Serpent (2017) (Movie Review)

Serpent (2017) Also known as “Don’t Move”. Here’s an early summary: Gwynneth Kealey is on the edge of a moral precipice. Until now, she thought she had everything under control, even if she didn’t play by the rules. Now an indiscretion has her up against the wall, a deviance threatening to undo everything she holds dear. Her secrets are closing in on her and her only chance is to run away with her husband, the man she loves. Adam Kealey, a passionate entomologist, is about to embark on a career-defining research trip. His efforts to prepare dinner for his wife fail to ease the tension between them. He senses that she is uncomfortable. Gwyneth’s lover isn’t going to let her get away with it; she has to get away quickly. She convinces Adam to take her with him, running away from the lover and determined to save her marriage. Adam feels the weight of it all, but the fact that he has to disrupt and threaten the success of a trip of such magnitude puts him on edge.

Here’s a second one: A camping trip in the middle of paradise turns into a nightmare come true Adam and his wife Gwyn take a walk in the Australian forests. A journey to find themselves. During the night, they discover to their horror that a snake has slithered into their tent. Every move they make now could be their last, as a bite from the venomous animal would be fatal. They have only one dose of the life-saving antidote with them. Defenceless and trapped in their tent, they are completely on their own. In this desperate situation, Adam stumbles across messages about Gwyn’s affair. But a much shorter summary could simply be: the story of a married couple whose romantic retreat takes a perilous turn when they discover a fearsome Black Mamba snake in their tent. I could say: this award-winning horror film, from the creators of the ‘Pulse’ series and the manga adaptation ‘Angel of Research – Kite’, is not for the claustrophobic and if you’re afraid of snakes, steer clear. You need nerves of steel and goose bumps are guaranteed. The cast is excellent: Tom Ainsley from the TV series The Royals and Sarah Dumont from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Unfortunately, I prefer to be honest and write: a film that starts well but ends badly. In every sense of the word! Typical!!! It’s become so habitual. You get into a kind of over-exaggeration that’s hard to believe, so the suspense falls by the wayside. I don’t think a Black Mamba can get into a tent for a good third of the film without attacking the couple inside, just because they’re more or less standing still while he goes over their bodies. I don’t think they can use a sleeping bag as an effective shield either. The acting pairing isn’t incredible, but I think it was mostly poorly directed and both did their best. Amanda Evans, who is an American who is a Director, Producer, Writer, apparently hasn’t directed anything else and that’s no bad thing. I just hope she does much better if she does feature films again. I really don’t mean to be mean, but I love cinema so much that I think it’s a shame to spoil it with films like this. My opinion is subjective, of course, but I’m convinced that everyone is good at something. It’s just a question of finding out what it is! The final battle between man and beast is so far-fetched that it almost makes you smile. And at the very end, we don’t really know what’s going to happen. This leaves the imagination free to create its own ending. At the same time, it’s nothing exceptional either. Quicksand (2023) is a better movie if you like the genre.

My Rating