As a genre unto itself, Horror not only has a lot to offer audiences but also incorporates an astonishing level of variety in delivering such flights and frights.
From traditional slasher flicks like Friday The 13th (1980) to Pearl (2022) … from paranormal romances like Ghost (1990) to The In Between (2022) … from vampire delights like Dracula (1931) to Twilight (2008) … and from demonic possession chills like The Exorcist (1973) to The Conjuring (2013) … there really is something for everyone. And, frankly, there really is a great deal more, as a quick glance at Google.com suggests that further categories exist – headings like Body Horror, Alien Lifeforms, Psychological Horror, Folk Horror, and Dark Fantasy only begin to hint at the vast surprises that await audiences will go travel paths less traveled, unafraid of things that most definitely will go bump in the night. Perhaps this is why Horror remains one of the oldest and most profitable types of productions to get greenlit no matter what’s going on out there amongst the rest of society: no matter what ails us culturally, we’re always willing to buy tickets and sit in the dark to be scared silly if that’s the only real escape we might enjoy in the hardest of times.
Of course, Horror – I think – truly owes its origins to the classic monster movie. Even within that single subset of the broader category there remains an infinite variety of choices. Not every Frankenstein gets cobbled together by some mad doctor living in some distant castle, you know. Sometimes, even madder scientists are working on the government dime, and they’re really only trying to make our world a better place by dabbling in experimental genetics, atomic radiation, or behavioral modification. They never really meant to make those frogs into bloodthirsty carnivores, nor did they mean for COVID to escape that lab (if it did) or infect that bat (if it did). Monsters can take any shape … but some of the deadliest were originally renowned as being ‘man’s best friend.’
It’s here that a film like Venom (1981) exists.
Its monster is none other than the dread Black Mamba, a species of highly venomous snakes indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. But in order to translate such a cold-blooded killer into something that might be feared by more than Africans, author Alan Scholefield – in his popular 1977 novel of the same name – emigrated a particular nasty specimen of the Dendroaspis Polylepis and deposits him in a somewhat posh British neighborhood when a young boy – thinking he had just picked up an exotic pet – brings it home from the corner pet store.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From traditional slasher flicks like Friday The 13th (1980) to Pearl (2022) … from paranormal romances like Ghost (1990) to The In Between (2022) … from vampire delights like Dracula (1931) to Twilight (2008) … and from demonic possession chills like The Exorcist (1973) to The Conjuring (2013) … there really is something for everyone. And, frankly, there really is a great deal more, as a quick glance at Google.com suggests that further categories exist – headings like Body Horror, Alien Lifeforms, Psychological Horror, Folk Horror, and Dark Fantasy only begin to hint at the vast surprises that await audiences will go travel paths less traveled, unafraid of things that most definitely will go bump in the night. Perhaps this is why Horror remains one of the oldest and most profitable types of productions to get greenlit no matter what’s going on out there amongst the rest of society: no matter what ails us culturally, we’re always willing to buy tickets and sit in the dark to be scared silly if that’s the only real escape we might enjoy in the hardest of times.
Of course, Horror – I think – truly owes its origins to the classic monster movie. Even within that single subset of the broader category there remains an infinite variety of choices. Not every Frankenstein gets cobbled together by some mad doctor living in some distant castle, you know. Sometimes, even madder scientists are working on the government dime, and they’re really only trying to make our world a better place by dabbling in experimental genetics, atomic radiation, or behavioral modification. They never really meant to make those frogs into bloodthirsty carnivores, nor did they mean for COVID to escape that lab (if it did) or infect that bat (if it did). Monsters can take any shape … but some of the deadliest were originally renowned as being ‘man’s best friend.’
It’s here that a film like Venom (1981) exists.
Its monster is none other than the dread Black Mamba, a species of highly venomous snakes indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. But in order to translate such a cold-blooded killer into something that might be feared by more than Africans, author Alan Scholefield – in his popular 1977 novel of the same name – emigrated a particular nasty specimen of the Dendroaspis Polylepis and deposits him in a somewhat posh British neighborhood when a young boy – thinking he had just picked up an exotic pet – brings it home from the corner pet store.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“Terrorists in the process of kidnapping a child get trapped in a house with an extremely deadly snake.”
When I first saw Jaws back in 1975, I distinctly remember arguing with my classmates over whether or not it was all that scary a film. As even at that ripe young age I was well known for my controversial takes on just about anything, I insisted that it really wasn’t all that terrifying to me because – simply put – I lived in rural Illinois; and – as such – I didn’t have immediate access to any expansive body of water wherein sharks dwelled. Sure, it was a great bit of theatrical escape, but it just didn’t frighten me as I couldn’t relate. Sharks were a distant thing – nothing I could relate to – and that just didn’t rile me up the way something more accessible … like, maybe, snakes would.
Well … I got my wish a few years later when Venom enjoyed its big screen release. My familiarity with such ground-dwelling predators had my Spidey sense tingling; and I expected to be in for the thrill ride of my short (to that point) life.
Alas, it didn’t quite happen.
While Venom was good and definitely expertly made – director Piers Haggard took over the production after Tobe Hooper bowed out, and I think it all looks grand even with the somewhat silly use of the snake-cam (a birds-eye view from the perspective of the black mamba slithering about) – the film never quite makes great use of the seminal creature. Sure, it’s there more often as a threat than it is authentically – everyone in the hostage drama spends an inordinate amount of time looking for the escaped critter – and that just really weakens a great deal of the narrative suspense that should’ve been a bit more … erm … frenetic.
As an example, 1975’s Jaws made great use of employing the Great White Shark’s perspective in the lead-up to any big bloody sequence. Along with John Williams’ haunting score, the watchers were slowly drawn into the gnashing experience until everything crescendoed with body parts a’flying and a’flailing. By contract, Haggard’s snake-cam offers up essentially useless – or definitely not scary – footage of the serpent creeping and crawling through HVAC ducts as it tries to get closer to the ultimate source of heat; and – sorry, folks – that just ain’t frightening in the slightest. The director does give it some admirable flourish in the few actual snake attacks in what amounts otherwise to a rather conventional hostage drama; but in the end there just isn’t enough thrills, chills, and spills to make this one bigger than the sum of its snake parts.
“Terrorists in the process of kidnapping a child get trapped in a house with an extremely deadly snake.”
When I first saw Jaws back in 1975, I distinctly remember arguing with my classmates over whether or not it was all that scary a film. As even at that ripe young age I was well known for my controversial takes on just about anything, I insisted that it really wasn’t all that terrifying to me because – simply put – I lived in rural Illinois; and – as such – I didn’t have immediate access to any expansive body of water wherein sharks dwelled. Sure, it was a great bit of theatrical escape, but it just didn’t frighten me as I couldn’t relate. Sharks were a distant thing – nothing I could relate to – and that just didn’t rile me up the way something more accessible … like, maybe, snakes would.
Well … I got my wish a few years later when Venom enjoyed its big screen release. My familiarity with such ground-dwelling predators had my Spidey sense tingling; and I expected to be in for the thrill ride of my short (to that point) life.
Alas, it didn’t quite happen.
While Venom was good and definitely expertly made – director Piers Haggard took over the production after Tobe Hooper bowed out, and I think it all looks grand even with the somewhat silly use of the snake-cam (a birds-eye view from the perspective of the black mamba slithering about) – the film never quite makes great use of the seminal creature. Sure, it’s there more often as a threat than it is authentically – everyone in the hostage drama spends an inordinate amount of time looking for the escaped critter – and that just really weakens a great deal of the narrative suspense that should’ve been a bit more … erm … frenetic.
