Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

[RumbleWolf4]

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
The Hunters will become the Hunted...



Year: 2004

Directed by: Dwight Little

Written By: John Clafin, Daniel Zelman, Michael Miner & Ed Nuemeier

Rated PG-13 for Action violence, scary images and language

Starring:
KaDee Strickland as Sam
Johnny Messner as Bill Johnson
Matthew Marsden as Dr. Jack Byron
Eugene Byrd as Cole Burris
Morris Chestnut as Gordon Mitchell

Produced by: Middle Fork Productions

Published by: Screen Gems inc.

Running Time: 110 Minutes (?)

My Rating: 6.5/10 Paws Up

Synopsis: A group of scientists have discovered a rare flower in the rainforests of Borneo. It is said that this flower (the blood orchid) can grant longer life to all who consume it. Seeking a pharmaceutical fortune, they charter an expedition down the river, but all hell breaks loose when their boat capsizes and they are forced to trek through the jungle. Right through the heart of anaconda country....and this time, they're really, really big!

Splatter Factor: 3/7- Suitably gruesome for a PG-13 film. Aside from the traditional "bloody water" there's also a lot of leeches, snake meal leftovers, skeletal remains, a decapitated snake and a really cool shot of a dead snake with a body hanging out of it's slit open stomach!

Acting: 5/10
*KADEE STRICKLAND has an odd character. Mainly because at times she had an annoying southern accent which would mysteriously disappear at times...hmmm....like most of the characters/actors she's nothing special, just kind of...there.
*JOHNNY MESSNER has a pretty cool character. He's the kind of guy you'd want on your side when battling lots of really big serpentine menaces! His dialouge is bad but you can't blame him for that.
*MATTHEW MARSDEN has a stereotypical character. He's also got an annoying accent that sounds very phony. Aside from that, there's not much to say without giving away his character...
*EUGENE BYRD was one of my favorites. He's so insanely hysterical, it's just really fun to watch him cavort around the jungle. Get that man some "Churchill Downers" stat!
*MORRIS CHESTNUT...you usually see him in romactic comedies, 'Nuff said.
*SPIKE THE MONKEY is the absolute best actor. His character portrays such powerful emotion in every little shriek and bad scare he delivers...and there's lots. And the Oscar goes to....

"I'm so hungry, I'd sell my grandmother for a Tic-tac" - Eugene Byrd as Cole

"Are you telling me there's some sort of snake ORGY in the jungle??"- Cole again

"Over here, you B**ch!"- KaDee Stirckland in a direct ripoff of Jaws

My Thoughts:
What we have here is a cheesy, B-movie of a creature feature with bad acting, hammy dialouge and a dumb plot. But like most movies of this type, I had a lot of fun watching it. It reminded me of Deep Blue Sea and Pitch Black in some aspects. The snakes themselves actually look pretty cool, although the explanation for their exponential size is a little goofy.
Dwight Little certaintly is no slouch as he has some experience in the genre. His direction is slick and stylish (especially the cave scene) and makes the film more exciting. the kills are good as they are not graphic enough for an R rating, nor are they too dry to make veteran B-movie fans shy away. One complaint...why did they have to show that monkey so many times? We get it, he warns them when the snakes are around...The film tries to up the "Cute Quotient" by showing every human-like gesture the monkey makes even in the action scenes! We see a snake attack a man...and cut to the monkey covering his eyes! Blah... also the abundance of ineffective Boo! scares are a little annoying.
The acting is bad, filled with phony accents. The movie takes the Pitch Black course by trying to build the characters a little too far, making the kills too few and far between. Also, one character seems directly lifted from the first Anaconda film, the "guy with a shady agenda". Yeah it's a bad movie, but it knows it and that's what makes it decent. The setting is very pretty and looks nice, accompanied by a good musical score as well. Aside from that, the movie is dumb dumb dumb but also fun. And isn't that what B-movies are about?

Bottom line:Stupid, ridiculous fun. Only the open-minded need apply, since many will scoff at it!

Things you May or May not Have Known...
*Aside from the snakes, this film has nothing in common with "Anaconda"...so is this a sequel or not?
*Wait...Aren't Anacondas from Brazil? What are they doing in Asia??
*And the macaws...and monkeys...are also from South America...
*This movie has a very similar scene to Samuel L. Jackson's death in Deep Blue Sea...keep an eye out!
*Salli Richardson (Gail) was a regular voice talent on the animated series and movie: "Gargoyles: the heroes Awaken"
*Director Little has directed episodes for several horror-themed Tv series including..."Freddy's Nightmares", "The X-Files" and "Wolf Lake"
*Most of the writers and producers worked together on the decent film "They Nest".

Horror Filmographies...
*KaDee Strickland- the Sixth Sense (1999), The Grudge (2004)
*Eugene Byrd- Pinata:Survival Island (2002)
*Morris Chestnut- Cave (2005)
*Dwight H. Little (as Director)- The Return on Michael Myers (1988), The Phantom of the Opera (1989)
*Stephen Windon (Cinematographer)- Deep Blue Sea (1999), House of Wax (2005)

[Bub]

It may be a guilty pleasure.

[RumbleWolf4]

Somethin like that

[Shadow]

I saw it, its an ok movie. i would watch it again.

[Bub]

Was it better then 1?

[Shadow]

Bub said:

Was it better then 1?

Im not sure, on some parts yeah, and on others not so much. I would say its a tie to me.

[Bub]

Well, part 2 doesn't have Jon Voight.

[Shadow]

Bub said:

Well, part 2 doesn't have Jon Voight.

yeah and that makes all the difference (jk)

[RumbleWolf4]

Yeh and he made baby Geniuses 2 a box office smash!


**This sarcasm detector is going off the charts!
Oh, a sarcasm detector, thats a useful invention
BOOM!**

[Bub]

Ha, that movie is probably allready out of theatres.

[Shadow]

Bub said:

Ha, that movie is probably allready out of theatres.

If you wanna call that one a movie

[DeraiLer]

I liked some of the characters in the beginning, but they all became bitches towards the halfway mark of the film. Cole most of all.

The snobby Bitch, who does nothing but whine and complain in the beginning turns out to be our heroine? Since when do the shittiest characters overshadow the slick shit ones? I wanted her to die so bad, but was never given the satisfaction!

The film completely turns the character of Gordon Mitchell around making him a man who doesn't hold money in high regards, when in fact, he's drooling over the profits the Orchid will make him in the beginning of the film. Oh, now he values the expeditions safety more than his pocketbook. Bullshit. I am Glad he becomes Snake shit.

Tran, on the other hand, should have led this film, since he was by far the coolest guy in the group. But what does a man with his skills do? Fall through a fractured board and die. Arghhhh!

I found the film oddly enough, to be lacking the very Anaconda's from the title! They get minimal screen time and are apparently too stupid to realize that when someone falls on them, eat the fuckers! A girl falls into a pit full of Anacondas, and guess what! She climbs right back out! Just like that! WTF?

Bill Johnson and Trans were two bad mother Fuckers and made the film enjoyable. I especially loved the scene where Bill's boat goes over the waterfall. Very well done and you get caught up in the fear as the ship goes over! Well done, and the highlight of the film to me.

[Bub]

Damn that sounds sucky. I enjoyed Anaconda very much, but this seems like a shit fest that should have been DtV.

[LepInDAHood]

Just saw it, thought it was okay. This reminded me a lot of Python. The snakes are big, but digital. I liked the machines in the first one better. More lifelike.

[Goremonger]

A little bit of brainless fun for the masses.