The Snake Woman

The Snake Woman-720P

The Snake Woman-720P

Moviecut—The Snake Woman

An old-fashioned English horror/mystery. Great atmosphere, fairly good performances all around, and an interesting premise. The Snake Woman was somewhat disappointing though; it's too talky, slow-paced, and has lapses in logic. Elsie Wagstaff's witchy character Aggie really steals the show. She's sort of a collective expression of the villager's fears. It was smart to set the film in the late Victorian/Edwardian eras, as our suspension of disbelief works better in an age when science was still regarded as a sort of modern magic. Most of the characters are interestingly flawed. Susan Travers, as the Snake Woman Atheris, is an innocent albeit evil presence. She's sympathetic, whereas the creepy Aggie, technically a 'good' side, couldn't be more abhorrent. Dr. Adderson is certainly evil for creating the snake child/woman, yet he faces the dilemma of risking the child's mental condition if he does nothing. Dr. Murton is morally compromised to a lesser extent. He wouldn't have fled the house if he didn't think Adderson was in danger. It's not surprising, therefore, that the sheppard gets stuck with Atheris. Even the stalwart Col. Wynborn isn't blameless; he egged on the mob that sacked Adderson's house. It's difficult to accept that a constable would condone, let alone lead a lynch mob, especially in that time when privacy was sacrosanct; i.e., that 'a man's home is his castle.' Another thing that doesn't add up is that the villagers set fire to the lab, but then it looks like the entire house burns down. In later scenes the main house has survived intact. One cool touch in the mob scene is the snake writhing through a skull. It's fitting that Adderson is killed by one of his own snakes. Fast-forwarding twenty years makes some sense, as it allows for the child to develop into the beguiling Artheris. Given the obvious attraction that Prentice had for her, it's too bad the movie ends before this plot line is pursued. It might've been more interesting if Prentice escapes with her. As it is their last encounter has a sort of sci-fi flavor, as though he's trying to communicate with an alien. The ultimate ending would have them together long enough to conceive another generation of snake-children. Cool viewing experience overall; a few tweaks here and there would've made it very memorable. 6/10.

Dr. Horace Adderson (John Cazabon) injects his pregnant wife with cobra venom (!) as part of her "treatment" for insanity. Adderson's callous act results in his wife's death, and his child being born with reptilian traits. Further tragedy occurs due to the superstitions of the backward locals. Raised in secrecy, the baby grows up to be THE SNAKE WOMAN. As an adult, Atheris (Susan Travers) returns to inflict her deadly vengeance on the townsfolk. Scotland Yard gets involved, dispatching Charles Prentice (John McCarthy) to investigate. As supernatural revenge yarns go, this one isn't bad. Ms. Travers is convincing in her slithery role, helped by her naturally beguiling features. McCarthy is also good, coming across as logical and amiable. Co-stars Geoffrey Denton as the wise Col. Wynborn...

The film has atmosphere going for it: "mad doctor", a witch, snakes, a snake woman, lynch mobs, gothic aesthetics but the story is lacking, just really needed more to it. There isn't a lot in the way of showing the snake woman until the end of the film. Actors are good - they take their roles and the film seriously. There are no cheesy special effects for horror - instead real snakes are used along side of cuts and film splicing for the effects. Is the film worth watching? Well, if you need something to do on a boring rainy afternoon then this film will kill 69 minutes of your time. It's not an awful film, but it's not grand. 5/10.

While this has the right look for a Gothic horror film, it really lays as flat as a snake's belly on hot cement as it tries to unleash its ridiculous plot. First of all, we are supposed to believe that a woman on her deathbed who looks like Marjorie Main is about to deliver a baby even though her equally ancient-looking husband is inserting her with snake venom to allegedly cure her of insanity. Within hours of the baby being born, the parents are both deceased and somehow, the child grows up to be a beautiful woman who somehow has the ability to kill through the kiss that dispenses snake venom. Then, there's a witch who apparently raised the child who knows how to dispense of her, and it appears that the man destined to take on that job has fallen in love with her. While this starts in the past of where the majority of the film is set, it is still a period piece which is a good idea to keep the gothic theme going. Unfortunately, the script is slow-moving with little action other than shots of a gorgeous slithering snake (assumed to be the woman in snake form), and there isn't even an attempt at bad special effects to show the transition. The acting is either ridiculously dull (John McCarthy and Susan Travers in the underwritten leads) or completely over the top. Elsie Wagstaff as the witch plays the role as if she has just escaped from a production of "MacBeth" and knocked off her two sisters along the way. It's unfortunate that what really could have been an enjoyable little spooky horror film ends up being like shedded reptile skin, a fascinating find at first but ultimately something that nothing can be done with.

