Poor Dirk Benedict. We all have to start somewhere, but having a film as patently absurd as Sssssss on his resumé must have made it hard for him to land movie roles (hence his subsequent career acting almost exclusively in TV).
I imagine the conversation going something like this...
Movie casting agent: "What else might we have seen you in, Mr Benedict?" DB: "Well, in Sssssss, I played a college student who was turned into a snake by a mad scientist." Movie casting agent: "Errr... sounds... umm... interesting. We'll take a look and get back to you if we like what we see".
Welcome to TV land Dirk!
The transformation of student David Blake (Benedict) into a king cobra is instigated by herpetologist Dr. Carl Stoner (Strother Martin), who believes that he can create a new evolutionary species with the best qualities of both human and reptile. The doctor gives Blake, his new lab assistant, a daily injection that he claims is to build up an immunity to snake venom, but which, in reality, is gradually bringing about physical changes: peeling skin, a green complexion, a drop in body temperature, scales. Blake, not the sharpest tool in the box, doesn't suspect a thing, but the doctor's daughter Kristina (Heather Menzies), who has fallen for the young man, begins to doubt her father's supposedly good intentions, as does local Sheriff Dale Hardison (Jack Ging).
This ridiculous plot could very well have resulted in a huge dollop of enjoyable drive-in trash, had director Bernard L. Kowalski pushed the envelope at every opportunity, but the pacing is terrible, and the film simply isn't as crazy as it should have been (the scene where Blake hallucinates whilst high on snake venom could have been a visual tour-de-force, but is frustratingly weak). When the most notable things about the first hour are an albino turtle called Sam (so cute!), a hilarious skinny dipping scene with strategically superimposed foliage (Austin Powers style), and the horrible spectacles and haircut sported by Kristina, then we're in trouble.
The final half an hour or so isn't much better: Doc Stoner killing nasty jock Steve Randall (Reb Brown) with a black mamba is lacklustre, and Blake's eventual transformation into a cobra a real anticlimax (although the stages between man and snake do provide a few unintentional giggles). My favourite part of the last act is when a mongoose turns out to be the reincarnation of Houdini, craftily escaping from his cage at the exact moment most convenient for the plot. The funny thing is that Katrina recognises the snake wrestling with the mongoose as being David! How?
4/10. Has its moments, but the potential for it to be a lot wilder, and consequently much more entertaining, goes to waste.
I imagine the conversation going something like this...
Movie casting agent: "What else might we have seen you in, Mr Benedict?" DB: "Well, in Sssssss, I played a college student who was turned into a snake by a mad scientist." Movie casting agent: "Errr... sounds... umm... interesting. We'll take a look and get back to you if we like what we see".
Welcome to TV land Dirk!
The transformation of student David Blake (Benedict) into a king cobra is instigated by herpetologist Dr. Carl Stoner (Strother Martin), who believes that he can create a new evolutionary species with the best qualities of both human and reptile. The doctor gives Blake, his new lab assistant, a daily injection that he claims is to build up an immunity to snake venom, but which, in reality, is gradually bringing about physical changes: peeling skin, a green complexion, a drop in body temperature, scales. Blake, not the sharpest tool in the box, doesn't suspect a thing, but the doctor's daughter Kristina (Heather Menzies), who has fallen for the young man, begins to doubt her father's supposedly good intentions, as does local Sheriff Dale Hardison (Jack Ging).
This ridiculous plot could very well have resulted in a huge dollop of enjoyable drive-in trash, had director Bernard L. Kowalski pushed the envelope at every opportunity, but the pacing is terrible, and the film simply isn't as crazy as it should have been (the scene where Blake hallucinates whilst high on snake venom could have been a visual tour-de-force, but is frustratingly weak). When the most notable things about the first hour are an albino turtle called Sam (so cute!), a hilarious skinny dipping scene with strategically superimposed foliage (Austin Powers style), and the horrible spectacles and haircut sported by Kristina, then we're in trouble.
The final half an hour or so isn't much better: Doc Stoner killing nasty jock Steve Randall (Reb Brown) with a black mamba is lacklustre, and Blake's eventual transformation into a cobra a real anticlimax (although the stages between man and snake do provide a few unintentional giggles). My favourite part of the last act is when a mongoose turns out to be the reincarnation of Houdini, craftily escaping from his cage at the exact moment most convenient for the plot. The funny thing is that Katrina recognises the snake wrestling with the mongoose as being David! How?
4/10. Has its moments, but the potential for it to be a lot wilder, and consequently much more entertaining, goes to waste.