Movies
The Best Worst Snake Movies, And Where to Find Them
Natural horror has always been an underserved genre. Not that there isn’t a glut of natural horror movies to watch; giant animal or otherwise, there are plenty. But really, there’s only so many good ones. And of the natural horror films I’ve tried to sort through in my time, none have been as hard to find as watchable snake movies.
The fact that the most famous of these films are from the incredibly dead franchise Anaconda seems proof enough that something worthwhile involving our scaly friends doesn’t often slither onto screens. Between the weird amount of racism toward indigenous people that’s often present, the straight up atrocious animal cruelty of some of them, and the blood curdlingly bad pacing and writing of the majority of these movies, it’s slim pickings out here.
So, this list is here to point you toward those few films that are worth it. It’s mostly bad B-movies, but they’re bad B-movies with purpose. Some of them are even technically proficient, and the one waiting at the end of this article is genuinely a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience that has become one of my favorite bad movies of all time. Strap in for mutant snakes, radioactive body horror, and knock-offs with exceptionally bad acting.
The Best Snake Movies to Watch (And Where to Find Them)
Rattlers (1976)
What is it about? The world’s least badass herpetologist detective struggles with relationship problems while trying to figure out why snakes are suddenly killing people.
Where can I watch it? Tubi.
On paper, Rattlers is a solid natural horror film about an animal expert trying to figure out why these snakes are going berserk and killing people. But in execution, it is comedically off base with setting the tone for the thrilling mystery at hand.
Most of that falls on its performances, which are so cheesy that I was second guessing whether the actors were unpaid extras. If you watch it for anything, watch it to see the flattest and least panicked acting from people who are supposed to be covered in terrifying snakes. A perfect snake movie to start this list.
King Cobra (1999)
What is it about? Small town cops (and Pat Morita from The Karate Kid) try to capture a dangerous giant rattlesnake that escaped from a lab explosion two years prior.
Where can I watch it? Plex, Tubi, and CW TV. I didn’t even know CW had a streaming service.
Do you see this Rattlers? This is how you do a badass herpetologist character! I’m as surprised as you are, I didn’t think two of those would be on this list either.
This one is pretty simple and never does anything particularly innovative, but who said you had to reinvent the wheel to be a good creature feature? It dawdles toward the end of the film but picks up the pace for its climax. It’s charming for what it is: a silly if not heartfelt piece of filmmaking that everyone gave their all on. The effects for the man-sized snake puppet aren’t half bad either.
Snakes On A Train
What is it about? There are snakes on a train.
Where can I watch it? Once again, all roads (train lines?) lead to Tubi.
This might be the only Asylum rip off worth the digital camera it was shot on, just because its plot involving an ancient Mayan curse and a snake that grows to the size of a train is awfully unique. As in, it’s awful, but I have to admit it’s unique because I’ve never heard of it before.
Despite the grating performances, Snakes on a Train is the cinematic equivalent of a court jester: it has the privilege of being stupid because it’s trying to entertain us, and for that it lives another day. Props where they’re due, this is a gooey hot mess of a knock off involving lots of green slime vomit, and has one of the worst shootouts ever put to film. I don’t know about you, but the latter is all I needed to be on board.
Anaconda (2024)
What is it about? A Chinese circus troupe en route to Thailand ends up stuck with a shipwrecked poacher, and are forced to confront a legendary anaconda.
Where can I watch it? Tubi and Plex.
No, that is not a typo. There really was a 2024 remake of Anaconda before Paul Rudd and Jack Black’s forthcoming 2025 remake. Chinese directors Xiang Hesheng and Xiang Qiuliang tried their hand at reimagining the 1997 creature feature, and I’ll be quite honest, I never cared for Anaconda until I saw this.
It’s far from flawless, and its effects are composited in a way that is only marginally better than your average straight-to-Tubi fare. But it’s certainly more creative than what it’s riffing off of, and you get more snake per pound than the Jennifer Lopez vehicle that came before it. Plus, it comes with one particularly memorable sequence of body horror, thanks to things other than snakes lurking in the river water.
