Venom Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
He Never Hurt A Soul Until The Day He Died.
After the town freak Ray Sawyer is killed in a freak accident involving voodoo related material, local teens' bodies soon start piling up. A few of the teens decide to visit a friends house in the swamps of Louisiana to find out if she knows what's going on, but they soon realize that Ray is possessed by evil spirits of murderers and evil souls and worse...Ray has found the teens and is armed with a crowbar. With only voodoo protecting them, the teens must survive his clutches or become his next victims...
| Agnes Bruckner | Eden |
| Jonathan Jackson | Eric |
| Laura Ramsey | Rachel |
| D.J. Cotrona | Sean |
| Rick Cramer | Ray |
| Meagan Good | Cece |
| Bijou Phillips | Tammy |
| Method Man | Deputy Turner |
| Pawel Szajda | Ricky |
| Davetta Sherwood | Patty |
| Stacey Travis | Laura |
| Marcus Lyle Brown | Terry |
| James Pickens Jr. | Sheriff |
| Deborah Duke | Miss Emmie |
| Jim Gillespie |
4.50 out of 10 (2767 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Lame
posted on 30 Jul 2009Yet another Freddie Kruger/Michael Myers/Jason rip off look alike goes on a rampage in a cheap looking set. It's the same old rehashed story with a lineup of screaming teenage victims-in-waiting pursued and exterminated one by one by a mindless, ruthless serial slasher who feels nothing, yet somehow has a really bad attitude about things.No character development at all; you don't care what happens to these people any more than the brute who chops them up and drags their corpses around slowly. If anything, you hope he puts an end to all of them, as well as their rotten acting. They're in Lousiana somewhere at what looks like an old auto parts yard. It was probably the director's back yard. There's a feeble attempt at giving the movie a plot line, something about voodoo and really mean spirits. None of this is developed at all, nor will you care, anyway. The writer simply tossed it in as an excuse for the high body count and hemoglobin spraying around.The screaming and killing goes on and on, and if you manage to sit through this whole thing, you'll see an ending which is just as poor as everything else in the film. It's all plain lousy, and not even in a funny sort of way. Dull and stale.
A dung heap in disguise!
posted on 30 Jul 2009Yea, this movie had some great cinematography, but that's it. Predictable, no character development, and some really average actors to boot. I thought they could have taken more time to let us in to the voodoo world, and create some mystery around it. This WB kid horror movie thing is being really overdone. I also would like to note that this film was directed by Jim Gillespie who also did the other toilet floater "I know what you did last summer". Kevin Williamson produced this, and except for Scream 2, has made nothing but tiny bad horror cliché's , the equivalent of rabbit feces. It's like someone left a flamin' bag on your porch and when you stomp it out ohhhhhhh! it's this movie Venom all over my shoes! Thumbs way down!
This film is scary
posted on 28 Jul 2009What's wrong with today's audiences? So what if this movie doesn't have a superb screenplay. I wasn't aware that this genre required it. Do scary film have to either make fun of itself? or is it necessary that it's full of clever lines? I am perfectly happy with the recent "The Skeleton Key" and "Venom", films that don't have make long unnecessary introductions about what's going on, or why things are going on? Let's just sit and enjoy the ride, and in this case, it'll be a scary one. This film will become a Halloween or cult classic. The chase is relentless, and normal people don't have much of a chance against the unleashed forces.The setting is nightmarish, the acting not bad, and the photography quite interesting. The 90 minutes go fast, and you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen, though a couple of times that will lead to quite a jump when something happens unexpectedly on the screen. We want a sequel to this.
..Different
posted on 10 Jul 2009This movie was different, the plot was a one I hadn't seen used before, the fact that evil spirits were transfered to that guy with snakes... WOW!, the gore was just in line, and the voodoo was awesome. Although I wondered why would didn't stab the Voodoo object in the head. The movies ending was like most horror movies, it ended in a way that there could be a sequel. What't seems strange is that almost every time I seen a deformed character on a horror movie, it always seems they are a ripoff of "Freddy Krueger" off the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series. I don't know if it's because it was such an epic movie and the character is staind in my mind, or if they took the basis of a deformed character that leaves others movies the only option to rip it off. Overall it was a not bad movie, and If you like horror movies you might wanna give this one a try.
