''Boa vs. Python'' is a 2004

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

horror film. It was directed by David Flores, from a script by Chase Parker and Sam Wells, and was filmed in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. The film is a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

between ''

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

'' (2000) and its indirect sequel ''

New Alcatraz ''New Alcatraz'' (named ''Boa'' on VHS and DVD), is a 2002 American direct-to-video science fiction action horror film. It was directed by Phillip Roth and starred Dean Cain. In the middle of Antarctica, a high maximum-security prison called New ...

'' (2002, also known as ''Boa'').

Plot

Two masked wrestlers, one named "Boa" the other "Python", are grappling. Enjoying this spectacle is multi-millionaire

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

owner Broddick ( Adam Kendrick) and his girlfriend Eve (

Angel Boris Angel Lynn Boris (born August 2, 1974) is an American model and actress sometimes credited as Angel Boris Reed. Career Boris was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After entering the Venus Swimwear international model search in 1994, she was disc ...

). Their night out is interrupted by a phone call. The caller, Ramon informs Broddick that his "package" has arrived overseas from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and is being delivered. Broddick is delighted and promises lucrative compensation to Ramon for his work. During the journey, whatever is sealed inside the back of the truck has awakened and become enraged. Ramon stops the convoy and gets a

tranquilizer A tranquilizer is a drug that is designed for the treatment of anxiety, fear, tension, agitation, and disturbances of the mind, specifically to reduce states of anxiety and tension. Etymology Tranquilizer, as a term, was first used by F.F. Yonk ...

gun, ordering a panel to be opened. Unfortunately, a serpentine tail smashes through the panel and begins to wreak havoc. One of the men is startled and fires his gun, accidentally hitting the main control circuit on the back of the truck. The main door of the sealed container opens, and an abnormally large, nightmarish

reticulated python The reticulated python (''Malayopython reticulatus'') is a python species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, and is among the three heaviest. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List because of its wi ...

, about long and , emerges and kills the group. Ramon detonates a

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

in the process, destroying the convoy, but not the snake. Broddick reveals his plan to bring extreme big-game

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

to the city, as yet another pastime for the mega-wealthy, and the python is to be the quarry. Broddick then sees a news report detailing the destruction of Ramon's convoy. Now realizing the python has escaped, Broddick decides to bring his

big-game hunting Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("s ...

associates to their prey.

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

Agent Alan Sharpe ( Kirk B.R. Woller) investigates the wrecked convoy and discovers a large snake scale on the wreckage. Quickly realizing what he is up against (Agent Sharpe is familiar with the events in the film ''

''), Sharpe is determined to prevent the snake from killing more people. He enlists

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

Dr. Steven Emmett (

David Hewlett David Ian Hewlett (born 18 April 1968) is a British-born Canadian actor, writer, and director known for his role as Dr. Rodney McKay in the '' Stargate'' science-fiction franchise. He first gained fame for his roles as Grant Jansky in the Cana ...

) and

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...

Monica Bonds (

Jaime Bergman Jaime Bergman Boreanaz (born September 23, 1975) is an American model and actress who was ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month in January 1999, its 45th Anniversary issue. In addition to her magazine appearance she has appeared in severa ...

) to devise a plan to stop the python. They plan to merge Monica's

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

-camera headgear and tracking system to Dr. Emmett's giant long, , genetically enhanced Scarlet Boa named Betty. They hope Betty will seek out and kill the python. The trio, now joined by a backup team of

agents and

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

soldiers, transports Betty to the water treatment facility. She quickly enters and begins to track the python. The tracking system proves faulty, providing only sporadic coverage. Broddick and his surviving hunters enter the opposite end of the treatment facility and begin to track the reptile. They are surprised when they stumble upon a nest of

