SNAKEHEAD SWAMP is a particularly poor monster flick from the guys at the SyFy Channel, shot on Baton Rouge to give it a little atmosphere. This one suffers from a weak storyline which relies too much on padding and repetition and a lack of fun cast members, an extended cameo from Antonio Fargas aside. A bunch of characters are harassed and eaten by some monstrous giant snake creatures, little seen and utilised and animated via the usual dodgy CGI effects. Sadly, for the most part this is tedious rather than fun - and that comes from somebody who's a fan of the genre.
... View MoreIf you have been following Syfy films for the last year or so, it seems like they are following the same themes. These films either have a Louisiana bayou theme or they are dealing with sharks. Even though set in Los Angeles, Sharnkado was about sharks basically coming out of waterspouts. Ghost Shark was about a shark that was also a ghost. Snakehead Swamp is quite more of the same.Back again in the Louisiana bayou, teenagers go out to a party on the water with intentions of having a good time. After a truck is crashed near the water, a snakehead is released and sets off a curse. The curse dates back to olden times and causes more trouble at hand. For a horror film, this is very so formulaic. Kids going out in the middle of nowhere and you get to know nothing about these characters as they are not developed at all. These kids also don't seem to have a brain because it just seems ludicrous to go swimming in a bayou swamp.Even more so, this film seems to turn into what Syfy films typically are. We expected this to be very low budget with the limited special effects being a prime example of that. On that, the effects do seem to come off a computer and a very old one at that. The acting is really hit or miss. Maybe the biggest point to make about Snakehead Swap is that it is very old for these Syfy movies to keep returning to the bayou.Sure, even the good SyFy films are still at most times nothing special. That said, Snakehead Swamp has really nothing here to make it passable. It is just another cliché'd and problematic film from this channel.
... View MoreTrying to get over his ex, a woman invites her friend on a rafting trip into the nearby bayou only to run across released snakehead fish prowling the area and must find a way to survive the onslaught from the creatures.There's a lot to like with this one as it generates plenty of positive remarks. One of the best elements at play here is the rather innovative story, which manages to do a lot more than the typical cheesy schlockfest might do, and most of that is centered on the somewhat arduous connection of the creatures' appearance and the culmination of a voodoo curse on the town. Far-fetched in origin, but certainly one that has a rather creepy undertone to what transpires in this, with the voodoo ceremonies taking place, the strange flashes of the local witch who ushered it years ago continuing throughout the entire movie and the strange way the creatures always seem to show up at just the right opportunity to follow-through on the promise of the curse's truth, as if there's a supernatural force motivating them to carry through with their mission of vengeance, and all of these elements make this a lot creepier than just a normal creature feature. As well, the continuous presence of the fish means that there's a large amount of action at play, bringing about some rather fine moments including the initial attack on the boat that strands the friends, the chase through the woods which leads into the assault on the house and finally the charge down the river taking on the swarms of creatures head-on which really sells this nicely as an action-packed offering when combined with the one-shot attacks throughout the bayou. This provides enough gore to really work nicely, even though it does bring about some problems. Even though there's a ton of action in this, the majority of the special effects are handled with the same cheap-looking CGI that usually permeates these films. There's no sense of realism or believability in the special effects here, as the fish themselves look woeful despite a rather cool-looking and imposing design, nearly all the blood and gore is done through CGI which really takes out the effectiveness of their use and the main action scenes are all handled in this manner as well so there's a lot of disappointment here through the special effects. While the central premise of the film is rather cool, from a logic stand-point it really doesn't make a lot of sense so there's some head-scratching moments to come from that as well, and from a believable standpoint it really fails as well. Otherwise, there's a whole lot to like with this one.Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language and violence-against-animals.
... View MoreThis poor excuse for a sci-fi film is so bad that it became hysterical. Watching the dreadful effects as the monster comes in to screen created,rather than horror, hilarity. Poor dialogue throughout the movie and laughable plot caused me to lose all interest. This director is on a streak of terrible snake related TV movies including Anaconda: Trails of Blood and Anaconda III which are just as bad if not worse than this horrible piece of cinema. Now even though it is quite horrible in almost all categories that dictate a quality film, the comedy from the pure horrible effects and acting is actually quite entertaining. My friends and I had a good time laughing throughout the movie especially when the monster showed up. I know the budget was low and you can't expect much, but come on. Watching this movie hurt my eyes, but ill give it 2 stars for is comedy aspect.
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