"The Serpent and the Rainbow" is true horror, a deeply sinister tale just dripping with flavour and atmosphere. It's based on the non-fiction book by Wade Davis, and tells the story of anthropologist Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) who travels to Haiti for the purpose of investigating what could be causing supposedly dead people to still be alive. He finds himself in a whole lot of trouble, what with his stubborn insistence on solving the mystery and poking his nose into places where other people don't want it. His chief antagonist is local policeman Dargent Peytraud (an effectively scary Zakes Mokae), a man who's not exactly subtle about his malevolent intentions. Fortunately, Dennis has some allies, in the form of crusading doctor Marielle DuChamp (gorgeous Cathy Tyson) and business owner Lucien Celine (Paul Winfield). There are some absolutely great horror moments in this very competently made chiller, and some very vivid characters. Dennis, unfortunately, is an intelligent but not terribly likable protagonist, and Pullman can't do much to make us want to root for him; it's the other actors & characters that really make this sing. Tyson is appealing and Winfield solid as always; Brent Jennings as Mozart, Conrad Roberts as Christophe, Michael Gough as Schoonbacher, Badja Djola as Gaston, Theresa Merritt as Simone, and Paul Guilfoyle as Andrew Cassedy are all fine, especially the engaging Jennings and the haunted Roberts who is able to mine his part for much pathos. Adding to the feel of the piece is its political subtext as the movie takes place during the reign of the notorious "Baby Doc" Duvalier. Makeup and visual effects are nicely done, and the movie has some good zombie action and highly surreal moments. It sizes up as one of the more interesting and entertaining films of Craven's career, projecting a strong sense of doom & gloom; it could have used some more humour, and the finale gets a bit silly, but overall, it's definitely worth a look. Seven out of 10.
Review of The Serpent and the Rainbow
