''Venom'' (also known as ''The Legend of Spider Forest'', and ''Spider's Venom'') is a 1971 British horror film directed by Peter Sykes in his directorial debut.

Plot

A Nazi scientist and a woman known as a "spider goddess" attempt to develop a nerve gas made from spider venom.

Cast

*Simon Brent as Paul Greville *

Neda Arnerić Neda Arnerić ( sr-cyr, Неда Арнерић; 15 July 1953 – 10 January 2020) was a Serbian film, stage and television actress, and politician. A graduate art historian, she was considered a sex symbol of Yugoslav cinematography. Personal ...

as Anna * Sheila Allen as Ellen *

Derek Newark Derek John Newark (8 June 1933 – 11 August 1998) was an English actor in television, film and theatre. Career Newark began his working life as a soldier in the Coldstream Guards before joining the Royal Artillery. However, he wanted to beco ...

as Johann *

Terence Soall Terence Soall (22 March 1920 – 10 August 2006) was an English actor who appeared in numerous television productions over a 50-year period and in over 100 films. Early life He was born into a working-class family in Tottenham, North London. Aft ...

as Lutgermann *

Gerard Heinz Gerard Heinz (born Gerhard Hinze; 2 January 1904 – 20 November 1972) was a German actor. Heinz was born in Hamburg, Germany and later moved to Britain, where he changed his name. He appeared in almost 60 films (including ''Caravan''), and a n ...

as Huber *

Gertan Klauber George Gertan Klauber (5 March 1932 – 1 August 2008) was a British bit part character actor. Klauber was born in Czechoslovakia, and after training at the Birmingham Theatre School, his stage appearances included with the RSC and the Nat ...

as Kurt *Sean Gerrad as Rudi *Bette Vivian as Frau Kessler *

Ray Barron Raynor Alan Francis Barron (1 November 1940 – 13 February 2016) was a British actor. He typically played minor roles such as policemen or workmen. He was known for his work in films such as ''10 Rillington Place'' (1971) in which he played a ...

as Young Man *Billy Reid as Gang member *George Fisher as Gang member *

Nosher Powell George Frederick Bernard Powell (15 August 1928 – 20 April 2013), credited as Nosher Powell, Freddie Powell, or Fred Powell, was an English actor, stuntman and boxer. He is best known for his work in the ''James Bond'' film series, most ...

as Gang member

Production

Cupid Films was the company of Michael Pearson, son of one of the wealthiest peers in England. (Cupid had made ''

Sympathy for the Devil "Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones and the opening track from the band's 1968 album ''Beggars Banquet''. The song is a product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership. It is consi ...

'' and ''Vanishing Point''. Peter Sykes said when he was asked to make the film a script already existed. Sykes rewrote the script and the producers told him he had changed it too much from the original, which had received financial backing. So it changed it back while keeping some changes. "The film looked beautiful," said Sykes, saying he was influenced by ''Sunrise''. The film led to Hammer Films offering him ''Demons of the Mind''. Filming took place in October 1970 at Twickenham Studios and on location. Peter Sykes called it "more of a romantic fantasy with horror overtones. It touches on the genre I’m most interested in, which is the psychological horror story — ''Cat People'' and films like that. It’s a kind of comic strip myth."

Release

Home media

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 kind ...

by Cav Distributing Corporation on Jan. 31, 2006, as a part of a double-feature alongside ''

God Told Me To ''God Told Me To'' (released in some theatrical markets as ''Demon'') is a 1976 science fiction horror film written, directed, and produced by Larry Cohen. Like many of Cohen's films, it is shot on location in New York City and incorporates aspe ...

''. It was later released by W Video on May 2, 2017 under its alternate name ''Spider's Venom''.

Reception

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

'' gave the film a mixed review, criticizing the film's script as being "full of holes", but commended the film's "tautly visual" action, and imaginative direction. Dave Sindelar of ''Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings'' gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's confusing plot, "jagged" direction, and poor camerawork.

References

External links

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Venom
at Letterbox DVD 1971 films 1971 horror films 1971 independent films British horror films British independent films Films shot in England Films about Nazis 1971 directorial debut films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Peter Sykes 1970s British films {{1970s-horror-film-stub