Sssssss!

Now, before you think that my keyboard got stuck or that it's Bad Movie Guy Stroke time, let me explain, Sssssss! is the actual title of the movie this time!



This 1973 classic starring Dirk Benedict (better known as either Face Man or Starbuck) as a hapless lab assistant and Strother Martin (who did so much TV in the 60s and 70s that you'd absolutely know him, if you saw him!) as a half insane snake scientist. Here's the story: Strother is a herpetoligist (that's a snake doctor, ya'll!), now Strother has just lost an assistant but no one seems to know where he went to, but then, no one seems to care all that much either, remember it's 1973 so when a kid wandered off then they were just called a dirty hippie and we all moved on. So, when Dirk is chosen as Strother's next assistant he is given a series of injections that Strother calls immunizations. In fact, Strother is attempting to turn humans into snakes so that they can survive the oncoming ecological disaster. That's another thing that was big in the 70s, ecological disaster, I think it had to do with Studio 54 being so popular that the rest of the country was sure that the end of days were upon us!

Well, not to ruin the end of the movie, but Strother is bitten, Dirk is changed and cue the shocking horror music! This is your typical 70s schlock, some snakes, some killings, a crazy scientist, his normal and semi-attractive daughter, a handsome yet stupid assistant, we stir that all up and we've got us an honest to goodness horror movie.

This is nothing special, the acting by Strother Martin is excellent but everyone else just seems to be playing along. The snake man makeup is pretty good for the time and the ending is just weird! Let me just say that irony was big in the 70s and this ends in what is supposed to be an ironic twist! I'm giving Sssssss! two out of four cigars, but only because they kill Reb Brown about half way through and any movie with the good sense to jettison Reb as soon as possible, can't be all bad! So, until next time, when I'll be in witness protection from Reb Brown, who's still a very large guy, remember that the best movies are bad movies!