Sssssss[i]is a 1973 Americanbody horror filmdirected byBernard L. Kowalskiand starringStrother Martin,Dirk Benedict,andHeather Menzies.[4]Its plot follows a college student who becomes a laboratory assistant to aherpetologistwho is covertly developing a serum that can transform human beings into snakes.
| Sssssss | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Bernard L. Kowalski |
| Written by | Hal Dresner Daniel C. Striepeke |
| Produced by | Daniel C. Striepeke |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gerald Perry Finnerman |
| Edited by | Robert Watts |
| Music by | Patrick Williams |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1 million[2] |
| Box office | $1 million (US/Canada rentals)[3] |
The make-up effects were created byJohn Chambersand Nick Marcellino. It received a nomination for the Best Science Fiction Film award of theAcademy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Filmsin 1975.
Plot
editDr. Carl Stoner, aherpetologist,sells a mysterious creature in a crate to a carnival owner. He hires college student David Blake as an assistant, claiming that his previous assistant had left town to attend to a sick relative. Unbeknownst to David or anyone else, Stoner is a delusional man.
Stoner begins David on a course of injections, purportedly as a safeguard against being bitten by a snake in his lab. David's skin slowly starts to change and even peel like a snakeskin. He begins to have strange nightmares and goes into acomawhen having dinner with Stoner, not waking up until a few days later. He also begins to lose weight, but Stoner tells him those are side effects from the venom. David begins a romance with Stoner's daughter Kristina. Her father objects and insists that she not have any sexual relations with him, not knowing that she already has.
When David wakes up the next morning, he has become green and covered with scales. Stoner takes him to the lab and gives him another injection. Stoner's colleague, Dr. Daniels, arrives to inform him that he has been denied an extension of his research grant. Stoner reacts to the news with indifference. Made suspicious by this, Daniels inspects the property. Stoner hides David in a corner, but David gets enough strength to walk to a window, allowing Daniels to see him. Stoner knocks Daniels out and feeds him to apython,and David collapses.
Kristina visits a carnivalfreak showand sees a limbless "snake-man", whom she recognizes as Stoner's previous assistant. Horrified, she races back home to save David, who mutates into aking cobra,brought about by Stoner's injections. Deeming his work a success, Stoner provokes a king cobra from his lab into biting him and dies. Kristina arrives home and finds her father's body with the cobra next to him. Growing suspicious, the police arrive and shoot the cobra before heading to the lab where amongooseis biting David's neck, attempting to kill him. As Kristina screams David's name, the movie ends, leaving their fates uncertain.
Cast
edit- Strother Martinas Dr. Carl Stoner
- Dirk Benedictas David Blake
- Heather Menziesas Kristina Stoner
- Richard B. Shullas Dr. Ken Daniels
- Tim O'Connoras Kogen
- Jack Gingas Sheriff Dale Hardison
- Kathleen King as Kitty Stewart
- Reb Brownas Steve Randall
- Ted Grossman as Deputy Morgan Bock
- Charles Seelas Old Man / Oh Il-nam
- Ray Ballard as Waggish Tourist
- Noble Craigas Tim McGraw, The Snake Man
Production
editThe film's executive producers wereRichard ZanuckandDavid Brown,who went on to produceJaws.[5]
Filming
editPrincipal photography ofSsssssstook place between November 13, 1972 through early December 1972.[1]
Release
editSsssssswas released theatrically in Los Angeles on July 18, 1973.[1]
Home media
editSssssssremained unreleased on home video in the United States until 1997, when it was issued by MCA Universal.[6]It also received VHS releases in Japan[7]and Spain[8]by CIC Video, under the titlesSsssnakeandSssilbido de Muerte,respectively.
