Venom

Title: Venom (2005)
Rating: 3/5
Genre: Horror
Starring: Agnes Bruckner, Meagan Good, Rick Cramer, Method Man
Director: Jim Gillespie
Duration: 86 mins

In an attempt to save a voodoo priestess after a car accident, good guy auto mechanic Ray is bitten by the contents of her mysterious chest: snakes containing the “evil of countless souls.” Possessed by this voodoo curse, he sets out to reap the souls of a group of teens who are connected with the priestess’ granddaughter. It’s up to strong-willed Eden to find away to stop Ray, by magic or by force, until her peers are picked off one by one.

Despite its interesting and imaginative premise, Venom’s proceedings make for a quite average and conventional slasher movie. Following in the steps of films such as Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Urban Legends, this is a picture that obviously aims at a hip, young audience. Some parts are almost funny in how the film tries so hard to be cool, like the addition of rapper Method Man to the cast who serves no other purpose whatsoever as he is disposed of fairly early on. Another lesser known fact is that this film was based off of an idea for a survival-style video game that was supposed to have been made concurrently, which would have upped the appeal to younger audiences had it been made/released. Venom completely bombed at the box office, failing to gross a million dollars nationwide, and you’d be hard pressed to find someone that actually remembers it even though it’s only 5 years old. I think it’s safe to say that this teen-friendly approach was not the best idea in the world.

Regardless of its lack of success, competent marketing, and innovation, Venom doesn’t fail too hard on the entertainment level. Sure it starts off as just another teen movie, but it slowly develops into a relatively legitimate supernatural slasher horror picture that provides scares, violence, and creepy production design. The amount of gore present is a bit mild for most tastes, but it too moderately escalates as the film rolls. However, I would’ve liked to see the work of the effects department more prominently instead of the film shying away from a third of the kill scenes with quick editing and jump cuts. Also I think we could all have done without the slithering CGI reptiles. Thinking logically, wouldn’t REAL snakes and a few cleverly put together puppets have saved this production a buttload of moolah? Just saying. It is refreshing, though, that the make-up department did their job by not simply hiding the villain’s face with a ridiculous mask. Aside from the film’s technology choices, the cast is made up of a collection of bright young stars that, believe it or not, have had stable careers in the industry since this movie. I must admit I didn’t hate anyone’s performance (some were actually quite decent), but nothing really stuck out.

Being filmed in the swampy backwaters of Louisiana, Venom emits the area’s cultural vibrancy that gives it a unique “flavor” that most of the films of its kind are sorely in need of. I’ve been to the swamps and bayous of the deep south and there’s just something about the noise of the local insects, the mossy cypress trees, and the algae-covered waters that are so very ominous and other-worldly. No doubt that all this works in the film’s favor, but the biggest plus I can give to Venom is the distinct difference in photography, action, and direction of the last five minutes. What begins as mindless high schooler thriller shenanigans completely erodes away, leaving a bare-boned horror film with stark contrast, gritty atmosphere, and a limb-tearing finale. Why this wasn’t the look and feel of the previous 80 minutes, I have no idea, but I’m happy to say that the filmmakers at least know how to make a satisfying ending.

Venom was perhaps the proverbial nail in the coffin for theatrically released, teen-oriented slasher films, with subsequent offerings being almost exclusively direct-to-video. Although ignored and forgotten by the majority of movie-goers, I am proud that I was one of the few to see this on the silver screen. Of course I may have been a teenager myself then, but that’s besides the point. While not perfect and certainly not graphic and gripping enough by today’s standards, Venom does what it does and inconceivably takes a little piece of my heart with it.