Film #16 — 1/1 Michael Gough Film
By C. Ramsay
A group of criminals infiltrate a rich family’s home through gaining employment with them in order to kidnap their child for ransom, but a deadly black mamba snake is also loosed in the house, putting everyone—kidnappers, hostages, and police alike—in danger. With a premise that should provide an easy setup for some high-stakes, intense sequences, Venom went through some production issues and a change of directors (Tobe Hooper to Piers Haggard), leading to a final product that, aside from a few standout moments, simply doesn’t live up to expectation. Klaus Kinski plays criminal ringleader Jacques Müller, or Jacmel, a character whose name is exceptionally suited to the actor who plays him, whereas Oliver Reed plays Dave, probably the least suitable name for him to convincingly portray. Kinski gives a particularly good performance and is provided with the most opportunity to shine in the script, but Reed keeps up in his own ways. The two together are inspired casting, though they allegedly hated each other on set. Their caliber of acting is far beyond what almost everyone else in the film is able to deliver, at least under the circumstances, except for a couple of scenes from Susan George as Louise Andrews, Nicol Williamson as Commander William Bulloch, and a minor appearance by Michael Gough as herpetologist David Ball.
After some basic introduction to the core cast and the establishment of the existence of the criminal plan, the script moves directly into how things start to go awry. The consequences pile up fast, but between their initial snowballing and climax, the film feels far more slow-paced than it should be. Many scenes are unnecessarily drawn out, with shots functioning more as filler than contributing to the plot or atmosphere in any meaningful way. While a couple instances of action are memorable, many of them feel cheap and uninspired, occasions thrown in to adjust the flow of the story without much effort or thought behind them. The snake in particular, which was a live animal in most scenes, is given some point-of-view shots throughout the film that are mostly plain, direct shots with hardly any in-camera or post effects added in. There was no attempt to do any unconventional shooting, to mix effects, or to adjust lighting or colour to reflect what a snake might see, and so these shots tend to come off more as generic placeholders for what should be the final shots rather than the completed work, a feeling that unfortunately permeates much of the movie.
Another component that feels out of place is the score, which rings much more adventurous than tense, so any scenes that are meant to be stressful never retain the strain that they need past a certain point. Composer Michael Kamen, perhaps most known for the whimsical flare much of his film work has, delivers exactly that in Venom, and the misalignment in relevance seems to be yet another mishap of the tempestuous production. Similarly miscalibrated are the many attempts at humour, most of which don’t land. The script is behind many of the issues the film struggles to surmount, relying on exposition for plot points that were already easy to understand, lacking in general characterization, and failing to explore the motivations that drive the characters under the conditions of the story.
The characterization of the criminals is the least developed aspect. There are some throwaway lines as to what their plan is, but these are spread out for a such a simple plot point and its details risk being missed, while the particulars of some of the actions they take on-screen are needlessly overexplained. Most importantly, we hardly have any idea what urges them individually, nor do we have any deeper understanding regarding the members of the family being targeted. We don’t know how the criminals came to know each other or what went into their planning, who else (if anyone) might be involved, or what their plans are for their lives after they escape. None of that really matters because the snake is treated as the centerpiece of the film, but is often absent. Although many of these specifics likely wouldn’t be missed with better characterization for these people in the moment, even in continuing to keep everyone’s fear of the snake as the focus, that is not the reality of the film. What is is that nothing from the cinematography, to the score, the writing, or the acting—even with some highlights in each—ever fully meshes together.
Star rating (/5): ★★
Recommend?: Worth checking out