Review of Anaconda (1954) by Alex R — 19 Jun 2012

Anaconda is a mediocre film and echoes creature films of the 1970's such as Jaws, Piranha and Grizzly. Except this time around it's a giant Anaconda wreaking havoc. The film had the potential of being so much better, and it has plenty of flaws.

One thing is the special effects, which look cheap and the other is the bad acting, which ruin the film. The characters aren't that well developed so you don't care who gets eaten or not. Despite its mediocrity, the film manages to be fun at times, but it's not great.

Don't watch this film expecting great things to come out of it, you'll be disappointed. This film was a theatrical B movie and it shows. The film had potential of being much better, and it could have been quite a memorable monster film, but it's quite forgettable.

The story could have been reworked to make it better, but it all feels rushed, like the filmmakers didn't care about the end result. For horror fans that enjoy mediocre B movie style horror films, then check this one out, but for fans who love killer creature films with a little more substance, pass up on this.

As a whole, Anaconda is wasted opportunity, one that is a disappointing film. I didn't really care for the films direction, and you end pretty bored halfway through the film, even with all the snake chaos going around.

This was an effort by a director who simply didn't know how to create an effectively chilling creature. Some directors have brilliantly pulled it off, but not Luis Llosa, whose 40 foot Anaconda really does look fake plus add to that a cast that can't act, and you have a horror film that is forgettable, and not worth your time.