Jennifer (1978)
What is it about? A woman who is way too old to be going to boarding school goes to boarding school, then gets revenge on her bullies using her power over snakes.
Where can I watch it? There is currently a shockingly high-quality rip of this on Internet Archive, but it also pops up on YouTube from time to time.
This is by far the best Carrie rip-off you’re ever going to see, there’s just no contest. Instead of telekinesis and setting things on fire, our titular character, Jennifer, can control and summon snakes. Are the snakes real? Yeah! Some of them are, I think! The film is not quite clear on that! What is clear is that this cash grab exploiting Brian De Palma’s 1976 classic is surprisingly good.
Despite the massive miscasting of adults as teenagers, which admittedly DePalma was also guilty of, there are some decent performances here. It’s a bit grim with how it depicts the bullying and abuse that happens to its characters, but you genuinely start to feel something for the two leads. Also, the final 20 minutes of hazing rituals and snake chaos really do make it all worth it.
Curse II: The Bite
What is it about? A man gets bitten by a radioactive mutant snake that hitches a ride while he travels with his girlfriend. Snake themed body horror ensues.
Where can I watch it? Unfortunately, this one seems to be available only as YouTube rips, but it’s out there.
In the oeuvre of Screaming Mad George’s special effects features, Curse II: The Bite had the misfortune of being his least notable work as a special effects artist. Not because it’s bad, in fact these are the best effects you’ll see out of any of the films on this list. Curse II was just unlucky enough to sit smack dab between his work on Nightmare on Elm Street’s two best sequels, 3 and 4, and his work on Brian Yuzna’s best movie, Society.
Still, this one is very fun, and even reminiscent of The Fly 2 at points, a film I’ve previously covered on Horror Press for how underrated it is. The metamorphosis our main character is Grody with a capital G, and that final change he goes through is gagworthy thanks to George’s slimy makeup. One of those actually good movies saddled with carrying the name of a completely unrelated sequel.
Spasms (1983)
What is it about? A man forms a psychic bond with the snake that killed his brother and is determined to find it and kill it. It may or may not be a demon snake being worshipped by Satanists.
Where can I watch it? Same as Curse II, YouTube is the place to go.
More psychically linked snake shenanigans in this one! The director of Spasms, William Fruet, spent most of his career as a guest director on television and made only a handful of horror films. Which is unfortunate, because this genuinely has some fantastic lighting and clever POV camera work that matches the tone the story is going for.
That tone, by the way, is if Stephen King wrote a crossover between Scanners and the fourth Jaws film, where the shark follows them to the Bahamas. A giant devil python that behaves more like a polar bear savaging its victims, and a befuddling performance by a telepathic Oliver Reed do make this very worth the watch.
Fangs (1974)
What is it about? Are you sure you want to know?
I would really prefer you go in blind and watch it on Shudder, but if you insist.
Okay, you ready? A snake loving pervert gets broken up with by his snake loving pervert girlfriend after feuding with the weirdos in his town, then decides to make it everyone else’s problem by torturing them with snakes.
Where can I watch it? Shudder. Log on to Shudder POST-HASTE.
There really is no exploitation movie like Fangs, and no viewing experience like the one it offers if you go in blind. I was genuinely shocked by the trailer when I was researching this movie; it not only reveals the entire plot of the film, but also includes some editing that might induce a brain-bleed if you showed it to someone who had never seen a movie. Then I actually watched it, and it still somehow kept surprising me.
Also distributed under the name Holy Wednesday, this is some high-tier sleaze courtesy of director Art Names. I truly do believe it would make the late great Roger Corman blush. If you want to get some instant value out of your Shudder subscription, you can’t lose with the pure dose of weirdness that is Fangs.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
Tragedy Girls (2017)
A dark, comedic, high school romp about best friends gaining internet clout through murder. It may feel dated due to its use of Twitter rather than X, but it adds charm and reminds us of a simpler internet age. Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp deliver devilishly fun performances, and their slasher personas are heavily under-appreciated in the horror community. There are lots of familiar faces here, including Josh Hutcherson, Jack Quaid, Craig Robinson, and not to mention the director, Tyler MacIntyre, who went on to be one of the writers for Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023).
