Editorials
[We Love ’90s Horror] The Awesome ‘Anaconda’ Remains One of the All-Time Best Creature Features
The ‘90s often get a bad rap with horror fans. After the numerous successful slashers and creature effects films of the ’80s, the ‘90s offered a different variety of horror fare. Though there were plenty of hits, hidden gems, and misunderstood classics, the ‘90s usually don’t get the kind of love that other decades get when it comes to horror. It’s time to change that.
If you talk to a lot of horror fans that grew up in the ‘90s, you’ll probably find that many of them (myself included) have a particular love of the animal attack sub-genre. It’s no wonder when you look at how many of these movies got big theatrical releases during the decade. It’s likely that a few other notable titles from then will pop up on this column, but the one that I felt most compelled to defend was Anaconda. Because Anaconda is AWESOME.
Granted, there are probably plenty of people who thought the same thing at the time and continue to stand by that assessment. Even Roger Ebert was kind to the movie upon release. So, why does it feel like Anaconda has become something of an easy joke for people? And why doesn’t it get brought up in celebration when we talk about horror movies of the ‘90s?
Maybe it’s to do with its simplistic nature in terms of story. It’s a bare-bones adventure yarn with a bunch of characters making their way down a river Heart of Darkness style. Throw in a Jaws riff but with a gigantic snake and you’ve got Anaconda. Yes, this is what you could boil down Anaconda if you wanted to be as basic as possible. But, what you’d be missing are all the little bits of flavoring that make Anaconda an absolute delight.
A huge factor in making Anaconda a real treat is the casting. Y’all can take your easy potshots at Jennifer Lopez but she’s a perfectly capable anchor for the movie. Often in these kinds of flicks, you get an even-keeled lead actor and surround them with character actors who go broke with their roles. That’s exactly what Anaconda does and it does it well. Ice Cube is a great comic relief that perfectly captures the audience’s disbelief at the situation. Jonathan Hyde can play annoyingly prim in his sleep and his nose-in-the-air documentary host is a perfect fit for his acting talents. Owen Wilson is… well, he’s Owen Wilson. You know what you’re going to get there and he always injects the right amount of doofy slacker energy into his roles.
And then, there’s Jon Voight.
A lot of people give Voight flak for his portrayal of snake hunter Paul Serone. His cartoonish accent and equally over-the-top performance are worth critiquing, but they are also the source of a lot of Anaconda’s gleeful fun. Voight is basically taking the Quint character from Jaws and blending him with Tony Montana from Scarface. It’s gonzo stuff that makes Serone an immediately memorable antagonist as the film progresses. Even if you say Voight is bad in the movie, it’s hard to say he isn’t entertaining.
But, where Anaconda deserves way more praise than it gets is in its production. With a reported budget of $45 million, Anaconda looks like a big studio picture in every single way. Considering that these kinds of creature features have become assembly line ordeals thanks to TV/direct-to-video movies and a dwindling market, Anaconda showcases a real appreciation for the technical side of these kinds of movies. That’s not just in the creature effects, but in the location shooting, set construction, and even the costuming. Without searching for a picture of them, I can remember what the characters in Anaconda look like as purely aesthetic ideas. That’s a sign of crafting a strong visual concept for your movie.
Now, if we’re gonna praise the production of Anaconda, we have got to talk about the effects that brought the titular beast to life. Animatronic wizard Walt Conti — who also provided the truly astonishing animatronic sharks for Deep Blue Sea — and his company Edge Innovations helped craft the giant 40 ft. long practical snake and it’s an impressive feat. When the conversation about great practical movie monsters comes up, we really should be recognizing the work in Anaconda. And while some of the digital effects haven’t aged well, the practical elements are still splendid.
And if we wanted to boil Anaconda down to its most base pleasures, this is a picture that delivers on the kills and gross-out moments. From the anaconda catching Jonathan Hyde when he jumps off a waterfall to Jon Voight being devoured whole and then puked back up, this is a movie that knows how to have a blast with its simple enjoyments. There’s no way I’ll ever forget the image of Owen Wilson’s corpse screaming from inside the anaconda. Heck, the most horrific part of the movie doesn’t involve the snake at all. It’s the scene in which Eric Stoltz’s character swallows a wasp and has to have his throat stabbed open. Still gives me the willies.
Looking around the web, it’s clear that many people view Anaconda as a “so bad it’s good” kind of experience. That appraisal often reads to me as viewers not wanting to admit that certain movies were genuinely entertaining. Anaconda is not so bad it’s good. This is a top-tier creature feature from the ‘90s, and audiences responded extremely well to that type of entertainment during that decade. Anaconda was the #1 film in theaters for two weeks in a row and ended up grossing more at the domestic box office than L.A. Confidential, The Fifth Element, Anastasia, Spawn, Starship Troopers, Austin Powers, Speed 2, Alien Resurrection, and the Special Edition re-issue of Return of the Jedi.
It’s time for us to accept Anaconda as one of the premier animal attack films of the decade and possibly of all time. It knows it’s going to be a B-movie in concept, but it wholeheartedly embraces that attitude while executing its direction with an A+ production. Don’t be ashamed of loving Anaconda. This is some of the most fun you could have at the theater in the ‘90s, and it’s still some of the most fun you can have with a movie today.
Editorials
‘Immaculate’ – A Companion Watch Guide to the Religious Horror Movie and Its Cinematic Influences
The religious horror movie Immaculate, starring Sydney Sweeney and directed by Michael Mohan, wears its horror influences on its sleeves. NEON’s new horror movie is now available on Digital and PVOD, making it easier to catch up with the buzzy title. If you’ve already seen Immaculate, this companion watch guide highlights horror movies to pair with it.
Sweeney stars in Immaculate as Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Cecilia’s warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside gets derailed soon enough when she discovers she’s become pregnant and realizes the convent harbors disturbing secrets.
