The Killer Snakes: Special Edition (1974) | DVD Review

Known primarily for its legendary series of kung fu and ninja movies like The One-Armed Swordsman, Shaolin Rescuers, and The Deadly Knives, Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers Studio made an ill-advised attempt at exploitation cinema in the mid-seventies with The Killer Snakes, a film about – you guessed it – snakes that kill.

Exploitation films were made on shoestring budgets and lured viewers with the promise of nudity and graphic sex, gratuitous violence and gore, monsters and mayhem, or any combination of the above. The Killer Snakes delivers on all counts with the story of Chen Chih-hung (Kam Kwok-leung, Purple Storm), a young man who is taunted and tormented by everyone he comes into contact with. He’s been an outcast his entire life, ever since his mother would have sado-masochistic sexual ecounters with her lovers while young Chih-hung was in the other room doing homework. Naturally, he grows up to become a pervert who fantasizes about rope-bound women and lives in a run-down shack next to a snake shop. Not a shop where you buy pet snakes, mind you; this is more of a “snake café” where patrons go to consume the reptiles’ gall bladders, which are freshly-squeezed in front of their (and our) eyes. Already an angry young man, Chih-hung goes over the edge when he is robbed by a prostitute and her posse and then is stood up by Xiujuan (Maggie Lee, The Prodigal Boxer) for their first date. Having recently realized he can communicate with the poor snakes next door and even get them to do his bidding, he sends an army of them on a killing spree. In a bizarre and absurd sequence, he even has them rape the prostitute who robbed him. The cover of the DVD boasts a warning that the film contains disturbing scenes and is not suitable for most people. As messed up and offensive as The Killer Snakes is, though, the most disturbing aspect of it is that many snakes were harmed and killed in the making of it.

It’s easy to see where prolific screenwriter Ni Kuang (over 150 writing credits, most for the Shaw Brothers Studio) and director Kuei Chih-hung (30-plus credits, also mostly for the Shaw Brothers) were going with this one: the Hong Kong of the film is a seedy and decrepit city where people live in filth and are extremely lascivious and greedy. The lighting and tone of the film are adequately dark so as to convey this feeling that, ultimately, people who live by the sword (snake) should and will die by the sword (snake). This high-concept idea is lost among the otherwise horrible production values and even worse acting. Considering that it’s quite obvious that snakes were being kicked and thrown into the frame of many scenes, it’s saying something that the best acting in the film is performed by the snakes.

There really isn’t much to write about here. The film is presented in a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, with a somewhat muddy Dolby 2.0 Stereo mix, and an absolutely hilarious English dub.
As far as DVD extras go, the only one related to the movie is a short photo gallery consisting mainly of screen captures from the film.
The best part of the disc, however, is the inclusion of close to thirty previews of other Shaw Brothers and Asian films. Each and every one of them is highly entertaining and extremely comedic (intentionally or not). A favorite was the preview for Exorcist Master, a kung fu evil possession film. If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this, feel free to drop us a line.

Due to the fact that there isn’t one likable or sympathetic character (except maybe Xiujuan), The Killer Snakes amounts to little more than a snake snuff film. Whether or not you like the slimy reptiles, you’ll still feel weird watching them get sliced and diced during their murderous rampage. Exploitation films have their place in the pantheon of cinema, but nobody would be the worse for wear if this one was left out. It’s not even worthy viewing for the most avid Shaw Brothers fans. The only reason this disc gets a 2-star rating is the inclusion of almost an hour of highly entertaining previews. Otherwise, avoid it like a pit full of writhing snakes.

Movie rating – 0.5

Disc Rating – 2