Plot: What’s it about?
Are you afraid of snakes? If so, then the Mojave Desert has always been a place of potential terror, but soon, it will become even more horrific. As two young boys camp out with their parents, they’re thrilled to be out in nature, but that changes when some local wildlife decides to get up close and personal with them. About a dozen snakes seek out the youngsters and once they’ve tracked them down, a ruthless attack is staged by the reptiles. After the merciless event, both boys are left dead and the local authorities want answers, but this is just the start of the madness. Soon enough, a woman is attacked inside of her own home and a plumber is bitten while he works on some pipes, leading officials to take some drastic actions. The police call in expert herpetologist Tom Parkinson (Sam Chew, Jr.) to investigate the attacks, as he specializes in rattlesnakes, or at least that’s what he likes to claim. As he and a female photographer take a close look at the deaths, they stumble onto a government conspiracy that involves the Mojave Desert, a top secret chemical known as CT3, and a bunch of venomous rattlers. It seems as though CT3, a powerful nerve toxin, was dumped out in the desert, but it didn’t just sit there, as it wound up infecting these snakes, making them even more lethal and aggressive. Can Parkinson figure out some way to eliminate the enhanced rattlers, or will they sink their teeth into him first?
As a fan of the “when animals attack” kind of movies, I was pleased to see Something Weird release Rattlers, a Harry Novak production. I have seen movies about wild snakes, bears, crocodiles, and even frogs, most of which were high camp and bad in the traditional sense, but lots of fun to watch, nonetheless. As Novak produced Rattlers, I expected a camp picture and one with some good moments, hopefully ones that involve violent deaths or naked women, maybe even both if luck was on my side. Its impossible to take Rattlers on a serious level, as people are constantly outsmarted by these snakes, who seem to move with stealth and be able to sneak up on anyone, even those inside of a small bathtub. But like I said, I didn’t expect nor want a seriously made movie from Rattlers, I wanted one that was fun and cheese laden, the kind of picture that makes Lake Placid seem like it belongs on PBS. On that scale, Rattlers works out well enough and while it isn’t as laced with blood & naked ladies as I would like, it has ample humor and should entertain genre fans. The acting is lame in most cases, the writing is thin, and the production values are low, but come on, a movie like Rattlers wouldn’t be as much fun if it was good, now would it? As usual, Something Weird offers up a solid disc, so Rattlers gets a solid recommendation.
Video: How does it look?
Rattlers is presented in a full frame transfer. As you would expect, the film’s age and low budget roots are evident, but the image here is still quite good. The print used has some rough spots, but most scenes look more than decent, though some are pretty tattered. The colors seem a tad dated, but not too much, while flesh tones are natural at all times. No real issues with the contrast, although time has lightened the black levels a shade, not to an extreme degree, however. I think this is a more than acceptable image, given the age, nature, and budget of the picture, so fans should be pleased.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio has held up well enough, though as you can imagine, this isn’t a release to showcase your home theater with. The materials seem to have remained clean for the most part, though a couple rough spots surface at times. But on the whole, this is a cleaner and sharper track than I had expected, so I won’t complain much. The music and sound effects come across well and don’t often distort, while dialogue is always easy to understand. As I said, a few problems could be heard here, but not enough to be that concerned about.
Supplements: What are the extras?
We’ll start off here with not one, not two, but six bonus snake themed short films, five sexy ones and one violent one. The shorts are Snake Charmer, Deena Newell: The Cobra Girl, Snake Dream, Esmerelda at the Cafe d’Artist, Snake Lover, and Snake vs. Snake. This disc also includes the theatrical trailer for Rattlers, a slew of bonus previews, and a selection of comic book artwork. As a special bonus, an entire bonus feature film is also included, with Boris Karloff starring in The Snake People. As with most of Something Weird’s bonus movies, you’ll be able to see a slight burn in, but as this is a just a supplement, I can overlook this and if nothing else, its cool to have a second flick on deck here.