From Will Bates’ gothic score to the filming locations and even shot compositions, Immaculate owes a lot to its cinematic influences. Mohan pulls from more than just religious horror, though. While Immaculate pays tribute to the classics, the horror movie surprises for the way it leans so heavily into Italian horror and New French Extremity. Let’s dig into many of the film’s most prominent horror influences with a companion watch guide.
Warning: Immaculate spoilers ahead.
Rosemary’s Baby
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The mother of all pregnancy horror movies introduces Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow), an eager-to-please housewife who’s supportive of her husband, Guy, and thrilled he landed them a spot in the coveted Bramford apartment building. Guy proposes a romantic evening, which gives way to a hallucinogenic nightmare scenario that leaves Rosemary confused and pregnant. Rosemary’s suspicions and paranoia mount as she’s gaslit by everyone around her, all attempting to distract her from her deeply abnormal pregnancy. While Cecilia follows a similar emotional journey to Rosemary, from the confusion over her baby’s conception to being gaslit by those who claim to have her best interests in mind, Immaculate inverts the iconic final frame of Rosemary’s Baby to great effect.
The Exorcist
William Friedkin’s horror classic shook audiences to their core upon release in the ’70s, largely for its shocking imagery. A grim battle over faith is waged between demon Pazuzu and priests Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow). The battleground happens to be a 12-year-old, Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), whose possessed form commits blasphemy often, including violently masturbating with a crucifix. Yet Friedkin captures the horrifying events with stunning cinematography; the emotional complexity and shot composition lend elegance to a film that counterbalances the horror. That balance between transgressive imagery and artful form permeates Immaculate as well.
Suspiria
Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American newcomer at a prestigious dance academy in Germany who uncovers a supernatural conspiracy amid a series of grisly murders. It’s a dance academy so disciplined in its art form that its students and faculty live their full time, spending nearly every waking hour there, including built-in meals and scheduled bedtimes. Like Suzy Bannion, Cecilia is a novitiate committed to learning her chosen trade, so much so that she travels to a foreign country to continue her training. Also, like Suzy, Cecilia quickly realizes the pristine façade of her new setting belies sinister secrets that mean her harm.
What Have You Done to Solange?
This 1972 Italian horror film follows a college professor who gets embroiled in a bizarre series of murders when his mistress, a student, witnesses one taking place. The professor starts his own investigation to discover what happened to the young woman, Solange. Sex, murder, and religion course through this Giallo’s veins, which features I Spit on Your Grave’s Camille Keaton as Solange. Immaculate director Michael Mohan revealed to The Wrap that he emulated director Massimo Dallamano’s techniques, particularly in a key scene that sees Cecilia alone in a crowded room of male superiors, all interrogating her on her immaculate status.
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
In this Giallo, two sisters inherit their family’s castle that’s also cursed. When a dark-haired, red-robed woman begins killing people around them, the sisters begin to wonder if the castle’s mysterious curse has resurfaced. Director Emilio Miraglia infuses his Giallo with vibrant style, with the titular Red Queen instantly eye-catching in design. While the killer’s design and use of red no doubt played an influential role in some of Immaculate’s nightmare imagery, its biggest inspiration in Mohan’s film is its score. Immaculate pays tribute to The Red Queen Kills Seven Times through specific music cues.
The Vanishing
Rex’s life is irrevocably changed when the love of his life is abducted from a rest stop. Three years later, he begins receiving letters from his girlfriend’s abductor. Director George Sluizer infuses his simple premise with bone-chilling dread and psychological terror as the kidnapper toys with Red. It builds to a harrowing finale you won’t forget; and neither did Mohan, who cited The Vanishing as an influence on Immaculate. Likely for its surprise closing moments, but mostly for the way Sluizer filmed from inside a coffin.
The Other Hell
This nunsploitation film begins where Immaculate ends: in the catacombs of a convent that leads to an underground laboratory. The Other Hell sees a priest investigating the seemingly paranormal activity surrounding the convent as possessed nuns get violent toward others. But is this a case of the Devil or simply nuns run amok? Immaculate opts to ground its horrors in reality, where The Other Hell leans into the supernatural, but the surprise lab setting beneath the holy grounds evokes the same sense of blasphemous shock.
Inside
During Immaculate‘s freakout climax, Cecilia sets the underground lab on fire with Father Sal Tedeschi (Álvaro Morte) locked inside. He manages to escape, though badly burned, and chases Cecilia through the catacombs. When Father Tedeschi catches Cecilia, he attempts to cut her baby out of her womb, and the stark imagery instantly calls Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury’s seminal French horror movie to mind. Like Tedeschi, Inside’s La Femme (Béatrice Dalle) will stop at nothing to get the baby, badly burned and all.
Burial Ground
At first glance, this Italian zombie movie bears little resemblance to Immaculate. The plot sees an eclectic group forced to band together against a wave of undead, offering no shortage of zombie gore and wild character quirks. What connects them is the setting; both employed the Villa Parisi as a filming location. The Villa Parisi happens to be a prominent filming spot for Italian horror; also pair the new horror movie with Mario Bava’s A Bay of Blood or Blood for Dracula for additional boundary-pushing horror titles shot at the Villa Parisi.
The Devils
The Devils was always intended to be incendiary. Horror, at its most depraved and sadistic, tends to make casual viewers uncomfortable. Ken Russell’s 1971 epic takes it to a whole new squeamish level with its nightmarish visuals steeped in some historical accuracy. There are the horror classics, like The Exorcist, and there are definitive transgressive horror cult classics. The Devils falls squarely in the latter, and Russell’s fearlessness in exploring taboos and wielding unholy imagery inspired Mohan’s approach to the escalating horror in Immaculate.
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