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ANACONDAS: HUNT FOR THE BLOOD ORCHID
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars:
Johnny Messner, KaDee Strickland, Matthew Marsden, Eugene Byrd, Salli
Richardson-Whitfield, Nicholas Gonzalez, Karl Yune, Morris Chestnut
Director: Dwight Little
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1,
Full Screen 1.33:1
Studio: Columbia Tri Star
Features: See Review
Length: 97 Minutes
Release Date: December 21, 2004
“It's mating
season.”
“What, so you're
tellin'
me there's some snake orgy in the jungle?!”
“Yeah.”
Film **
One hint at the title Anacondas:
The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, and you know what you're going to get
won't be on the level of Lawrence of
Arabia. Let's face it, a sequel to a B-movie so noted for its choppy
special effects involving a giant man-eating snake isn't destined for great
feedback. Is this one bad? Well, it's not fantastic, but at the same time, it
could be a lot worse.
You'll recall the 1997 release, Anaconda, which featured a cast of then-rising stars in a plot
involving a battle of wits against a larger than life snake somewhere in the
Amazon. The cast included Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson, and Jon Voight,
who was the saving grace of the movie with his over the top villainous portrayal
of an insane snake hunter. Somehow the movie ended up a box office hit, and
there was a need for a sequel to rake in some extra cash.
Seven years later, the same debacle is about to happen to a
new group of potential snake victims. The central plotline involves a group of
scientific researchers and their search for the mysterious Blood Orchid flower
that resides somewhere in Borneo. What does this Blood Orchid possess? Why the
power of eternal youth, of course. I'm not kidding, that's what it really
possesses.
With no other source of transportation, the group has no
other choice but to hitch a ride with a rugged captain named Bill (Johnny
Messner). As their trip down the river progresses, bad things seem to start
happening minute after minute. Before long, the boat tips over after heading
down a supposed short cut, and they soon find themselves the prey of not just
one monstrous anaconda, but a lot more of them, hence the S added on to the
title Anaconda.
Normally, a movie like this would easily register no higher
than a one star rating from me, but I get the feeling that the makers of this
movie were not going for anything more than what ended up in the final cut. Yes,
the CGI effects are even more outlandishly bad this time around. The movie does
have a tongue-in-cheek sense about itself, so that no moment is taken too
seriously. Still, even 97 minutes seems long when too much plot explanation is
involved.
In conclusion, if you were a fan of the first Anaconda, and I've haven't come across many who were, then you're bound to get a bigger kick out of this sequel. But for others who appreciate a truly terrifying movie experience, seek just about every other creature movie on the market. Because even on a B-movie level, there are points in this movie that are borderline ridiculous.
Here was a stunning aspect. This is quite possibly the lowest rating I've given to a video performance in quite some time, but then again, I haven't seen a disc with as many visible flaws as the one in this release. Both anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions are available on this dual layered disc, which may have resulted in the problem. A lot of night sequences, which accompany around two thirds of the movie, seem to have caught a case of the grain virus, if you get my drift. The movie starts out nice enough, where in which picture is clear and colors appear as nice and natural as can be. Again, this was most unexpected.
No
complaints here, though, as Columbia Tri Star has applied every inch of snake
hiss and human scream to make for one fantastic sounding disc. The 5.1 mix gets
the job done in terms of making the most of this relentless B-movie scare fest.
I will admit, there was a time or two where I did jump, thanks to the incredible
dynamic sound provided by the folks at CTS. The sound made this movie all the
more worth watching.
Featured
on this disc is a making of featurette and several CTS bonus previews.
Summary:
