Venom DVD with Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Meagan Good (R) +Movie Reviews

R rated horror? Count me in

Terry Mesnard | Bellevue, NE | 09/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Its kind of a sad state horror films are in right now. What angers me the most about the PG-13 horror films we've been seeing recently is that they were originally supposed to be R. For instance, all of the "unrated" movies coming to DVD (see Grudge, Ring 2, Dark Water, Darkness...the list can go on and on), they were cut down from an R rating to achieve that PG-13 group. Whenever I bring this up I get yelled at (mostly by those unable to see R rated movies) because they think PG-13 horror films are the end all of horror. What they are missing is that in the past most, if not all, horror films were rated R and it just feels like a dumbing down when you can't go anywhere to find an R rated horror film but lo and behold PG-13s abound.

I apologize for the digression but it does serve a purpose for this review. The reason I give Venom a 4 star rating as opposed to the 3 or 3.5 it probably deserves is based on the timing. I saw this movie this last weekend because my friend suggested (after a horrific screening of The Exorcism of Emily Rose the weekend prior) we see something R rated.

We saw Venom and we both enjoyed it. Its a throwback to the movies we watched growing up like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween. You know the movie, the unstoppable killing machine that doesn't seem too anxious in killing you and settles for simply trudging slowly toward you. Slow, but unstoppable, and always seems to show up when the protagonists least expect it. Bullets don't do anything, fire gets shrugged off and yet the killer comes onward killing everyone around the protagonist until he or she (she in this case) can't take it anymore and fights back.

In this case, the movie bases itself around the idea of this Haitian custom (don't know the veracity of this; hollywood or true?) where people will suck out the evil of murderers etc with snakes so that their soul can go into the afterlife. In this case, take one "town freak" throw in an accident and an encounter with about 6 or so of these snakes that contain these evil souls and you have the makings of the town freak becoming a murderer. Pretty standard stuff and seems almost laughable. But it is a horror film and you have to make concessions when you see one. What follows is plenty of death scenes, people getting offed in some memorable ways and some genuinely startling scenes.

Overall, Venom truly is an average horror flick. I don't want to give people the wrong impression. This isn't the best horror film I've ever seen. It probably doesn't deserve a 4, but if you can dispel your disbelief, it is pretty decent. But this one is unapologetically R rated and filled with some gore, language and scares. It comes across as feeling like I Know What You Did Last Summer mixed with stylized voodoo with the villain looking like The Swamp Thing. It does provide some nice jumps, a few scares and, if you are afraid of snakes, some neat scary snake moments. I jumped, my friend screamed and best of all? No loud and noisy pre-teens (no offense to the non-noisy pre-teens, I do make a distinction) ruining the movie. And that, in and of itself, warrants a 4 star."

Mr. Jangles

Matt | NJ | 03/05/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is yet another horror film that had me fooled thanks to the previews. When I saw the previews, it appeared that this was a truly disturbing film that was sure to creep you out and leave you unsettled. When I saw the film, however, it turned out to be another teen horror flick.

Granted, this movie was quite a bit more entertaining and frightening than some others I'd seen recently (Cry Wolf, Dark Water, etc.). The swamp setting did lend the movie an added sense of darkness and dread, further darkening the aura of a backwoods town in the middle of nowhere. Ray, as "Mr. Jangles", was a pretty menacing figure and the incorporation of voodoo into the story also helped to make it a bit more interesting and mysterious. So, the movie had a good setting, tone and villian - ultimately, not too bad.

I'd say it's worth a viewing."

Great Movie.....Not Sure Why Some Don't Like It

J.K. Galecki | 07/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have no clue why this film didn't do any better than it did. It really is a very good movie and contrary to popular belief, it actually does manage to generate some supsense. I mean, true, we don't have any big-name faces in the cast, but who needs those anyway? The cast works fine, and most of them are able to act fairly decent. The only part where this movie falls short, is the last 3-4 minutes or so, when the lead female character finally kills Ray Sawyer. That whole sequence just seemed out of place. The colors were over-saturated, and it was entirely too bright in contrast with the rest of the film. Obviously, this small screw-up is not enough to make the movie bad, which is why the film deserves 5 stars and not 3. This is definitely worth a look!"

You Gotta Be Kidding!

