Verdict
Summary
A solid little thriller set mostly in one location, Venom works due to the casting (Oliver Reed and Klaus Kinski in the same movie?! Say what?!) and enough jump scares to keep things moving along. Blue Underground has just reissued one of their catalogue titles in a 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray combo pack, and it comes in a new super sharp and vivid transfer, and includes not just the archival bonus features, but a bunch of new features as well.
Plot:
A kidnapping goes horribly wrong when the kidnappers must also deal with a deadly venomous snake that derails their entire scheme.
Review:
An upscale family living in a townhome in London has a pre-teen boy who’s obsessed with all sorts of animals, which he dotes on in a room – a menagerie, really – in the home. His special order of a harmless pet snake comes in, but there was a mix-up in the exchange: he ends up with a deadly Black Mamba snake, the most deadly venomous snake in the world! But that’s just the start of this poor kid’s problems. His chauffer (played by Oliver Reed) has schemed with the maid (played by Susan George) and an outsider – an escaped convict and terrorist with a bunch of aliases (played by Klaus Kinski) – who will spearhead an elaborate kidnapping of the boy for a huge ransom. Just as the three villains are about to kidnap him in the townhome when only the boy’s grandfather (Sterling Hayden) is there to protect him, the boy’s Black Mamba snake gets loose and poses a huge menace to them all. When a hard-nosed hostage crisis negotiator (played by Nicol Williamson) shows up with a snake specialist with an anti-serum, the villains scramble to try to get their ransom while also doing their best to keep the boy – and themselves – alive.
A solid little thriller set mostly in one location, Venom works due to the casting (Oliver Reed and Klaus Kinski in the same movie?! Say what?!) and enough jump scares to keep things moving along. It certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and it follows a very formulaic structure (it’s based on a novel), but with slick directing by credited filmmaker Piers Haggard (Tobe Hooper left the production after 10 days of shooting) and a really solid score by Michael Kamen, the film works its charm.
Blue Underground has just reissued one of their catalogue titles in a 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray combo pack, and it comes in a new super sharp and vivid transfer, and includes not just the archival bonus features, but a bunch of new features as well.
Bonus Materials
- Ultra HD Blu-ray (2160p) and HD Blu-ray (1080p) Widescreen 1.85:1 feature presentations
- Audio: Dolby Atmos; 5.1 DTS-HD; 2.0 DTS-HD (English)
- Subtitles: English SDH, Francais, Espanol
- Audio Commentary #1 with Director Piers Haggard
- NEW! Audio Commentary #2 with Film Historians Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Eugenio Ercolani
- NEW! Fangs For The Memories – Interview with Editor/Second Unit Director Michael Bradsell
- NEW! A Slithery Story – Interview with Makeup Artist Nick Dudman
- NEW! Mamba Memories – Interview with Author & Critic Kim Newman
- NEW! Pick Your Poison – Interview with The Dark Side’s Allan Bryce
- Trailers
- TV Spots
- NEWLY EXPANDED! Poster & Still Gallery
- BONUS! Collectible Booklet with essay by Michael Gingold