Venom please someone tell me
posted on 26 Jun 2009i haven't actually seen this movies and i was wondering and wanting someone to tell me the following: Does the guy that gets ripped out the window die and if so how, does Meagan good (the black girl) die if so how, does the blonde who goes flying from the jeep to Rays truck die and if so how, and does Bijou Phillips who plays Tammy (the ditsy brunette) die and if so how. SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! email me. my address is my name with hot mail dot com. I really want to know these things before i buy the movie because i want and need to be prepared.
Good film for horror buffs !
posted on 20 Jun 2009Went to see Venom while on holiday, not really heard much about it, so didn't expect much, was kinda worried as used to buy cheap low budget crap off the internet and girlfriend said she would strangle me if it was bad. Well she really enjoyed it and so did I, had good effects and a good few scares, also saw Cry Wolf while we were there and although good, not a patch on venom, obviously Cry Wolf starring Bon Jovi has had more advertising hence the reason it has taken 5 time more in box office since it opened, if I had to choose I would definately recommend Venom
Solid serious slasher film
posted on 20 Jun 2009This is made by some of the main people who brought us I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, and compares favorably to that film and in some ways is better. It has a more novel creation of the slasher set up, it is from the get go a supernaturally based film,which I prefer. It features some of the same atmosphere but more cleverness and Gore than the recent SKELETON KEY. The characters are young and hot but also fleshed out enough that they seem like real people and their deaths are treated with the proper shock and horror. The filmmakers know how to make the villain cool without resulting in making him campy or most importantly forgetting the make him scary--the fact he doesn't speak once he's the villain helps. They set up some nice jeopardy situations and there is some real sacrifice involved. The action is well handled, I guess it has to be said there is no nudity but there is some sex appeal. It is also not a jokey SCREAM type of film--not that SCREAM wasn't good but the rip offs of it have stunk as have most of it's own sequels. This is really well produced, photographed and staged by people who know how to make a film like this be scary and exciting. There are a couple of missteps and continuity gaps but they are really pretty minor. There are big limits to the slasher genre but if you're a fan of it definitely see this movie, which already seems to be getting no respect from its distributor.
Mr. Jangles
posted on 14 Jun 2009This is yet another horror film that had me fooled thanks to the previews. When I saw the previews, it appeared that this was a truly disturbing film that was sure to creep you out and leave you unsettled. When I saw the film, however, it turned out to be another teen horror flick.
Granted, this movie was quite a bit more entertaining and frightening than some others I'd seen recently (Cry Wolf, Dark Water, etc.). The swamp setting did lend the movie an added sense of darkness and dread, further darkening the aura of a backwoods town in the middle of nowhere. Ray, as "Mr. Jangles", was a pretty menacing figure and the incorporation of voodoo into the story also helped to make it a bit more interesting and mysterious. So, the movie had a good setting, tone and villian - ultimately, not too bad.
I'd say it's worth a viewing.
Another teen slasher
posted on 12 Jun 2009So what kind of movie is this from the director of "I know what you did last summer?" It's basically another installment of the same genre with a similar set-up and similar function. Deep down, Venom is just another teen slasher movie. They rode into this film with the same clichéd scares, a young group of teens, a psycho killer, and a traditional ending.
So is it worth seeing?
That I can't completely answer for you. If you like more of the same old, then it's probably going to be a blast. The filmmakers were smart enough to throw in a few thrilling moments among the mundane, overused plot. I found some parts to be slightly unpredictable, and they did a good job detailing some suspenseful moments near the third act of the film. The voodoo element allowed for some additional surprises and kept the killer from being simply "an unstoppable evil force."