M. Harbach | Boca Raton, FL | 02/24/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Before I bash this movie, let's start with a positive. Hollywood had it right when they previewed this trailer during the Exorcism of Emily Rose. They showed about 90 seconds of no named actors screaming for their life in the swamp lands of Louisiana. Finally, a horror movie where we really don't know the actors and don't care how they die as long as they...well, die. So bring in Venom. Venom did have a lot of promise in the beginning. Boy and girl meet on bridge, she wants to leave her homeland and he wants to stay. Bring in guy with big truck who owns gas station down the road. Tells them the bridge is not a safe place to be (tragic foreshadowing maybe?) While we are making a schmorgazborg here, let's bring in a woman driving psychotically with a suitcase in the back of her car. As fate would have it, she hits the side of the bridge and we are left with our first situation: how do we get her out of the car without it tipping over?

So the brave trucker guy decides to be the brave one and help her out (We can't have Jonathan Jackson dying in the first 2 minutes now can we?) and she wants him to take out the suitcase. **SPOILER** Okay if there were snakes in the suitcase that are supposed to "suck the evil out of you" maybe they should have done two things: 1) Substitute leeches, they can't attack anything in a one foot radius since they are slower than turtles or 2) LET THE DAMN THING DROWN! If they are stuck in a suitcase inside of a car in the river, do you think they can do any damage? But no, we have to have a reason to go on, and our trucker friend falls victim to drowning and the snakes and goes overboard...How Titanic. What happened, Celine Dion was too busy in Vegas to sing "My Heart Will Go On" as he plummeted?

Carrying on, the body is retrieved from the river and who is once believed to be dead is now brought back from the dead, rotting decay and all. One by one he starts taking out no name victims that we really don't care about. Honestly, I was thrilled to pieces (heh, no pun intended) when he wiped those two so called popular girls out. But during all of this, one friend (Meagan Good - the only other actress people will recognize) is hiding a secret from everyone. She knows that this monster (I can't say Shape because that's Halloween) is going around killing and she knows some kind of voodoo or creole magic that might be able to stop it. Great, call the Charmed Ones and have them fly from San Francisco and you are all set! If only things were that easy for her. Using the trucker's son as a voodoo doll, they try to stop the beast but soon begin to run out of ideas. Now here's dilemma number 2: How do you kill something all ready dead?

Unfortunately, this leads to more deaths from actors and actresses that we could care less if they fell in a well or had their limbs removed. Eventually we are lead to a cemetary where trucker dude is doing some rituals inside of a tomb area or what not. Our heroine lies with all her dead friends as she watches loverboy get tossed in there with her. What's this? He's awake?! Will there be two survivors? No. Heroine doesn't know how to shut her mouth when she gasps, causing possessed Linda Blair in trucking attire to go after her. But love is a funny thing and Jonathan Jackson takes one for the team.

Somehow after his death, our heroine is now bad ass and all empowered. Apparently it takes the death of a true loved one to really pump you up. So now she decides to play the Jessica Biel Texas Chainsaw Massacre roll and tries to wail on our villan. Heh, once again he's dead. It finally takes her decapitating him with his own truck to finally get this jerk to die. So what have we learned kiddies?

1) Never get upset if you are not popular in school. Some psycho re-emerged from the swamps will take them out for you. Use your energy for protecting yourself from his wrath next.
2) If you know someone who is into voodoo, do not hang out with them. A sure indication of this would be weird looking necklaces with the skulls of animals on it followed by a horrible braiding job. Stay out of at least a five mile radius from their house. If you hear a scream, just assume the Jamabalaya is too hot.
3) Never wait until your loved one dies to finally take action. I am sure if Jonathan Jackson could have been resurrected too he would have went Charles Manson on his little sweetheart. Two people fighting one villan is easier than one scared wimp.
4) If you are in Blockbuster and wanting to find a good horror movie, skip over both Venom and Dark Water. You could probably find more chills from Scream or Scary Movie for that matter."

Nothing original but read on....

Kevin Martin Murnane | Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Ireland | 01/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is actually a very enjoyable entry to the slasher genre. Containing all the elements that make for a decent horror VENOM is simply a rollercoaster of non stop pure excitement. From the opening scene in a Creole cemetery to the final image in the Louisiana swamps we're hurtled through 80 minutes of genuine atmosphere and some excellent if somewhat familiar chase scenes. If you're looking for rich narrative or mystery look elsewhere but if you're in the mood for a throwback to the originals of Halloween, Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street I recommend this."

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