If you had asked me a couple of months ago whether I had seen any of the Anaconda films, I would’ve been surprised they even existed. A horror series about giant snakes seems like it should’ve been a bigger deal, but it must’ve flown under my radar because it turns out it was a relevant series in the late 90s/early 2000s with three films alongside some TV releases (maybe I was just too young to watch them). I only know this because of the new film, Anaconda, directed by Tom Gormican and the sixth entry in the Anaconda series. Unlike other reboots, Anaconda has done something a little different: the plot centres on remaking the original 1997 film. Has this creative reimagining reignited interest in the series? Let’s find out.
Doug McCallister was once an aspiring filmmaker, but has now found himself making wedding videos that afford him no creative freedom. His best friend, Ronald “Griff” Griffin, is an aspiring actor who is struggling to find consistent work. Both are dissatisfied with their lives, but Griff acquires something that will change both of their lives: the rights to one of their favourite films, Anaconda. Griff pitches the idea of remaking the film to Doug and their other friends, Kenny and Claire, and after some persuasion and Doug having an epiphany at work, they all agree to the project. The only problems they face is money, location, and getting a snake for their snake movie. But with determination and indie-filmmaking grit, they might just pull it off. That is, if they don’t run into any illegal gold miners or an actual giant anaconda in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest.
The plot of this film is dumb, yet brilliant. The concept of rebooting a franchise with a film about rebooting the franchise is something I’m surprised no one else has thought of before. But after watching this film, I can see why most wouldn’t go this route. Not to say it’s bad, but I wouldn’t call it good, mostly because it’s a bit of a jumbled mess. The main plot of Doug and co filming their version of Anaconda is there, but the film's secondary plot lines, like the illegal gold miners and the actual giant anaconda, feel tacked on (the gold miners more than the giant anaconda).
I enjoyed the horror aspect of the beeg snake, but I would’ve preferred it to have more screen time in order for it to leave a larger impact on the story. Despite that, the film does know what it is, and it doesn’t take itself seriously, so I still had a decent enough time with it (and it got a few chuckles out of me, especially those cameos).
The main reason most people (including myself) went to see this film was the cast, and they looked like they were just having a fun time. Jack Black as Doug is doing Jack Black things, but for the first time in a while, he's able to portray a character who isn’t just screaming random catchphrases (I’m looking at you, A Minecraft Movie). He’s surprisingly the most responsible character in the film, which is something I wouldn’t normally get to say for him. Paul Rudd plays Griff and, similar to Jack Black, is mostly just playing himself. But unlike Black, he doesn’t really get to work with much outside of what you would expect from him. He still does a good job, but it felt a bit lacking.
Steve Zahn as Kenny was undoubtedly the funniest character in the film (an achievement given that Jack Black and Paul Rudd were in the same film). His outlandish behaviour and airheaded comments led to some of the funniest moments in the film. Thandiwe Newton as Claire did a decent job, but, like Rudd, isn’t given much to work with beyond being the girl of the group, which is a bit of a shame. She does have a few nice moments with Rudd and Black, but her character felt like the least important in the film.
Another performance I really enjoyed, despite the character having little screen time, is Selton Mello as Carlos Santiago Braga, the snake handler hired for their film. Something about the way he talked about not only his snake, but just random shit throughout the film got at least a chuckle out of me every time.
As the title suggests, there is an anaconda in this film, but it didn’t appear as much as I thought it would. It shows up about halfway through the film and has only a few set pieces, but besides that, it’s barely there. I was half expecting to be lured in by the Jack Black and Paul Rudd casting, only to be met with an actual full-blown horror film, but instead it’s used as an excuse for action rather than horror (mostly). When the snake is on screen, it looks fairly decent, with CGI that doesn’t immediately take you out of the film.
Besides the giant snake, the rest of the film looks pretty good. They filmed the jungle scenes on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia (Australian superiority), so the vibe is on point. There are a few scenes shot at night that had me a lil scared, but that didn’t carry over to the rest of the film. In the end, it looked pretty good, but nothing to write home about.
Anaconda is a dumb film, but it knows that, and that’s what makes it fun. The story is a bit of a mess, the performances are mostly good, and the giant snake is way less prevalent than I thought, but I still had a fun time. As a basic popcorn flick to chuck on and have a few laughs, it does its job perfectly.
Have you seen Anaconda? What did you think? Could you fight a giant snake? Let us know in the comments where we can talk about other films that should get the Anaconda treatment.
