The Serpent and The Rainbow DVD Review

Reviewed by SuperNova

DVD released by Universal Studios

Directed by Wes Craven

Written by Richard Maxwell and A.R. Simoun, based on the novel by Wade Davis

1987, Region 1 (NTSC), 98 minutes, Rated R

DVD released on September 23rd, 2003

Starring:

Bill Pullman

Cathy Tyson

Zakes Mokae

Paul Winfield

Movie:

The Serpent And The Rainbow begins as a Harvard anthropologist named Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) is asked to retrieve a strange powder that is said to have the power to revive a human being after they’ve passed away. His quest sends him traveling to the land of Haiti where he meets up with the beautiful Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson), a local doctor. The two immediately take interest into searching for a specific individual named Christophe who was rumored to have been pronounced dead several years prior, only to resurface as a resurrected human. Believing that such a potion as zombie-fication exist as it seems to be the only rational answer, Dr. Alan travels further into the world of uncanny art to discover the true meaning behind what he cannot logically explain.

Following an afternoon outing with Dr. Marielle that turned into a steamy romp beneath the thick Haitian jungle, a cadaver of a recently deceased bride confronts Dr. Alan during his sleep. Now compelled to the dark mythical world of magic Dennis finds himself at the mercy of Dargent Peytraud (Zakes Mokae) the chief of the secret police, who anxiously wants Allen’s presence in Haiti to be forgotten. Avoiding all warnings, Dennis dwells deeper into the unknown and meets a cunning man named Louis Mozart (Brent Jennings) who helps him to create the potion he’s been sent to get. Before being able to conclude on his extensive investigation, Dr. Alan is exiled back to America. Once back home, the pharmaceutical company begins research on the dangerous drug, only to encounter a deadly possession during a late dinner.

Dennis fearing for the life of Marielle decides to head back to Haiti where he can assure her safety. When he arrives Alan is taken away and his citizenship undoubtedly stripped from him. No longer on the outside, Dr. Alan experiences first hand the effects of the magical powder. Lying still and emotionless in a cold, dark coffin, Dennis must now welcome his doom and the fate of his friends. Will he survive the psychosis, watch The Serpent And The Rainbow to find out!

Review:

Based upon the true-life experiences of Wade Davis, The Serpent and The Rainbow (which is also a published book of the same title) is a complex film that tries to plunge the viewer into a world of black magic and sinister voodoo. Filmed entirely on location in Haiti, The Serpent and The Rainbow is best described as a faithful adaptation of one man’s experience in a foreign culture unbeknownst to him. While not exactly portraying the book to perfection, which was more so based upon the Haiti culture and how vastly different it is and in many ways more so corrupted than one would be lead to believe. This was certainly one of the first horror movies to actually examine the tradition and the civilization of the Haiti parable without amplifying the truth. Pragmatism can sometimes be ignored when dealing with such a subject, as the US and Americans in general aren’t easily open to believing in such a practice of religion as voodoo and would much rather pass it off as superstitious.

As a viewer and a realist, I can only imagine the difficulties Wes Craven and his cast and crew probably endured while trying to shoot a film on actual location. Some scenes it’s relatively apparent that most extras (meaning the people of Haiti) really hadn’t a clue as to what they were instructed to do, which in this case was probably to act normal and not to look at the camera. I often wonder if a director changes his mind about such an instance, surely this film had to be a struggle to make, with the rough agriculture and not to mention it’s differing language. From a director’s stand point, Wes Craven is generally hit and miss. At the beginning of his career he was crafting great works of art, but by the mid-90s his horror machine was running on empty. If one would stop to analyze what Wes Craven’s best directed film would be, the answer most would assume is Scream, but from my standpoint I believe Wes Craven reached his creative peak with The Serpent and The Rainbow. Here he manages to construct tricky camera movements all while blending into a scenario far too difficult to dismiss as generic results. There’s a great balance between the mythical perception of Bill Pullman’s character and his reality. The two shots aren’t impossible to differentiate, as the luscious green jungles appear at times to be sacred and holy ground, while the sinister and well lit visual of nighttime shots attract a sense of death. There’s a certain invocation of a raw guerilla style filmmaking with this picture as well and the conjured nightmarish scenes seem to be constructed on the successful basis of Wes’s earlier movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Bill Pullman’s acting career before this film was a movie called Spaceballs (A parody of George Lucas' Star Wars). Wes Craven took a chance with him and as a viewer I have to admit it really paid off well. Mr. Craven is great at spotting talented individuals especially fairly new and upcoming actors and actresses. Mr. Pullman is able to bring dimension to his character which otherwise would have been an ordinary man hell-bent on retrieving a specific item. His charisma throughout the film echoes shades of Harrison Ford’s character of Indiana Jones. Nothing seems to be overly embellished as he portrays a convincing anthropologist raveled in a vortex of enchanted spells and tortured souls. Zakes Mokae convincingly depicts the maniacal chief of the secret police, in a role that can only be summed up as disproportional to its fate. Mokae’s character is often reminiscent of a bad dream. He’s hard pressed on making sure those eager enough to challenge him don’t uncover his secret, and those who will, will surely never be the same. Often at times he appears to be quite the intellectual seemingly always getting one over Pullman’s character by means of knowing where he’s going and when to strike best. In the simplest terms Dennis is the pawn in Peytraud’s mind game.

Video and Audio:

The Serpent And The Rainbow is presented here in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer, preserving the original aspect ratio of the film’s theatrical release. The transfer of this picture appears to be adequate at best, some scenes appear to be well lit and most touch up attention has gone to the foreground of the picture, but other scenes pale in comparison as they are frequently the focus of grain throughout. The blacks are quite rich and filled with depth, but most daytime shots appear dull and fuzzy. Much if left to be desired as someone who thoroughly enjoyed this film I would have appreciated a better transfer.

The audio is presented here in three Dolby Digital Surround sound tracks, an English a Spanish and a French. The English track is fairly passable, most dialogue seems to get washed out (possible language distortion in differing from English) and I was regularly adjusting the volume on my TV to hear those talking on the screen. The restoration surely wasn’t as thorough as I would have hoped for, no annoying hisses or pops were present and any that did occur were greatly reduced. Brad Fiedel (Of Terminator fame) composed the musical score. It’s a luscious and sometimes lively concession of rhythmic drumbeats with third world inspired music. As an original musical piece it’s quite the work of art, and Craven and company including Mr. Fiedel should be more than pleased with the soundtrack considering it adds great depth and bold atmosphere to the overall feel of this picture. Sadly there were only about ten pressings of this score ever created, ranking it as one of the most sought out and expensive works of art ever produced.

Special Features:

• Theatrical Trailer
• Recommendations

I do not believe there’ll ever be a day when we all will actually see a special edition of The Serpent And The Rainbow, and furthermore I highly doubt we’ll ever see this film provided the proper transfer it so rightfully deserves. So with that said you can only assume that this release is fairly skimpy on the extras. As fans we are treated to the original theatrical trailer, which is highly enticing for anyone who loves the old 80’s voice over, where the guy would basically tell us what was occurring in the film in a deep and ominous voice. And lastly a list of film recommendations of the works of director Wes Craven.

Grades:
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Audio:
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Conclusion:

An effective and quite chilling horror film that’s not too sophisticated for its own taste, The Serpent And The Rainbow is a welcome change for anyone looking to broaden out from the typical b-movie agenda, or someone wanting to be intellectually challenged while not having to have everything explained step by step. Although the release of the DVD is bare bones, the movie on the other hand is highly engaging. A wonderful cast, beautiful cinematography, and a great story is what you'll get out of this movie, and a few jumps along the way.

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