Seance (2021)
This Is Not a Test (2025)
School’s Out (2018)
Graduation Day (1981)
One of my absolute favorite things to do when I’m on vacation is to visit horror filming locations. Wherever you happen to be going, odds are that at least one horror project was filmed there at some point. There’s something magical about seeing the places that helped bring iconic scary stories to life on the big and small screens.
However, some locations are better than others. A lot of them (like the original A Nightmare on Elm Street house, Stu’s house from Scream, and the schoolhouse from The Birds) are private property and aren’t always owned by people who are particularly happy to have horror fans milling around out front. Others (like the schools from Buffy, Elm Street, and many other teen horror titles) are active educational institutions that don’t welcome strange visitors.
But I’m here to deliver a guide to some of the coolest horror filming locations in North America that give you that magical vibe without somebody calling 9-1-1 on you. Because the best things in life are free, so are all the locations on this list.
The Bridge from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Location: Linnie Canal Ct. Los Angeles, CA 9029, USA
The bridge where Glen (Johnny Depp) and Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) discuss the Balinese method of dreaming is nowhere near the movie’s fictional town of Springwood, Ohio. It’s actually one of the bridges over the human-made canals in Venice, California. Specifically, it’s the bridge over the Eastern canal that connects to Linnie Ct. It’s totally free to visit, and once you’re done taking photos and quoting “I’m into survival” to your heart’s content, you’re still in Venice. Not a bad place to be!
The Movie Theater from Scream 2 (1997)
Location: Rialto Theatre, 1019-1023 Fair Oaks Ave. South Pasadena, CA, 91030 USA
Although the majority of the campus scenes in the college-set slasher sequel Scream 2 were filmed at Agnes Scott College in Georgia, a lot of the school’s surrounding environs were filmed closer to Hollywood, in sunny Pasadena. While the movie theater where poor Phil (Omar Epps) and Maureen (Jada Pinkett Smith) are killed in the movie’s prologue is no longer an operating cinema and you can’t go inside (the building has been taken over by a church), the exterior has been well preserved and looks more or less exactly the way it did in the late 1990s.
This horror filming location is also just an 11 minute drive from the street where the film’s famous car crash sequence was shot, which is part of Green Street between South Los Robles Avenue and Madison Avenue in Pasadena.
The Myers House from Halloween (1978)
Location: 1000 Mission St, South Pasadena, CA 91030, USA
Although the building has been moved from its original location, it was rebuilt to look exactly the way it does when young Michael Myers is stalking his way around it in the iconic opening sequence of Halloween. There is a business operating out of the building, so don’t bother them or try to get inside (the interiors aren’t the same, anyway). But at this point, they’re very used to people doing photo ops out front. If you find yourself in Pasadena on October 31, it’s a can’t-miss destination, as a nonstop torrent of cosplayers swarm the area.
Other free Halloween locations in South Pasadena include the exterior of the hardware store where Michael gets his mask (right around the corner at 966 Mission St – it’s now the Radhika Modern Indian restaurant) and the famous hedge he hides behind when stalking Laurie Strode (just one mile away, at 1019 Montrose Ave S).
Brennan’s Tip: If you do have money to burn, check out the SugarMynt Gallery next door, which is chock full of horror-themed artwork. Also grab a snack at the Heirloom Bakery across the street! They’ve got all kinds of great treats (I even had them do the desserts for my wedding), and you can enjoy them on the outdoor patio with the Myers house looming over you.