But individually, do the separate factors of this film combine to make a masterpiece? Quite frankly, in my opinion at least....no. Let's take a look at some of them;
Acting- Well done, well directed too I might add. The acting is realistic to a degree, and brings us into the film. The actors responded (for the most part) realistically to the story line and I think that this was set-up nicely. The major issue here was the persistence in finding a gun when the killer is already dead, not to mention a demon child of voodoo hoodoo.
Lighting- Dim, dark and mysterious; the lighting definitely amplified the mood of this film. Combined with the swamp-like location, I think that it sets a perfect example of what a good location combined with good lighting can do- make a relatively unattractive plot look beautiful.
Special Effects- They set this up pretty well. A few scenes made me cringe and I felt that the artists working on the film definitely put their hearts into it...or bled them out for it. The gore wasn't excessive, but just right for a slasher film, and props to the director for making that call. My only qualm with this is that they used the standard Halloween "stage blood" which is just basically a thick bright red liquid that looks nothing like blood despite its color. A few of the actors squirm around in it, only to look like they're rolling around in pizza sauce. There are a few other tacky special effects, including the last major one in the film.
The Killer- Mr. Jangles....? Enough said...sounds like a dog. I'll give the killer credit for being a good actor, but the portrayal needed a lot of work. The make-up kicked it up a notch, but the slow-motion style jumps and action-movie style stunts didn't do it justice. The man looked like an athlete and moved like one...not like a reincarnated being housing the souls of 13 evil spirits. Although I don't specifically know what that looks like....I'm sure they don't run like football players.
So what overall? It's ok. Not something I'd be dying to see, and I'm glad that I didn't run to the theatre to catch the first showing. It has some good moments and some bad, but doesn't really stand out from any normal Hollywood production.
My recommendation?
It's ok. I'd rather go rent Containment instead; the first movie in a long time to completely blow my mind. It's good to know that there is still some talent out there somewhere and that it still filters into the film world now and again...
Really nothing too horrible.
posted on 05 May 2009Of course this is no genre classic but once you've seen some more typical slasher flicks of this decade, you have to conclude that this movie is not all too bad in the long run. Nothing too memorable but just good enough to watch it.People tend to call these type of movies new age horror but fact is that these type of movies have been around since the '70's, in which a bunch of hot looking teenagers are all getting killed one-by-one by a maniac/monster. Not much has changed since the '70's, except for its style and look.Storywise this movie is of course very formulaic in every way thinkable. It's actually a very simple written story, in which basically nothing out of the ordinary happens and everything progresses and happens by the book. It's the type of screenplay that makes you go think; Hey! I could have written something like this! The story is perhaps the movie disappointing aspect of the movie, since otherwise this is basically a fine and well made movie.I liked the movie its style. It kept the movie going, even though when nothing was happening in the movie. It makes sure that you never get bored. This is also thanks to the editing by Paul Martin Smith, who is a good editor but hasn't really been given good movies yet to proof his skills to the world. The directing was good and fresh and it seems to me that Jim Gillespie has some talent as a director, even though he hasn't really showed it with his movies yet. Perhaps he needs to stop working with Kevin Williamson, perhaps then he will get some better movie propositions to direct. Ever since "Scream" Kevin Williamson hasn't done a decent thing for the genre anymore but he's still active in the business, probably because he is the guy who wrote "Scream". For this movie he serves as a producer. He also wrote the previous Gillespie directed movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer", which became a success, though probably only because it got released so shortly after the success of "Scream" and the genre was hot and popular again at that time.This is not the type of horror movie that should ever scare you, it's more a movie that entertains with its horror, perhaps of the reason that everything happens in such a predictable way. But Jim Gillespie obviously understands the genre though and knows what is important. So there is some gore and good make-up effects as well as a good 'killer'. You don't really ever start to care about the rest of the characters though, mainly because they remain so superficial and obviously also aren't being played by the most talented actors.The movie brings zombie movies back to its roots; Voodoo. The earliest zombie movies, from the '20's on, always featured voodoo themes, whenever zombies were involved with the main story. Just too bad that the didn't really used much of the voodoo concepts to make this movie a bit more interesting and original to watch.It's enjoyable enough for the fans of the genre and certainly not as bad as everyone tries to make you believe it is.6/10
VENOM HAS SOME BITE
posted on 03 Apr 2009Kevin Williamson who broke onto the scene with the fabulously successful SCREAM and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER franchises helms the production reins of this latest teenage slasher movie. This time, voodoo is the culprit in the creepy tale of terror set in the swamplands of Louisiana. A young couple having a lover's quarrel on a bridge inadvertently cause the accident between an aging mambo woman and the town "creep"; she dies and so does he, but not before unleashing an ancient horror from the woman's suitcase she just dug up from the local cemetery. Soon we discover the secret of the suitcase and a killer is on the loose.
