Review of Sssssss (1973) by Gabriel M — 07 Dec 2007

I saw this movie several times as a kid on the Family Film Festival with Tom Hatten (a L.A. local TV show in the 70's and 80's) and was so intrigued by it. Having just revisited it I have to say that it holds up to a degree.

The effects are cheesy as are some of the performances but it's still a lot of fun. It takes a while to get rolling with a lot of set-up on the college campus where Dirk Benedict is unknowingly recruited to be transformed into a king cobra by a mad scientist who is rather effectively portrayed by Strother Martin.

Of course, Benedict, falls in love with the scientists daughter who implores her not to sleep with him. Martin proceeds to off everyone who gets in his way with snakes while biding his time as Benedict starts to peel, get cold and ultimately become a giant slithering snake.

This film is screaming to be remade and if they can do it without shooting the entire film on the Universal backlot, as this one clearly is, and with some up to date SFX they might actuall be able to creep out a new generation of viewers who have never seen this mostly forgotten film.