The Town Square from Scream (1996)
Location: Healdsburg Town Square, Healdsburg, CA 95448, USA
Scream was filmed in and around Sonoma County, but the core town playing Woodsboro was the real-life wine country borough of Healdsburg. The town square, complete with fountain, is still there, and surrounded by cute shops and restaurants. You can also find the police station exterior where Sidney punches out Gale at Oakville Grocery (124 Matheson Street) nearby, but it has changed enough to be barely recognizable at this point.
Derry from It (2017), It: Chapter Two (2019), and It: Welcome to Derry (2025-)
Location: Port Hope, Ontario L1A 2Y7, Canada
The majority of the important locations in It and Welcome to Derry’s fictional town of Derry, Maine are all located along the main road of Port Hope, including the movie theater (Capitol Theatre on 20 Queen St), the library (Port Hope Town Hall, 56 Queen St), the park with the bandshell, and the alleyway outside the butcher shop, which still has the door painted with the faux sign from the movie.
Brennan’s Tip: Check out the river that runs parallel to the main street. When I went, there were hundreds of fish making their way upstream for spawning. Multiple species do this in Port Hope, in various seasons, so you never know if you’ll get lucky.
The University from Black Christmas (1974)
Location: Soldiers’ Tower at the University of Toronto, Hart House Cir, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H7, Canada
The college from the 1974 proto-slasher Black Christmas is played by the real-life University of Toronto, with the most notable area being the plaza outside Soldiers’ Tower, where Clare’s dad is seen waiting for his ill-fated daughter.
Brennan’s Tip: If you’re a huge Killer Party (1986) fan like I am, the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada building (25 Spadina Rd), which plays the haunted frat house, is just a short walk away.
Abe’s Snake Bodega from Scream VI (2023)
Location: Dépanneur St.Ambroise, 5701 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, QC H4A 1W9, Canada
Our next horror filming location is of a more recent vintage, but it’s an instant classic: the “New York City” bodega in which Ghostface hunts down Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) in Scream VI. Both the exterior and the interior of the shop were used for filming, though they changed a great deal of the inside to make it look more New York-y. You don’t have to pay to visit, but if you want to do a photo op posing like Ghostface at the end of the row of refrigerator cases, you might as well buy a soda on your way out as a thank you.
Other worthwhile free Scream VI filming locations in the area are the campus of Blackmore University (McGill University at 845 Sherbrooke St W), and “Central Park” (Parc La Fontaine, 3819 Av. Calixa-Lavallée).
Crawford Academy from Happy Birthday to Me (1981)
Location: Concordia University – Loyola Campus, 7141 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada
The fictional high school from this classic Canadian slasher was played by the real-life Concordia University (except for the opening kill scene, which was shot around Douglass Hall at McGill University). It’s a relatively small campus, so you can’t miss the grand brick buildings, which look exactly the same now as they did 45 years ago, though the quad has been relandscaped.
The Steps from The Exorcist (1973)
Location: Corner of Prospect St and 36th St NW, Georgetown, Washington, D.C., 20007, USA
William Friedkin’s landmark classic The Exorcist is home to one of our most iconic horror filming locations yet. The steps that claim the lives of both Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran) and Father Karras (Jason Miller) are still there more than 50 years later, and you’ll almost certainly find people exercising on them, as if they aren’t worried that Pazuzu is gonna fling another victim toward them when they least expect it.
While the house from The Exorcist is indeed at the top of the steps (at 3600 Prospect Street), it is more set back than the movie implies (the exterior of Reagan’s window was a facade). But it’s still there, as is the Georgetown campus, where other scenes from the movie were filmed.
The Crystal Shop from Obsession (2026)
Location: The Green Man, 824 N Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505, USA
Our tour of some of the greatest free horror filming locations of North America comes full circle now, bringing us back to Southern California with the most recent movie on the list. Curry Barker’s Obsession was entirely shot in and around Burbank, and the metaphysical supply store The Green Man looks almost exactly like the fictional store from the movie, both inside and out. Just don’t go in hoping to find a display of One Wish Willows.