VENOM doesn't veer far from the standard slasher format: crazed supernatural killer dispatching lots of people; our heroes trapped in a run down bayou house, and the climax of girl against monster.
Director Jim Gillespie keeps it moving, though, and the film has a solid creepy atmosphere. Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Meagan Good, Rick Cramer and Laura Ramsey all do well with their roles, and there are some genuinely suspenseful movies. Although the slasher market has weakened, it's still not dead, as VENOM proves.
This Movie is pure $hite
posted on 30 Mar 2009I saw this movie at a free NYC screening back in June , And I must say that this movie totally sucks. Such a recycled plot, characters look like they had stepped out of a WB TV show. The Reaper looks like Dolf Lundren bathed in mud(totally z grade special effects). All the death scenes weren't even scary or funny , except one which involves as speeding truck and a tree impalement. I hated this movie along with everybody at the screening. I give it two big watery bowels down!! What horror movies need is a hard R rating, Mature characters, and brutal death scenes that do not shy away from the screens.If you want to see a good movie , see the Devils Rejects, High Tension or wait for Slither.
horror film with bite!
posted on 18 Mar 2009Venom Dimension 2005 color 85 minutes Horror-Thriller Agnes Bruckner, Johnathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, D.J. Cotrona, Rick Cramer, Megan Good, Bijou Phillips, Method Man, Pawel Szajda and Stacey Travis star. Directed by Jim Gillespee Written by Brandon Boyce and Flint Dille Produced by Kevin Williamson Rated R for strong language, graphic violence and lots of gore Miramax's genre division Dimension has to be the absolute dumbest company. It's true what you've heard Venom is no masterpiece but it's far from being a disaster. It's a decent film with some great scenes and ideas. It would've certainly been a bankable film. Definitely an audience film, filled with Oh my God frantic jolts, sweaty palm inducing suspense and loads of dumb character stereotypes we've all grown to love. Because without them horror movies just wouldn't exist. So dimension finished this film and fast tracked it for a September release instead of taking a bit more time to develop it slightly and marketing it better so people actually know it exists. I mean why even bother making it if your not going to promote it. Well anyways, on to the movie Venom is a fun little thrill ride. The story is a little contrived ringing continuously true out of I know what you did last summer land mixed with the skeleton key and just a dash of Texas Chainsaw. Massacre. As the film begins we are introduced to a bunch of annoying kids all of whom you pretty much want to die except for a few cute guys. There is a town bad ass named Ray whom the kids tease and one night while riding her bike(because she's saving money for med school) home Eden (By far the worst name for a white character or anyone for that matter) has a run in with her ex boyfriend because of college reasons and becomes part of an accident involving a creepy old woman, Ray and a devilish suitcase. A suitcase that holds a group of snakes that hold the souls of the worst of men murderers, rapists, etc. So ray gets bit a lot before drowning and comes back as an uber human killer trying desperately to get to the old womans grand daughter and the group of friends for no particular reason. There's lots of fun stuff thrown in including loud sound effects,sparklingly clear cinematography, unexpected scares and some creative death sequences. All of that makes for a great but not completely memorable time. It's substance in where the film's major problem lies. It doesn't really have any. We don't know the characters and they're all horrible actors reacting wrongly to the situations. There is no real plot development or story buildup so it's hard to care for anyone or even know whats going on. The film also comes equipped with that annoying flashy