What could have been promising in a silly, entertaining manner ends up being rather mediocre rushed and seriously confined. "Spasms" is a daft, cheaply made creature feature shocker from the early 80's with two recognizable stars attached; Oliver Reed and Peter Fonda collecting their pay cheques, but delivering two extremes in their acting. Reed hauntingly hams it up "I really believe I'm bounded to it", while Fonda keeps it cool and collected. Outside of those two, there were some other familiar names involved. Director / co-writer William Fruet is no beginner to the genre with making films like "Death Weekend" and "Funeral Home" before this one. Cinematographer Mark Irwin shows up. Then you have the Tangerine Dream adding to the score. Although these curious inclusions don't add too much and it shows in the final product.
A gigantic, deadly serpent is transported from a Pacific island back to the States and is kept boxed up at a university where Dr. Brazilian is hired by wealthy businessman Jason Kincaid to experiment on the telepathy link Kincaid shares with the serpent. However before doing so, it comes loose and goes about terrorising the community.
The systematic plot actually starts of rather well setting up the mood, but it really does lose its way when it goes on the rampage becoming simple-minded, outrageous and ending on a very lousy, incoherent climax. Neither is it that fun when the rampage transpires or in its tackiness. Even the muddled script has a few story threads, which are incompatible and abrupt like the sub-plot involving a religious snake worshiping fanatic. Director Fruet's handling is cramp and rudimentary in its execution with lopsided pacing by lingering on many talky exchanges.
Supposedly the production run-out of money towards the back-end and its shows by padding it out with recycled snake-vision shots that happened early on in the film. The attack sequences are too little and the ones that occur are vicious and jolting in an exploitative manner, but rather tensionless with the snake mainly staying off-screen and the victim being thrown around. We only get glimpses of the serpent, until it comes to the final reel when the rubber beast is fully shown. It doesn't look that great and you could see why the lighting was mostly dim. On the other hand blue-filtered serpent vision got a real work out and was well-done. The most memorable thing about this production would have to be the aftermath of the serpent's attacks, as the ghastly make-up FX was vivid in its depiction of the skin bubbling and blistering. Outside the two stars there were decent support from Kerrie Keane and Al Waxman.
"Spasms" has a poor reputation and rightfully so, but I was slightly entertained.
A gigantic, deadly serpent is transported from a Pacific island back to the States and is kept boxed up at a university where Dr. Brazilian is hired by wealthy businessman Jason Kincaid to experiment on the telepathy link Kincaid shares with the serpent. However before doing so, it comes loose and goes about terrorising the community.
The systematic plot actually starts of rather well setting up the mood, but it really does lose its way when it goes on the rampage becoming simple-minded, outrageous and ending on a very lousy, incoherent climax. Neither is it that fun when the rampage transpires or in its tackiness. Even the muddled script has a few story threads, which are incompatible and abrupt like the sub-plot involving a religious snake worshiping fanatic. Director Fruet's handling is cramp and rudimentary in its execution with lopsided pacing by lingering on many talky exchanges.
Supposedly the production run-out of money towards the back-end and its shows by padding it out with recycled snake-vision shots that happened early on in the film. The attack sequences are too little and the ones that occur are vicious and jolting in an exploitative manner, but rather tensionless with the snake mainly staying off-screen and the victim being thrown around. We only get glimpses of the serpent, until it comes to the final reel when the rubber beast is fully shown. It doesn't look that great and you could see why the lighting was mostly dim. On the other hand blue-filtered serpent vision got a real work out and was well-done. The most memorable thing about this production would have to be the aftermath of the serpent's attacks, as the ghastly make-up FX was vivid in its depiction of the skin bubbling and blistering. Outside the two stars there were decent support from Kerrie Keane and Al Waxman.
"Spasms" has a poor reputation and rightfully so, but I was slightly entertained.