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Movies / On DVD / The Serpent and the Rainbow
The Serpent and the Rainbow

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The Serpent and the Rainbow (1987)

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59 %
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Reviews Counted:27

Fresh:16

Rotten:11

Average Rating:5.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

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... 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, government corruption and a poverty-stricken populace ready to revolt -- and he finds himself deeply seduced by voodoo, though his sense of logic cannot comprehend its mystical nature. But more earthly dangers lurk in the form of an evil magistrate and the local police, who do not hesitate to torture Alan when he defies their leader. In the end, Alan emerges from the experience radically changed, with the realization that Western notions of science cannot explain the many things he's witnessed in this world. [More]

Starring: Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield

Starring: Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield

Director: Wes Craven

Director: Wes Craven
Story: Wade Davis

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 30, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Serpent and the Rainbow

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Craven combines the terrifying dream sequences of A Nightmare on Elm Street with the subtle and evocative atmospherics of Val Lewton.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/25/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A scary, hallucinogenic and underrated horror movie, and one of Wes Craven's best.

comment Comment
11/04/03
Blake Davis
Blake Davis
KFOR Channel 4 News

[Craven[ seems wiser and more story-conscious -- but thankfully still full of the same surprises.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/19/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

An invisibly smart film, a lot brighter underneath than its surface gloss would suggest.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment 1 Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

A trippy, guilty pleasure.

comment Comment
08/30/04
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

Genuinely frightening.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
09/25/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Mildly effective "fact" based horror from Wes Craven.

comment Comment
10/19/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Possibly Craven's best -- an original voodoo thriller that's also primo Pullman

comment Comment
01/09/03
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

Surprisingly solid effort from Wes Craven.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The Serpent and the Rainbow is well worth renting, particularly if you're a fan of Voodoo films, or Wes Craven's work in general -- be sure and check it out.

Full Review Source: Mike Bracken's Horror Films | comment Comment
02/13/01
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken's Horror Films

Genuinely chilling, one of Wes Craven's best.

comment Comment
01/12/03
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

No review available.

comment Comment
11/19/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

The Serpent and the Rainbow is uncanny in the way it takes the most lurid images and makes them plausible.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/24/04
Spence D.
Spence D.
IGN Movies

Wes Craven chiller that thinks it's ten times the picture it actually is.

comment Comment
08/04/02
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

No review available.

comment Comment
08/08/02
Cory Cheney
Cory Cheney
Urban Tulsa Weekly

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

Director Wes Craven learned that the scariest things often have nothing to do with special effects wizardry.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/27/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
 
 
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