Though many know him for the obvious reasons (The Nightmare On Elm Street series, the Scream trilogy) Wes Craven's strongest films come from his "off" periods. When he's not working within certain confines (one can only do so much with Freddy Krueger, sadly) he can direct some wonderful little gems. Lawrence has already written of the pleasures of The People Under The Stairs (review here) and The Hills Have Eyes (review here), so today I am pleased to write about the often forgotten, yet thoroughly enjoyable voodoo flick The Serpent And The Rainbow.

The movie opens in Haiti, where plenty of wicked voodoo ceremonies are a-happening. The people flee in terror from a procession, featuring a flaming coffin and a gun-wielding gentleman made up like Baron Samedi (the voodoo Loa of death), and a man dies...or does he? As his coffin is lowered into the ground, we see tears roll down his cheek in response to his sister's cries. Seven years later, Dennis Alan (the always-wooden Bill Pullman) is in the Amazon basin, negotiating with a tribal shaman to obtain a medical concoction for research. The shaman gives him the medicine, but not without a price: Alan has to take an elixir, which sends him on a spiritual journey where he discovers his totem animal in the leopard (remember that, kids! There'll be a quiz later). Barely escaping with his life (in a sequence that isn't explained AT ALL) he returns to America, only to be sent on ANOTHER assignment. Poor bastard doesn't get any rest, does he? Anyhow, he is sent to Haiti to verify sightings of the man who was buried in the beginning of the film. There may be zombification at work, and a pharmaceutical company wants to know how it's done in order to revolutionize anesthesia. After all, when someone can be "killed" and then "resurrected," who needs to worry about Novocain? When Alan arrives in Haiti, he is introduced to Dr. Duchamp (Cathy Tyson), who briefs him on the situation. There have been a couple cases of zombification in the area, and they decide to investigate. There are two men in power, both magically and politically: The houngan Lucien (the nice guy) and the bocor Peytraud (the jerk). Peytraud, on top of being a rotten bastard, is also the chief of the secret police in the area, and his right-hand man just happens to be our buddy from the procession in the beginning! Dun-dun-DUN! Of course, there's conflict between Alan and Peytraud, and Alan is constantly getting the shit kicked out of him as a result (including getting a nail through his satchel...ewww). He doesn't learn, and keeps trying to keep Dr. Duchamp safe, and get his zombie info in the process.

If it's one thing Serpent And The Rainbow is, it's stylish. Filmed on location in Haiti, the movie is loaded with colorful scenery. There's tons of unforgettable religious imagery (due in no small part to the colorful nature of voodoo) as well as lots of great scenes in Haitian graveyards that stick in the brain. There's also tons of Craven-style shots (the nightmare sequences reminded me immensely of another movie with nightmares...hmmmm) as well as some bits that just kick general ass (the shot of a man inside the coffin being lowered into the ground). Performances are decent, especially Zakes Mokae, who plays Peytraud with subtly psychotic menace. Pullman is as wooden as ever (how does this guy keep his job?) delivering lines right from that invisible teleprompter hanging about six inches from his nose. I also question the "based on a true story" factor: people tearing their own head off and tossing them doesn't seem too true to life. Also, why does EVERY movie about voodoo have to treat it like it's a bass-ackwards religion for nogoodniks? Hollywood loves to pick on voodoo given its "minority" status among the faiths. To be fair, where's the horror movies based upon cannibal Baptists or chainsaw-wielding Jews? C'mon Hollywood, let's be equal opportunity here!

Finally re-released to DVD by Universal, The Serpent And The Rainbow looks great. Everything's nice and clear, and colors are rock-solid. Blacks were deep and true, and there was little print damage to speak of. Audio was similarly clear in Dolby Surround, with sharp dialogue and great bass in the awesome Afro-Cuban soundtrack. Extras include a trailer and "recommendations" for other Craven films put out by Universal. Lame.

Out for a mere pittance (10 bucks at most retailers) the disc is definitely one to consider. A little deeper than most horror movies, offering a little political intrigue with its scares, it’s definitely one of Craven's better movies, and a must for his fans. While a few more extras would've been nice (as is the case with most discs released for horror movies by big studios), the feature itself more than pays for itself.