A much-neglected but crucial entry in the shot on video revolution of the 1980s. COPPERHEAD appeared in 1983, and so vied with the SOV horror features BOARDINGHOUSE and SLEDGEHAMMER, which both appeared the same year, for the coveted “first ever” designation.
Leland Payton, a Missouri based antique dealer and documentarian, made COPPERHEAD with his wife Crystal, young son Ross Daniels (now a successful podcaster) and 50 copperhead snakes. It was lensed on one inch videotape that was intended to be transferred to 35mm film, but that transfer never occurred, with COPPERHEAD undergoing an unheard-of distribution strategy: it went straight to VHS (as opposed to BOARDINGHOUSE and SLEDGEHAMMER, both of which received theatrical releases), courtesy of VCI Home Video, which billed it as “probably the snakiest of all the horror movies ever made.” The release was successful enough that it inspired VCI to put out an entire line of shot-on-video horror flicks (BLOOD CULT, THE RIPPER, REVENGE, etc.), although COPPERHEAD quickly fell into obscurity, and nearly ended up a Lost Film, with a deluxe 2023 Blu-ray release from Terror Vision ultimately saving it from that fate.
Filmed in the Ozark Mountains, the pic opens with a Mondo-esque close-up of a snake devouring a mouse. The tone and attitude would seem to be amply set, but, surprisingly, a valiant attempt is made at plotting and character development, which are strong enough that the film could conceivably work as a snake-free potboiler—but, for reasons I’ll get into, it doesn’t.
The Randalls, a reclusive clan, have moved from their previous base in South America to an abandoned church overrun with mice—and, in turn, the rodents’ major predator: snakes. Poison-equipped copperhead snakes, to be exact.
The brood is headed by the gruff mirror shade wearing Howard (Jack Renner), his uber-religious wife Donna (Gretta Ratliff), their grown children Curtis (James Booth) and Peggy (Marianne Blaine), and the latter’s hubbie Mark (Daniel Schell). As the Randalls are settling in their next door neighbor Jerry Jerome (David Fritts), a nature painter, attempts to ingratiate himself, only to be harshly rebuffed by Howard. Things grow even more unpleasant when Jerry catches a copperhead and Howard shoots it, thus setting up the Randalls’ standard reaction when faced with snakes.
Jerry (who has an infant son played by Ross Daniels Payton) complains to his cop friend Albert (Alan Bailey) about Howard’s behavior, but it seems there’s not much that can be done. In the meantime more copperheads appear around the Randalls’ residence, with Howard becoming convinced that Jerry is responsible. A confrontation is inevitable, as is a fateful encounter with a mysterious young woman (Cheryl Nickerson) bearing a troubling link to the Randalls’ highly checkered past.
The drama and horror are crippled by subpar performances, an unfortunate mainstay of SOV cinema (video making it very difficult to disguise bad acting). Yet the whole thing is surprisingly well made, with a good eye for visual composition that the Paytons have credited to cinematographer Kevin Hudnell, a future actor (in THE MASTER) and editor (THE DEVIL’S BRIDE). The script is also a fairly skilled and involving piece of work, albeit crippled by a slack second half (which could have stood to be trimmed by 10-15 minutes) and a confusing ending (the abovementioned mysterious young woman needs a bit more fleshing out).
COPPERHEAD’s major selling points are indicated by its title: the snakes. Those colorful critters are entirely real, and required an experienced snake handler to be corralled. This unfortunately means that, in keeping with the Mondo-esque nature of the production, numerous snakes are blown apart in garish close-up. The
filmmakers claim that only “three, maybe four” snakes were actually killed, with much of the mayhem performed on already-dead roadkill, but I say three-maybe-four is too high a death quotient for such an inconsequential pic.
Vital Statistics
COPPERHEAD
United Entertainment
Director/Screenplay: Leland Payton
Producer: Crystal Payton
Cinematography/Editing: Kevin Hudnell
Cast: Jack Renner, Gretta Ratliff, David Fritts, Cheryl Nickerson, Alan Bailey, Marianne Blaine, James Booth, Beebe Bruce, Eric Durham, Ross Daniels Payton, Jim Roach, Daniel Schell