Summary:
Venom is an average horror effort with some effort put into the storyline.
More DetailsAbout Venom (2005)
Thriller from the director of ‘I know What You Did Last Summer’ (1997). The film is set deep in the swamps of Louisiana and follows a group of teenagers trying to uncover the truth behind a friend’s mysterious death. What they discover is an evil force worse than they could have possibly imagined and now they are the ones running for their lives.
Starring: Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Meagan Good, Bijou Phillips, Method Man
Directed by: Jim Gillespie
Runtime: 87 minutes
Studio: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
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Review: Venom
Jim Gillespie’s horror begins with an old woman digging in the middle of the night. She uncovers a case which she frantically puts in the back of her car before driving away. It’s very much a case of wrong place and wrong time with what follows. Eden (Agnes Bruckner) is cycling home when her ex-boyfriend Eric (Jonathan Jackson) catches up and parks his car on a bridge. A local loner Ray (Rick Cramer) appears and asks after Eden. While they’re on the bridge, the old woman comes driving along and loses control of her car, leaving it hanging precariously over the bridge. Ray saves her then goes after her case only for the car to fall into the lake with Ray inside. The case opens to reveal a cluster of snakes that kill Ray. The old woman later dies as well but Ray comes back to life, now possessed, and keen on slaughtering the locals.
There’s some interesting back stories in Venom. Eden and Eric are no longer speaking with some confusion about who has ended the relationship. Eden wants to go to New York to study and Eric wants them to stay where they are. Though they care for one another it’s clear that romance is no longer on the cards. Ray is something of a loner who few have dealings with though it emerges he is the father of Eric’s friend, Sean (D.J. Cotrona) who has np dealings with him, insisting Ray got his mother drunk and took advantage. Eden’s friend CeCe (Meagan Good) is the granddaughter of the old woman that dug up the cursed snakes and she becomes integral to the survival of her friends. With Ray wandering around killing everyone in sight we’re soon left with only a small group to try and stop him.
Some work has at least gone into the characters in this film with some interesting background information. Once Ray is up and running though this becomes a fairly standard slasher movie. Eden and Eric are inevitably thrown together and a lot of emphasis is put on CeCe who has learned many voodoo tricks from her late grandmother that can at least stall Ray for a time. This certainly isn’t a dreadful horror film. The acting is so-so and there are some genuine surprises when it comes to the characters that don’t make it to the final reels which makes a change.
Venom is an average horror effort with some effort put into the storyline. After the introductions to the characters and Ray rising from the dead this descends into fairly standard slasher fare but there’s plenty of gruesome denouments to keep gore fans happy. The ending is something of a let down though lacking in any real resolution but as a whole this is okay rather than appalling.
Verdict: 2/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
About the Author:
I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school. In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu's Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I'm a lover of films, games, books and blogging. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats - Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.
David M. Brown – who has written 731 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.