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

, guarded by Betty, whom they had not expected to see. Betty constricts Eve, killing her, which causes Broddick to snap. Eventually, he makes his way out alone, the rest of his team being killed by both snakes while Sharpe is accidentally killed by one of them. Broddick finally meets up with Dr. Emmett and Monica. The python devours the eggs, enraging Betty, who engages the python in a fight. Broddick is taken into custody. The tracking system starts to function again, and Dr. Emmett finally sees Betty's nest. He decides to go back into the treatment facility to save the nest. Monica goes with him. Broddick, however, has sneaked away and commandeered an APC. Dr. Emmett and Monica, using the tracking system, track Betty to a

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

. Betty smashes through the floor, as does the giant python. The two snakes grab Broddick and, in a vicious and bloody

tug-of-war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

, bisect him, each devouring their half. The two snakes continue their battle underneath the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

, with Dr. Emmett and Monica hot on their trail. The battling snakes end up fighting on subway tracks. Betty is winning, but a train is about to run over both combatants. Betty is saved by Dr. Emmett, who activates an electrical spike device he implanted into her head. The shock throws her off the tracks just as a speeding bullet train slams into the python and beheads the beast. Dr. Emmett and Monica celebrate the death of the python, but become concerned when it is revealed Betty has crawled away. The duo heads back into the treatment facility to bring Betty and her remaining eggs home.

Cast

as Dr. Steven Emmett *

as Monica Bonds * Kirk B.R. Woller as FBI Agent Alan Sharpe * Adam Kendrick as Broddick *

as Eve * Marianne Stanicheva as FBI Agent Koznetova *

Griff Furst Griff Furst is an American actor and film director. Furst has appeared in over a hundred television and film productions. He has produced such films as ''You Might Be The Killer'', ''Welcome to Sudden Death'', and ''Tales From the Hood''. He di ...

as James Danner * Ivo Naidenov as Littlefield * George R. Sheffey as Mr. Danner * Atanas Srebrev as Mr. Foley * Harry Anichkin as "Tex" * Jeff Rank as Kent Humphries *

Asen Blatechki Assen Emilov Blatechki ( bg, Асен Емилов Блатечки; born 22 March 1971) is a Bulgarian actor. Acting and television career Blatechki appeared in a number of Bulgarian films including ''Steps in the Sand"'' (Bulgarian: ''Стъ� ...

as Ramon * Jonas Talkington as Deputy * Velizar Binev as Louis

Release

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

by Columbia Tristar on August 24, 2004. Tristar would later re-release the film on September 20 later that year and on October 1, 2007. It was later released by

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

as a part of a multi-film pack, which included ''

Chupacabra Terror ''Chupacabra: Dark Seas'' (released on DVD as ''Chupacabra Terror'') is a 2005 Syfy channel original film directed by John Shepphird and starring John Rhys-Davies, Giancarlo Esposito, Dylan Neal, and Chelan Simmons. It was filmed on location in t ...

'', ''

Frankenfish ''Frankenfish'' is a 2004 American horror film dealing with genetically engineered fish in the bayou. Filmed in Baldwin County, Alabama, a pack of massive, bloodthirsty, genetically engineered fish combing the quiet waters of the river in the Lou ...

'', and ''

Lake Placid 3 ''Lake Placid 3'' is a 2010 horror comedy television film directed by Griff Furst. The film is a sequel to ''Lake Placid 2'' (2007) and the third installment in the ''Lake Placid'' film series. The film premiered on August 21, 2010, on Syfy, an ...

''.

Reception

''Boa vs. Python'' was panned by reviewers, who criticized the acting,

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

, and storyline. It has been called a rip-off of ''

Alien vs. Predator ''Alien vs. Predator'' (also known as ''Aliens versus Predator'' and ''AVP'') is a science-fiction action horror media franchise created by comic book writers Randy Stradley and Chris Warner. The series is a crossover between, and part of, th ...

'' (2004) and an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the more popular ''

'' (2000). ''Reel Film.com'' awarded the film one and a half out of four stars, criticizing the film's special effects, and expressed disappointment with the film's lack of suitable violence.

References

External links