The Serpent and the Rainbow (1987)
59 %
Reviews Counted: 27 Fresh: 16 Rotten:11 Average Rating: 5.6/10
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Synopsis: Dennis Alan heads to Haiti in hopes of obtaining a mysterious potion that represses the nervous and respiratory systems without causing death; this draught would also scientifically explain the myth of the zombie. Once on Caribbean soil, however, Alan encounters powerful cults,... [More]
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Starring: Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield
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Reviews
Despite the strongly emphasized exoticness its Haitian scenery, The Serpent and the Rainbow may be Wes Craven's most pedestrian film.
Comment
10/26/07
Top Critic
Craven combines the terrifying dream sequences of A Nightmare on Elm Street with the subtle and evocative atmospherics of Val Lewton.
09/25/07
Top Critic
Unfortunately, the political parallel between the ideological repression of Baby Doc's regime and the stultifying effects of the zombifying fluid is only sketchily developed, leaving us with a series of striking but isolated set pieces.
02/09/06
The Serpent and the Rainbow has a screenplay that often breaks its spell.
08/30/04
Top Critic
Director Wes Craven learned that the scariest things often have nothing to do with special effects wizardry.
08/27/04
An invisibly smart film, a lot brighter underneath than its surface gloss would suggest.
11/07/02
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