I have many faults. Perhaps my biggest fault when it comes to film is my penchant for childhood/pre-teen nostalgia. Something about films like
House of Wax (2005) or
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) speaks to me more than their predecessors. That’s not to say I refuse to consume film from pre-1994; I would just rather watch something that makes me feel like things were all right in life. There’s a simplicity to films like that that makes me feel safe. One of the greatest feelings, when it comes to film, is finding something you typically wouldn’t have watched that’s a really, really good film. That film today is
Venom (1981).
A Hostage Plot With Deadly Consequences
Philip Hopkins (Lance Holcomb) is a strange kid who seems to prefer critters, both tiny and slimy, over kids his own age. And his debilitating asthma doesn’t help much. His mother, Ruth (Cornelia Sharpe), has to leave town for a few days. She leaves Philip in the care of their housemaid, Louise (Susan George), and his grandfather, Howard (Sterling Hayden). But things go off the rails when the family driver, Dave (Oliver Reed), reveals he and Louise have some deadly tricks up their sleeves. Unfortunately for them, a mix-up at a local animal store leads to an even deadlier trick up Philip’s sleeve.
Based on Alan Scholefield’s novel of the same name,
Venom is an incredibly taut piece of horror that slithers into your core. For the most part, the film takes place within the Hopkins home, and that is where it succeeds most. What should have stayed as a tense chamber piece occasionally devolves into a weird cat-and-mouse game that pits the infamous
Klaus Kinski against a brash
Nicol Williamson. While the film mainly keeps the audience holed up with the family and hostage-takers, it does itself a disservice by distancing itself from the intense claustrophobia of what’s inside.
Venom Provides A Unique Take on Snake Horror Inside the Home
Snake horror has typically kept audiences in a jungle or woodland setting, so finding ourselves trapped inside with a Black Mamba is different and unique. But the constant cutting back and forth between the antagonists and the hapless police commander cuts much of the edge out of the film, which is a shame. Venom is penned by Robert Carrington, whose Wait Until Dark opened my eyes to how different types of horror can be effective. Carrington weaponized blindness and trust in a way that frightened me to my core. Knowing that he was the scriptwriter made me feel like I was in for a chamber piece of slimy terror. While Venom still managed to chill me, I’m left wondering what could have been had the film stuck to a singular location.
I was also left wondering what could have been if the film’s original director, Tobe Hooper, had never left the project due to creative differences. Though some state that producers were not happy with Hooper’s direction. Ousting Hooper was the best choice anyone involved in this film made. While there’s no doubt that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a bona fide classic, Hooper’s style just feels completely off from the tone of what this film is.
Standout Performances Drive the Tension in Venom
The true magic of Venom comes not from the snake, but from two of the co-leads. Klaus Kinski and Oliver Reed grab this film’s pacing by the throat and keep it in a chokehold. Kinski plays Jacmel as a snake. He slithers his way around in a calculating way, ready to attack with his venomous “bite” at the drop of a hat. In comparison, Reed plays Dave, almost, as a Kuklinski-like villain. Reed takes no prisoners and wants to leave no one alive. The way these two clash, even though they’re after the same thing, provides one of the most fascinating performances in horror history. (Yes, I know Klaus Kinski is a genuinely bad person.)
From the fascinating snake POV to the film’s incredible performances, Venom left me holding my breath for nearly its entire runtime. While I had some issues with the film’s setting (specifically, how it didn’t remain a chamber piece), the overall effect left me unsettled and generally nervous. If you haven’t seen Venom, you need to change that immediately. With this being the only film that I’ve seen Klaus Kinski in, I can unarguably say that it’s his best performance.
Venom is currently streaming on
Shudder.