editing that I hate so much. However the good outweighs the bad and Venom makes for a fun night out at the movies especially with a date. The main villain is haunting, and the cast is full of hot guys adorable Johnathan Jackson from Tuck Everlasting, Sexy D.J. Cotrona from TV's short lived but excellent series Skin. And last but not least Pawel Szajda that hunky young man from Under the Tuscan sun. The girls are less memorable some of them are mildly attractive and Bruckner does badly as the film's heroine but kicks it up a slight notch in the last reel. And about the last reel, this film has a killer last reel. It's quite Brutal filled with edgy, grainy cinematography reminiscent of 70's horror films. So all in all go into Venom with mediocre expectations and expect to be entertained . It's been quite a while since I've seen so many horror films(House of wax, Chainsaw remake, Dawn remake, exorcism of Emily rose, Hellbent, etc.) with such a brutal bite as the ones they've been releasing. It reminds of me of the 80's when I grew up it was a damn fun time! Keep'em coming guys! ***(out of five)
In Bijou Phillip's immortal words: "Voodoo is bad"
posted on 12 Mar 2009How's this for no good deed going unpunished. When Ray (the purported town "freak"; a freak because, according to the cast, he has a really icky scar on his face) tries to rescue a woman whose car is rocking perilously over the side of a bridge, how was he to know that she's actually a voodoo priestess and the bag she's so adamant about is loaded with snakes carrying the sins of countless evil souls that will sink their needle-like fangs into him, injecting all that venomous evil into his veins, turning him into one pissed off tow truck driver. Thus is the storyline of Venom, a half-hearted attempt toward reviving the slasher genre and to create a new Freddy, Jason, Michael baddie. The movie is produced by Kevin Williamson and directed by Jim Gillespie. The last time they collaborated was on I Know What You Did Last Summer. Since then, it's been mostly downhill for both. What we have with Venom is a pleasing-enough slasher affair, with plenty of blood, just the right atmosphere and a good first hour to sustain its viewers attention. Beyond that first hour the movie runs out of steam and stumbles on for another twenty minutes until the requisite setup for a sequel. Don't hold your breath for that one. The movie is nicely photographed and Gillespie has an eye for style. You can almost smell the buyou's stagnant water. It's a desent slasher, and since slashers of any kind are in short supply now-a-days, it's worth a look. Oh, and kudos for that idiotic subplot indicting poor Ray as a deadbeat dad just for that ten second payoff involving a human voodoo doll. For shame.
The movie is by no means a classic
posted on 20 Feb 2009The movie is by no means a classic. It isn't going to remembered as an iconic movie or anything. However as formulaic horror movies go this one is a lot of fun.The movie knows what it is and has no ideas above it's station. It's a perfectly pleasant way to spend an hour and a half.It's a B movie, but it's a good one.There are no surprises or anything but, for what it is, it's well done.There are some nice moments. The performances aren't bad...All in all there are much worse movies out there.It won't win any Oscars or anything but it's worth seeing.
The stars are for timing...
posted on 14 Feb 2009The movie would have receieved a 3 star rating, but it came out during a time where dumb downed 13 year old horror was becomming the norm. Thanks so much for making a graffic slasher now. I was at a test screening for this when it came out, and I had a good time with it. yes the movie is not top notch. yes the movie doesn't have oscar calibar acting, but it has gore, and it has some genuinly creepy parts...swamp water scene. If you're looking for a movie to get drunk with your buddies and have a good time this is a great choice. Great rental for horror fans. Just don't go in having high hopes and expecting a serious movie.