The film made itsDVDdebut on September 7, 2004, via Universal, who would re-release the film three additional times in 2009, 2011 and 2014. The 2011 release was part of a four-film "Cult Horror Collection", withThe Funhouse,Phantasm IIandThe Serpent and the Rainbow.A DVD was also released in Japan on 7 April 2010.[9]
Sssssssreceived its firstBlu-rayrelease on April 26, 2016, throughScream Factory,which included new interviews with stars Dirk Benedict and Heather Menzies as bonus features.[10]It also received a Blu-ray release inAustraliaon 1 February 2017, viaShock Entertainment.[11]
Reception
editBox office
editSssssssearned $1 million in rentals at the United States box office.[3]
Critical response
editHoward ThompsonofThe New York Timescalled the film "a ss-surprise. Were it not for the lurid, starkly flapping windup, this would be recommended in toto as a gripping, quietly imaginative hair-curler. It is the only movie fiction I have ever seen that sustains a scholarly, informative attitude toward the world of snakes. This aspect is fascinating and chilling, as a gentle old venom researcher, Strother Martin, putters around with cobras and pythons in a country lab."[12]Gene Siskelof theChicago Tribunegave the film 1.5 stars out of 4, writing, "Even after 40 years of improved film technology, the climactic scene inSssssssfails to match the drama of that moment when Frankenstein's monster sits up on the table. "[13]Kevin Thomasof theLos Angeles Timescalled it "highly amusing and genuinely creepy," and praised the "spectacular makeup."[14]Keith Alain ofThe Monthly Film Bulletinwrote that an "attractive streak of humour suggests in the early stages thatSsssnakemay turn into a macabre little thriller on the lines ofThe Fly,"and lamented that" parody is eventually jettisoned in favour of portentous horror... The rather disparate and ludicrous plot is not made any smoother by Bernard L. Kowalski's direction, which manages to be lumberingly predictable even in its borrowings (theFreaks-ish sideshow sequences, for example). "[15]Leonard Maltingave the film three out of a possible four stars, praising the film's "exceptional" make-up effects.[16]
Donald Guarisco fromAllMoviegave the film a negative retrospective review. He wrote, "Sssssssfails because it emulates the films that inspired it all too closely: the story moves forward at a laboriously slow pace, and its threadbare plot makes it all too easy for the viewer to pick apart its plot holes and implausible elements. To make matters worse, the characterizations and dialogue never rise above the level of a subpar comic book and the anticlimactic finale is likely to frustrate even the most patient viewer. "[17]
OnRotten Tomatoes,the film has an approval rating of 36% based on 11 reviews with an average rating of 4.1/10.[18]
Accolades
edit| Year | Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 3rd Paris International Festival of Fantastic and Science-Fiction Film | Best Special Effects | John Chambers,Nick Marcellino | Won[19] |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^The film was released asSsssnakein the United Kingdom and asMysterious! The Vampire Human Snakein Japan.
References
edit- ^abc"Sssssss – History".AFI Catalog of Feature Films.American Film Institute.Archived fromthe originalon 24 August 2023.(Note:Toggle between "History", "Details", and "Credits" tabs for full scope of source.)
- ^Weaver 2006,p. 228.
- ^ab"Big Rental Films of 1973".Variety:60. 9 January 1974.
- ^Thompson, Howard (2 August 1973)."The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973) 'Sssssss' and 'Werewolf' Blend Horror".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 11 November 2024.
- ^Chagollan, Steve (13 July 2012)."Oscar-winning producer Richard Zanuck dies at 77".Variety.Penske Media Corporation.Retrieved16 February2025.
- ^"Sssssss | VHSCollector.com".vhscollector.com.
- ^"SSSSSSS – Japanese original Vintage VHS MEGA RARE".eBay.
- ^"Sssssss: SILBIDO DE MUERTE (1973) DESCATALOGADA. (Productor de Tiburón)".todocoleccion.net.
- ^"【DVD】 quái kỳ! Hấp huyết nhân gian スネーク2010/04/07 phát mại".Allcinema.org.Retrieved23 February2013.
- ^Coffel, Chris (29 February 2016)."Sink Your Fangs Into Scream Factory's 'Sssssss' Blu-ray".Bloody Disgusting.Archivedfrom the original on 11 November 2024.
- ^"Sssssss Blu-ray (Australia)".Blu-ray.com.Retrieved10 February2017.
- ^Thompson, Howard(2 August 1973). "' Sssssss' and 'Werewolf' Blend Horror ".The New York Times:31.
- ^Siskel, Gene(9 August 1973). "How bad 'Sssssss' it?".Chicago Tribune.p. 5.
- ^Thomas, Kevin(20 July 1973). "'Sssssss,' 'Boy' Fill Chill Bill".Los Angeles Times.Part IV, p. 15.
- ^Alain, Keith (November 1973). "Ssssnake".The Monthly Film Bulletin.40(478): 232.
- ^Maltin et al. 2013,p. 1318.
- ^Guarisco, Donald."Sssssss (1973) – Bernard Kowalski".AllMovie. Archived fromthe originalon 27 November 2018.Retrieved5 December2016.
- ^"Sssssss (1973) – Rotten Tomatoes".Rotten Tomatoes.com.Rotten Tomatoes.Retrieved1 February2022.
- ^"Le festival international de Paris du film fantastique et de science-fiction".plansamericains.com.Mathilde Beau. 4 December 2018.Retrieved1 September2021.
Sources
edit- Maltin, Leonard;Sader, Luke; Carson, Darwyn; Edelman, Rob (2013).Leonard Maltin's 2014 Movie Guide.New York City, New York: Penguin Books.ISBN978-0-451-41810-4.
- Weaver, Tom (2006).Interviews with B Science Fiction and Horror Movie Makers: Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors, Moguls and Makeup.Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland.ISBN978-0-786-42858-8.