Fans of atmospheric and story-driven 60's horror all over the world should urgently combine forces and catapult "The Snake Woman" out of oblivion and into the list of favorites! Despite the compelling storyline and an acclaimed director in the credits (Sidney J. Furie), this early 60's chiller incomprehensibly got neglected over the years, whereas other – much worse – horror films from that period received unnecessary fancy DVD-releases. This is a solid thriller, filmed in stylish black & white and filled with fluently written dialogues. The events take place during the late 19th century in a little Northern English town inhabited by superstitious and easily petrified people. Since many years, a brilliant scientist successfully keeps his wife's mental illness under control by injecting her with snake venom. When the wife dies whilst giving birth to a daughter, a local witch claims that the newborn child is pure evil and must be destroyed. The scientist is killed by an angry mob but the baby girl is miraculously saved with the help of an understanding doctor. 19 years later several corpses are found in the Moors, containing a lethal amount of snake poison. The frightened villagers believe that the curse of the snake woman has struck them, but the young Scotland Yard inspector doesn't believe in old-fashioned witchery and investigates the case. Sidney J. Furie impressively manages to maintain the mysterious atmosphere throughout the entire film and makes great use of the rural locations and spirit of the era. You can truly sense the fear of the villagers when they're confronted with yet another new murder and their belief in the supernatural, voodoo and evil curses is impeccably portrayed. The subject matter of venom and reptiles in general apparently got researched in detail. For example, the snake girl has no eyelids, she's highly sensitive to certain sounds and she regularly sheds her skin. It's little details like this that make mythological horror so great! My only complaints are that the movie is too short (runtime 68 minutes) and that there isn't enough background to Atheris' (the snake woman) character. What happened to her in those 19 years? Does she hold a grudge against the town or does she just kill by instinct? The acting performances are very adequate and the paranoia end sequences are typically 60's. This baby just screams for a proper DVD-release!

1890. A doctor tries to cure his crazy wife by injecting her with snake venom. However, the wife gives birth to a freakish daughter who twenty years later grows up to become a lovely, yet lethal young woman who embarks on a killing spree in a small Northern England hamlet. Although this film suffers from sluggish pacing and an overly talky script, director Sidney J. Furie nonetheless manages to present a neat portrait of the remote village and its superstitious inhabitants, makes nice use of the bleak English moors setting, and does a sound job of crafting a spooky dark fairy tale-like atmosphere. Moreover, the alluring Susan Travers radiates a strong sense of ethereal menace as sexy serpentine siren Atheris. The capable acting by the sturdy cast holds this movie together: John McCarthy makes for a likable hero as the dashing Charles Prentice, Geoffrey Denton lends solid support as a pragmatic retired colonel, and Elsie Wagstaff has a ball with her juicy role as sinister old crone witch Aggie Harker. The interesting science versus superstition subtext gives this picture some additional depth and resonance. Stephen Dade's sharp black and white cinematography and Buxton Orr's robust score are both up to par. A rather flawed, but still enjoyable enough shocker.

In a remote English township a scientist is treating his wife's dementia with snake serum. The woman dies immediately after childbirth; it is easy to note that the baby girl is a "little different". A housekeeper, believing in witchcraft, alarms the townsfolk that the child will mature with snake-like tendencies. For the next twenty years, area citizens are dying with two puncture wounds. Suspected is a pretty teen that lives in a field full of snakes. Scotland Yard sends an inspector to investigate the mysterious deaths. A chance middle of the night meeting of the inspector and the young girl brings suspicion as deaths and suspense continues. Starring are Susan Travers, John McCarthy, Geoffrey Denton, John Cazabon, Frances Bennett and Arnold Marle.