This Hong Kong monstrosity may be the ultimate killer snake movie. It’s almost certainly the most insanely exploitive, proving that nobody makes trashy movies quite like the Asians.
CALAMITY OF SNAKES (REN SHE DA ZHAN; 1982) was helmed by the chop-socky specialist Chi Chang, a.k.a. William Chang Kee, whose films include HEROES OF THE WILD (1977), DEATH DUEL OF KUNG FU (1979) and CHINA HEAT (1992). CALAMITY OF SNAKES, incidentally, is very much of a piece with the notorious Shaw Brothers produced sleaze fest KILLER SNAKES (1974), although I say CALAMITY actually outdoes it in grossness, sleaze and sheer outrage—making it a viable candidate for the most outrageous snake movie of all time.
It begins with the construction of a luxury apartment building by an unscrupulous construction outfit. When a pit full of snakes is discovered on the construction site the snakes are put to death. This is despite the pleas of the foreman’s wife, who’s been having nightmares suggesting that killing the snakes may not be a good idea.
It seems a malignant snake curse has been put on the area. On the very night the apartment is opened for business a ton of snakes invade, biting to death a lovemaking couple. Several mongoose are dispatched to kill the things, as is an elderly “snake master” recruited from a traveling magic show where he periodically emerges from masses of boxed-up snakes. Even he’s no match for the ever-increasing legion of snakes infesting the building.
And the snakes only increase in volume. Eventually, under the control of a giant cobra, they swarm in a giant slithering mass up through the building basement and into the lobby. It just so happens that a dance party is in session, but it’s quickly turned into a shambles as the snakes invade. The Hong Kong National Guard is called in with flame throwers and fire extinguishers to battle the snakes, but that giant cobra proves to be damned tough to kill!
How exploitive is this movie? It actually intercuts shots of a fat woman stuffing her face with footage of pigs eating from a trough, and also features a Mondo-esque scene of two mongoose ripping apart snakes that’s allowed to drag on for a full three minutes. The gore and sex are quite plentiful, as you might expect, and nor is director William Chang shy about combining the two.
All this, I must say, makes for a fun film that takes the nature-run-amok model to its farthest possible reaches (compared with this film SNAKES ON A PLANE plays like a kids’ movie). The film moves extremely fast, with a snake bite every few minutes or so until the utterly demented dance party climax, which comes complete with an outrageous variant on the blood elevator of THE SHINING (here the doors open to disgorge a mass of snakes!). I could have done without the vile scenes of real snakes tortured and killed, however; countless live snakes are crushed, burned, chopped and skinned (in an early scene that provides an extremely graphic demonstration of exactly what is meant by the term “snake oil salesman”), which lessens the fun considerably.
Yet it’s the filmmakers’ willingness to use real snakes that gives the film its edge. There’s no CGI and very few fake serpents; most of the time it’s quite clear that the actors are being thrust into actual masses of writhing snakes. But, conversely, those scenes in which fake snakes are utilized, such as a beyond-insane human-cobra Kung Fu duel, are plenty enjoyable in their own right!
Vital Statistics
CALAMITY OF SNAKES (REN SHE DA ZHAN)
Apprehensive Films
Director: “William Chang Kee” (Chi Chang)
Producer: Tsai-Ching Wang
Screenplay: Chi Chang, Kang Nien Li, Kuo Jung Tsai
Cinematography: Yung Hu
Editing: Hung Min Chen, Po-Wen Chen, Chiu Kuei Huang
Cast: Yun-Peng Hsiang, Yuen Kao, Ping Ou Wei, Lei Chang, Chung-Lien Chou, Tung-Min Huang, Ying Lee, Kuan-Chang Li, Pi-Ling Lo, Tai-Lan Lu, Wei Lu, Yi-Ian Yu, Sha-Fei Ouyang, Jen-Chi Shen, Hun Sui Wong, Yen Wu