As an example, 1975’s Jaws made great use of employing the Great White Shark’s perspective in the lead-up to any big bloody sequence. Along with John Williams’ haunting score, the watchers were slowly drawn into the gnashing experience until everything crescendoed with body parts a’flying and a’flailing. By contract, Haggard’s snake-cam offers up essentially useless – or definitely not scary – footage of the serpent creeping and crawling through HVAC ducts as it tries to get closer to the ultimate source of heat; and – sorry, folks – that just ain’t frightening in the slightest. The director does give it some admirable flourish in the few actual snake attacks in what amounts otherwise to a rather conventional hostage drama; but in the end there just isn’t enough thrills, chills, and spills to make this one bigger than the sum of its snake parts.
A trio of ne’er-do-wells – Louise Andrews (Susan George), Dave Averconnelly (Oliver Reed), and Jacques Müller (Klaus Kinski) – hatch an elaborate kidnapping scheme to abscond with young Philip Hopkins (Lance Holcomb), the son of an international real estate mogul, and hold him for ransom whilst the boy’s mother is away on holiday. Their plans go awry, however, when the young man unleashes a black mamba snake in his bedroom – thinking it is nothing more than a garden variety serpent he’s had on order from a nearby pet shop – and the beast bites Louise in the face. A local policeman had been alerted to the error by the black mamba’s original recipient – Dr. Marion Stowe (Sarah Miles) – and the poor chap unfortunately shows up at the height of the chaos at the Hopkins residence. In a wave of panic, Averconnelly shoots the cop, and now all involved have no choice but to batten down the hatches and hold up inside the mansion … with the deadly snake seemingly always on the prowl.
Instead of some elaborately staged carnival ride like other features using a horrific monster at its core, Venom works rather skillfully as a ‘locked box’ hostage drama: none of its players can quite get out – without risking capture or death from the surrounding police force – while the local constabulary are searching for a way to get in. The script from Robert Carrington has a few twists and turns – Dr. Stowe gets pulled into the whole affair by a quirk of fate – and there are some tense exchanges between the villainous Müller and police commander William Bulloch (a fabulous performance by the late Nicol Williamson). Also along for the ride is young Philip’s grandfather – Howard Anderson (Sterling Hayden) – a retired big-game hunter whose expertise comes in handy on more than a single occasion.
Nonetheless, there’s no escaping the fact that Venom – as a Horror – just never quite works all that well. Though Haggard intersperses the snake-cam sequences throughout his film, there’s just no teeth to most of them as the audience is basically treated to a tour of the home’s ductwork. (Was that honestly meant to be frightening?) Kinski and Reed are a volatile combination – listening to either commentary track is recommended as their behind-the-scenes sparring sounds vastly more legendary than anything they produce on screen – but their shared screen time here only hints at the screen magic that could’ve resulted in two Alpha Males shuttling to call the shots. Hayden brings a bit of gravitas to all of this – he both looks and sounds like he’s put mileage on his human wheels – but Miles gets wasted in a role that probably should’ve gone to someone else entirely.
Venom (1981) was produced by Morison Film Group and Venom Productions Limited. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Blue Underground. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the newly restored (in 4K) cut to be exceptional from start-to-finish. There’s a bit of grain in some of the snake-cam sequences, but it’s really negligible. Lastly, if you’re looking for Special Features? Once more: Wow! Blue Underground has seemingly sparred no expense to load up this two-disc set with an incredible assortment of whatnot. In order to be thorough, I’m doing the noble copy-and-paste from the company’s press release previously published on Blu-ray.com:
Instead of some elaborately staged carnival ride like other features using a horrific monster at its core, Venom works rather skillfully as a ‘locked box’ hostage drama: none of its players can quite get out – without risking capture or death from the surrounding police force – while the local constabulary are searching for a way to get in. The script from Robert Carrington has a few twists and turns – Dr. Stowe gets pulled into the whole affair by a quirk of fate – and there are some tense exchanges between the villainous Müller and police commander William Bulloch (a fabulous performance by the late Nicol Williamson). Also along for the ride is young Philip’s grandfather – Howard Anderson (Sterling Hayden) – a retired big-game hunter whose expertise comes in handy on more than a single occasion.
Nonetheless, there’s no escaping the fact that Venom – as a Horror – just never quite works all that well. Though Haggard intersperses the snake-cam sequences throughout his film, there’s just no teeth to most of them as the audience is basically treated to a tour of the home’s ductwork. (Was that honestly meant to be frightening?) Kinski and Reed are a volatile combination – listening to either commentary track is recommended as their behind-the-scenes sparring sounds vastly more legendary than anything they produce on screen – but their shared screen time here only hints at the screen magic that could’ve resulted in two Alpha Males shuttling to call the shots. Hayden brings a bit of gravitas to all of this – he both looks and sounds like he’s put mileage on his human wheels – but Miles gets wasted in a role that probably should’ve gone to someone else entirely.
Venom (1981) was produced by Morison Film Group and Venom Productions Limited. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Blue Underground. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I found the newly restored (in 4K) cut to be exceptional from start-to-finish. There’s a bit of grain in some of the snake-cam sequences, but it’s really negligible. Lastly, if you’re looking for Special Features? Once more: Wow! Blue Underground has seemingly sparred no expense to load up this two-disc set with an incredible assortment of whatnot. In order to be thorough, I’m doing the noble copy-and-paste from the company’s press release previously published on Blu-ray.com:
DISC ONE - 4K BLU-RAY
DISC TWO - BLU-RAY
Recommended.
Venom (1981) surprisingly maintains a storytelling efficiency across its 90-minutes running time that’ll likely pleased most folks who discover its (slim) frights and (claustrophic) frames. The chief problem, however, is that there really is very, very, very little Horror in here – the venomous black mamba really only does its thing sparingly and then probably phoned it in, going with what it only knew how to do – so hardcore genre enthusiasts might find themselves counting the minutes in between and wondering what all of the fuss was supposed to be about. The film works far more effectively as a conventional kidnapping thriller – set in a single location – and should be celebrated for what it does achieve instead of criticized for what it doesn’t.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Blue Underground provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Venom (1981) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
- EXCLUSIVE NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM (2025)
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- NEW DOLBY ATMOS REMIX, plus DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 tracks
- NEW Audio Commentary with Film Historians Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Eugenio Ercolani
- Audio Commentary with Director Piers Haggard
- Trailers
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Region Free
DISC TWO - BLU-RAY
- EXCLUSIVE NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM (2025)
- NEW Audio Commentary with Film Historians Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Eugenio Ercolani
- NEW Fangs For The Memories – Interview with Editor/Second Unit Director Michael Bradsell
- NEW A Slithery Story – Interview with Makeup Artist Nick Dudman
- NEW Mamba Memories – Interview with Author & Critic Kim Newman
- NEW Pick Your Poison – Interview with The Dark Side's Allan Bryce
- NEWLY EXPANDED Poster & Still Gallery
- Audio Commentary with Director Piers Haggard
- Trailers
- TV Spots
- BONUS! Collectible Booklet with essay by Michael Gingold
- Limited Edition includes collectible booklet, embossed slipcover and reversible sleeve with alternate artwork (First Pressing Only)
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Region Free
Recommended.
Venom (1981) surprisingly maintains a storytelling efficiency across its 90-minutes running time that’ll likely pleased most folks who discover its (slim) frights and (claustrophic) frames. The chief problem, however, is that there really is very, very, very little Horror in here – the venomous black mamba really only does its thing sparingly and then probably phoned it in, going with what it only knew how to do – so hardcore genre enthusiasts might find themselves counting the minutes in between and wondering what all of the fuss was supposed to be about. The film works far more effectively as a conventional kidnapping thriller – set in a single location – and should be celebrated for what it does achieve instead of criticized for what it doesn’t.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Blue Underground provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Venom (1981) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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