''Venom'' is a 1981 British

natural horror Natural horror is a subgenre of horror films that features natural forces, typically in the form of animals or plants, that pose a threat to human characters. Though killer animals in film have existed since the release of '' The Lost World'' in ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Piers Haggard Piers Inigo Haggard, OBE (born 18 March 1939), is a British theatre, film and television director, although he has worked mostly in the latter. Haggard was born in London but grew up on a small farm in Clackmannanshire. He is the great-great- ...

, written by Robert Carrington, and starring

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...

Nicol Williamson Thomas Nicol Williamson (14 September 1936 – 16 December 2011) was a Scottish actor, once described by playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando". He was also described by Samuel Beckett as "touched by genius" and view ...

, and

Sarah Miles Sarah Miles (born 31 December 1941) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in films ''The Servant'' (1963), ''Blowup'' (1966), ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' (1973), '' White Mischief'' (1987) and '' Ho ...

. It is based on Alan Scholefield's novel of the same name.

Plot

International criminal Jacques Müller and his girlfriend Louise Andrews plan to kidnap Philip Hopkins, the grandson of Howard Anderson, a retired hunter and the wealthy owner of a hotel chain. Louise goes undercover as a maid working for Philip's mother Ruth and seduces her chauffeur Dave Averconnelly, convincing him to help in the kidnapping. On the day of the kidnapping, Müller tricks Howard and Ruth into leaving home while Louise and Dave kidnap the boy. Philip leaves briefly to retrieve a pet snake, which is accidentally swapped with a

black mamba The black mamba (''Dendroaspis polylepis'') is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. First formally described by Albert Günther in 1864, it is the second-longest ...

meant for toxicologist Dr. Marion Stowe. