation" sends a handful of scientists back to Amazonia to search for a tribe of Methulselahs. They end up with Stephen Baldwin as a guide, which is good news if you like the Baldwins (I do) but probably a reason to avoid the film otherwise, and they end up discovering a tribe associated with a multi-headed "snake god", which really exists (in the film) and which enjoys eating people after it dismembers them.

My rating for this film is something of an average. Being in the mood for some abecedarianism, I gave Snake King an A for aeffort when it comes to gore (if I can be allowed to spell "effort" like "aesthetics"; maybe I should give it an "A for attitude" instead), a B for Baldwin, a C for the clichés, a D for da story, and an F for most of the other aspects, like the cgi, the native costumes and makeup, the lack of suspense, and so on. That averaged out to a D for me, or a 6.

The biggest problem is that the story just isn't that interesting, and director Allan A. Goldstein doesn't seem to mind. Although the discovery and search for the exact source of a practical, scientific "fountain of youth" could have promise, what we get instead is a very pedestrian film that couldn't care less if every dramatic situation is by the numbers. In fact, the editing (both the literal film editing and the "flow" or construction of the script) is so bad that the clichés were probably welcomed--they help viewers fill the missing exposition in for themselves.

But the final result is that Snake King is almost entirely devoid of suspense. For most of the characters, you just do not care what happens to them. Most you want to die in the jaws of the snake--and soon--so the film can end already, before it gets any worse. Eventually it gets so bad that the climax, and particularly the dénouement, are pretty hilarious. There is a romance angle in the last few moments that comes out of nowhere. It's even funnier because characters stop to make googly eyes and kiss while ignoring the fact that one of them may be bleeding to death. But most of the film isn't "so bad it's good", whether Goldstein may have been shooting for that or not. Most of it is just bad.

For a sci-fi channel film, there is little sci in this sci-fi (which arguably, is not unusual). The actual goal is merely to have a film showing a cgi snake mauling explorers 10 Little Indians style, and the real motivation for setting the film in Amazonia is to avoid the cost of building sets. Since the film takes place in the jungle, and some of the crew must be big Predator (1987) fans, they figure what better opportunity to give our antagonist Predator vision (minus the computer displays). Like everything else, this effect has all the impact of a greased cotton ball smashing through steel.

Even though the mauling scenes look more like an early 1990s video game, I have to give the filmmakers credit for trying to amp up that aspect. There is no shortage of severed limbs, decapitations, or bodies cut in half. There could have been a bit more blood in the film for my tastes (I'm no champion of bloodless horror, although I don't necessarily mind it). But the more visceral aspect of the film was nice, especially for a made for television film.

Although most of the cast wasn't much to speak of--some of them are obviously present just as snake food--I like Stephen Baldwin, as I like all of the Baldwin brothers. I'm a fan of camp. No matter what the Baldwin brothers do, they can't help but radiate camp. My only complaint is that Baldwin should have had an even bigger part. But the prominent "evil scientist", played by Larry Day, was just as fun to hate as Baldwin was fun to watch being campy.

Of course, it's difficult to buy any character as being the kind of person who would have the job or social role that they have in the film, including the natives, who have some fairly ridiculous makeup and costumes on (in the main tribe, all of the women are wearing bikinis for some odd reason). There was also a subplot about other explorers, including one who adopts a tribal way of life (played by Greg Evigan). The subplot is never explored/explained very well, so those characters remain more of a mystery.

If you dislike predictability, you should steer far clear from this film. In addition to the 10 Little Indians and monster movie clichés (you just know what kind of big confrontation there will be in the climax, and so on), there are the typical "big, evil corporation" clichés. Given the basic elements, most IMDb users could probably construct the rest of the script for themselves.

Still, I can't say that I had no fun watching Snake King, and I'd even consider picking up the DVD if I could get it for less than, say, $2. So it isn't a complete failure, but it's awfully close.

Lurking in the exotic rain forests of Brazil is a deadly, multi-headed serpent that rips limbs off, squeezes victims to a bloody pulp and swallows others whole. A group of scientists working for a leading pharmaceutical company called Gen-Tec are down that way researching a new drug and end up stranded in monster territory when their helicopter crashes. Along for the ride is a local guide (Stephen Baldwin) who is the son of anthropologists and speaks the obscure native language, a corrupt, bossy jerk who keeps waving his gun at everyone and the token attractive blonde lady doctor (Jayne Heitmeyer) who emerges as the film's strongest character. Gary Hudson spends most of his time on the phone or sitting behind a desk as an exec from the company who actually has the team down for other reasons (and shows up with a machine gun toting commando squad at the very end). There's another mean jungle tribe in the forest (with an English-speaking leader!) that use blowguns, spears, tree limbs, booby traps and arrows against victims, kidnap the leading lady and worship the great Snake God "Naga."

Also here is a trek through a crocodile-filled swamp, attacks from tarantulas and smaller serpents, overkill green-tinted snake POV camera-work and a partially insane, blood-painted American from a previous expedition. And it all ends on a weird metaphysical note with the discovery of the fountain of youth and a message about modern day greed and disregard for the sanctity of ancient cultures! The computer special effects on the deadly serpent are pretty lame (especially during the day scenes), but this is still a pretty entertaining fusing of Lost World, adventure and monster movie genres.

I felt like I was in some backwoods fundamentalist church yesterday. There was Anaconda 3, Snakes on a Plane, Vipers, and this one. What is with all these snakes? This one had no special appeal. It was you routine running through the jungle, with one member in a tight top (Jayne Heitmeyer), and everyone getting eaten by the snakes. They even brought in some mercenaries, presumably from Blackwater or Halliburton, and they all get eaten, too. The only thing different was that this particular snake had about four heads. That made for an interesting twist as each head can get a body extremity and, pop, instant paraplegic. Then the main snake just pops the head and sucks out the juice like eating craw-fish in the bayou.

The only thing that will keep you interest is the aforementioned Heitmeyer getting that top all sweaty and bloody.

What makes me miffed is those who can a movie like Anacondas especially the second one, which I enjoyed. Well I recommend you see this first and then you will realise that the former are entertainingly good movies with a far higher acting standard than this one. Do we really need to live 300 years? Most of us cant handle the ones that we are granted in the first place. Or is that another, if you are rich then you are deserved of potential immortality. OK they needed to make another serpent movie but next time make a better one, with a better script and better actors. The snake fodder are obvious from the very start, hardly deemed to get any lines, and are not allowed the courtesy of developing personality. The snake is very unrealistic even though size does matter. In Anaconda one at least felt that the snakes where real(istic). And in this movie everything is said in the first half an hour giving the movie very little scope to work on. Why don't they let the obnoxious guy get it early and save us all a little grief. Stephen Baldwin although a little thinner, did it best in the Flintstones. He should stay with that genre, a hunter hey ho! The Jaguer chief was not plausible in the role and needed to shed a few cat kilos himself. I know it isn't going to happen but I will go back to my video shop and ask for my money back. Don't bother

I hate to give this movie even one star. It doesn't do anything to deserve it. Totally laughable plot, horribly untalented cast and I haven't seen graphics of this "high" caliber since Children of the Corn 4. One of the Baldwin brothers is in this movie. And here's something that must have come as a delightful surprise to him- he's not even the main star of this C grade flick. That must have been a huge blow to the Baldwin ego. I can't believe that they actually filmed this in the Rain Forests of Brazil and somehow made it seem as if it was on a cardboard set. How do you mess that up? PLEASE don't waste your time with this one- unless you are looking for a movie to make fun of all night long.

I was not expecting much in terms of a good plot and good special effects, but I was expecting it to be entertaining with some of the actors giving their all. That was not the case with Snake King(or Snake Man). This was a horrible movie from start to finish, redeemed only by the striking scenery and Jayne Heitmeyer, who is pretty decent not to mention good looking. The rest is one big mess. The special effects are really cheap and some of the least convincing of any special effect I've seen in any movie in a while, and the choppy editing, suspense-less and un-thrilling attack scenes and the snake(s), which are the opposite of menacing or effective do not help. Neither do the crass dialogue, clichéd characters(the film doesn't even try to give them any sort of development either), slack pacing or the formulaic, unexciting story(which further suffers from being derivative of the far superior Anacondas 2). Nor, with the exception of Heitmeyer, does the acting, which in Stephen Baldwin's case is bland, and in the case of others, including the villain, verging on camp. So overall, the scenery and Heitmeyer are good but the rest contribute to Snake King being the stinker that it is. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Following a rare discovery in the Amazon, a team of explorers hoping to find a potential fountain-of-youth for their pharmaceutical company finds the area guarded by a monstrous multi-headed snake and must find a way of getting out of the jungle alive.

As one of the better Sci-Fi Channel originals, there really is a lot to like here. Among the better qualities here is the fact that for once, the plot-line is pretty credible and creative as the subplot about the search for the tribe in the jungle takes precedence and getting the snake to the background. The atmosphere here is quite nice as the thick, wet rainforest and impenetrable heat allows for a great location to be had to introduce the sake who acts as a guardian spirit for their people, and the little bits featured here gives their society a nice enough grounding to work well for the monster action. As the titular creature, this setup allows for more screen-time for the actors and less for the snake, making his sporadic appearances more effective while losing just a little of that fear. It's a nice gamble that pays off, as there's some solid snake action featured here due to the low number of appearances. There's some great suspense stalking scenes early on as the snake would constantly roar off-screen, the first encounter deep in the jungle that takes place in the dead of night works very nicely as the creepy action is fun with the chaotic scene being a blast and the later scenes at the campsite are really fun. The ending assault on the cave is undoubtedly the highlight, though, as bodies fly in all directions, lots of severed limbs go flying about and there's non-stop action here from the creature appearing during their ceremony and sending everyone scattering and leading to some great chasing throughout the different whirlpools and caves before the big ending here. Alongside the great gory kills and a chilling looking snake, there's enough to like here to hold it up over the film's singular flaw. Despite the fact that it appears to be quite large, the snake is still able to hide undetected in the jungle brush and spring out until it's too late, consistently manages to not only move around unseen it actually sneaks up on people and it's pretty hard to believe that an animal of this snake's size is that sneaky, no matter how familiar with its surroundings. Also, for as great as the snake looks, it's so obviously CGI that it hardly meshes with the actors, and the size of it creates several incredibly distracting scenes and ideas that it really sticks out. However, this is the main problem with the film.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language.

This movie is great. the real name of it is snakeman ... thats what you'll have to look for in the video store.. this movie is so funny!! and the story is great! and the special effects are top notch CGI quality .. it reminds me more of those older clash of the Titans / Jason and the Argonauts types of movies.. so it starts off with Stephen Baldwin and a crew of People going to the amazon forest for some reason or another and then they run into some natives and there is a huge snake that eats people.. now that i think about it .. this is a lot like the 1933 king Kong.. oh god this movie is funny!! go and get a few friends and a six pack and watch it!!! snakeman will give yall hours of fun lines to quoit in public as an inside joke to make other people around you thing that yall are really cool or just weird.