Not the best, but better than average
posted on 04 Feb 2009Okay, this movie is by no means a brilliant movie, you get your average teeny bopper stalker movie here. The cool thing about this movie is A)this has a some what original plot, B)this one is actually some what suspenseful, C)the most important point, this movie is actually rated "R" and for good reason. Now why is this so important you ask? It's important because horror movies are meant to be "R", horror movies should not be made for kids. True, most kids are going to see them anyway, but don't ruin what a movie could be just because you want kids to see it too. Horror movies are meant to be disturbing, don't teenagers already have enough crap music, movies & TV already? Maybe we should worry a little less about entertaining our kids, and a little more with teaching them. It's no wonder America is so stupid today. Anyway, I've gotten way off subject, just see the movie, it's good for what it is.
R rated horror? Count me in!
posted on 27 Jan 2009Its kind of a sad state horror films are in right now. What angers me the most about the PG-13 horror films we've been seeing recently is that they were originally supposed to be R. For instance, all of the "unrated" movies coming to DVD (see Grudge, Ring 2, Dark Water, Darkness...the list can go on and on), they were cut down from an R rating to achieve that PG-13 group. Whenever I bring this up I get yelled at (mostly by those unable to see R rated movies) because they think PG-13 horror films are the end all of horror. What they are missing is that in the past most, if not all, horror films were rated R and it just feels like a dumbing down when you can't go anywhere to find an R rated horror film but lo and behold PG-13s abound.
I apologize for the digression but it does serve a purpose for this review. The reason I give Venom a 4 star rating as opposed to the 3 or 3.5 it probably deserves is based on the timing. I saw this movie this last weekend because my friend suggested (after a horrific screening of The Exorcism of Emily Rose the weekend prior) we see something R rated.
We saw Venom and we both enjoyed it. Its a throwback to the movies we watched growing up like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween. You know the movie, the unstoppable killing machine that doesn't seem too anxious in killing you and settles for simply trudging slowly toward you. Slow, but unstoppable, and always seems to show up when the protagonists least expect it. Bullets don't do anything, fire gets shrugged off and yet the killer comes onward killing everyone around the protagonist until he or she (she in this case) can't take it anymore and fights back.
In this case, the movie bases itself around the idea of this Haitian custom (don't know the veracity of this; hollywood or true?) where people will suck out the evil of murderers etc with snakes so that their soul can go into the afterlife. In this case, take one "town freak" throw in an accident and an encounter with about 6 or so of these snakes that contain these evil souls and you have the makings of the town freak becoming a murderer. Pretty standard stuff and seems almost laughable. But it is a horror film and you have to make concessions when you see one. What follows is plenty of death scenes, people getting offed in some memorable ways and some genuinely startling scenes.
Overall, Venom truly is an average horror flick. I don't want to give people the wrong impression. This isn't the best horror film I've ever seen. It probably doesn't deserve a 4, but if you can dispel your disbelief, it is pretty decent. But this one is unapologetically R rated and filled with some gore, language and scares. It comes across as feeling like I Know What You Did Last Summer mixed with stylized voodoo with the villain looking like The Swamp Thing. It does provide some nice jumps, a few scares and, if you are afraid of snakes, some neat scary snake moments. I jumped, my friend screamed and best of all? No loud and noisy pre-teens (no offense to the non-noisy pre-teens, I do make a distinction) ruining the movie. And that, in and of itself, warrants a 4 star.
Indie Horror Movie with Mystery/Voodoo/Friendship Themes
posted on 17 Jan 2009Indie style in that it stars a group of spritely young actors with lots of energy, who are having fun, making plans (and getting killed-off:) I rated it a high within this context.
The mystery theme is amusingly similar to a Nancy Drew story. A group of young friends, with their whole lives ahead of them, discovering and learning about voodoo, out of necessity (avoiding getting killed-off:).
The spooky theme is very similar to the classic horror style. A Voodoo Zombie out for a hellish romp, controlled by escaped bad dead souls that had been milked/extracted/contained by a good Voodoo priestess.
