Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on August 21, 2006 at 04:51:51

"Descent" and I opted to watch something other than humans (or sub-humans) killing humans. The earlier choice was yardwork in 90 degree heat/humidity, listen to two 5-yr. old girls screaming/playing/fighting for a few hours, or chilling in an air-conditioned theater.
A very fleshy Samuel L. Jackson, a close-to-over-the-hill actress (of course she was feisty), and a young man who is destined for some sitcom are the unlikely stars of this cold-blooded release.
A run-of-the-mill execution in Hawaii is witnessed by the young man. He is seen and tracked down and, in what genuinely is one of the worst "rescue" scenes you could contrive, he is saved by Sam and whisked away for a plane ride to LA to testify against the executioner drug lord.
The selection of passenger-types/victims shows average care and originality: a rapper and his posse, a young mother and child, surfer type and his squeeze, newlyweds, a cranky middle-aged guy, etc.
But, I digress. After all, this is a thrills and chills fest and not a character or plot driven vehicle: kind of a Hummer for the brain.
And now, to the central question: are the snakes scary?
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Best of all, they dispatch the passengers with LOTS of creativity. Actually, this may be the funniest movie of the year in a mildly sick sort of way: kind of like a cross of "Airplane" and "Anaconda."
It worked for me.
Okay, the movie crawled for the last part once the snakes were vanquished but the ride was good while it lasted.
One large complaint: there is NO effort to tell us anything about any of these fascinating creatures (alas, the snakes). Mambas, Blacks, Eastern Diamondbacks, Pit Vipes, etc. are all seen but the expert herpetologist banters about pretty much everything except his... damn snakes.