This is a fun movie overall, just like a Nancy Drew story. But where Friends gather at Voodoo temples, get chased thru a bona-fide Louisiana Swamp, and often get to die. There's also a hero at the end - a romp in the swamp is good for building character - and feeding really big, big bugs:)
Mr. Jangles, the voodoo possessed tow truck driver is born in the bayou
posted on 01 Aug 2009Some films benefit from the fact that there are times when life imitates art (and visa versa). "Marooned" and "The China Syndrome" both benefited from what happened with Apollo 13 and Three-Mile Island, respectively (and we will not begin to discuss what happens when a movie is made of a real event that reminded everybody of a movie in the first place). But sometimes real events can hurt a movie, as when the assassination of President Kennedy became part of the reason the original version of "The Manchurian Candidate" was shelved for a couple of decades. I bring all of this up because in the wake of Hurricane Katrina a splatter flick set in the bayous of Louisiana may well be a case of bad timing. At least the television series "Invasion" got to acknowledge that it might be stepping on some toes with its hurricane references, but "Venom" just runs screaming into the face of reality.
Director Jim Gillespie ("I Know What You Did Last Summer") and producer Kevin Williamson fully intended to create a new movie serial killer in the mold of Michael, Jason and Freddie. The idea for "Mr. Jangles" came from a videogame named "Backwater" that was in development (the name has to do with collecting keys on a ring so that they, altogether now, jangle). Basically he is a tow-truck driver who is possessed by the spirits of a bunch of murderers, which explains both his reliance on a tire jack and his impulse to kill, kill, kill. Ray Sawyer (Rick Cramer), was just your average deadbeat-dad tow-truck operator, but then he ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, this gets a bit complicated because Ray gets bit by a snake, but not just any snake. This is a snake that carries the souls of 13 murderers, which happened to be in a box that happened to be in the back of car that happened to be driven by a voodoo priestess that happened to go off a bridge because Ray's tow truck was on the wrong side because the two main teenagers in the film, Eden (Agnes Bruckner) and Eric (Jonathan Jackson) were discussing their futures on the bridge.
Once voodoo enters the picture you can understand the Louisiana connection to the film. I guess we can assume, for the sake of argument or just watching the film, that "Venom" takes place before Katrina, but it is hard to ignore the irony that what the dead teenagers in this film go through is not as bad as what happened in New Orleans at the Superdome. The problem is that paying attention to the rules of voodoo that are explained in the film are not that helpful because the story abandons them to engage in standard slasher action. Being related to voodoo priestess is not as good as actually being one, but even the obvious but somewhat promising idea of a voodoo doll could be helpful under the circumstances. But the screenplay fails to take advantage of even that so that ultimate "Venom" does not have much going for it once you get past the location. A lot of contemporary horror films are flawed because the basic story elements are stupid in some significant one, but here my complaint is that this film is not as smart as it could be given the set up.
Flint Dille & John Zuur Platten (the "Constantine" video game) wrote the story and were helped on the screenplay by Brandon Boyce ("Apt Pupil," "Wicker Park"), and I have to say that one of them did come up with a scene I liked. Zombies are apparently like vampires in that there are certain things you can do to stop them from crossing your threshold. Well, Ray might be possessed, but Mr. Jangles must have picked up some of his basic tow truck driver knowledge because I like the way the killer makes the mountain come to him even if it was not enough to justify rounding up on this one. However, the only thing that separates the dead teenagers who do not get killed from the ones that do is that their names appear at the top of the credits, so there is nothing special happening on that end. When the one person who has been raised believing in voodoo is more freaked out than the ones who do not believe, that is not a good sign. Gillespie does a better job of taking advantage of the Louisiana swamp setting than the voodoo back story, but then the whole excuse for making this 2005 splatter flick is to kill people and Mr. Jangles does that even if he does not have the decided flair of his competition.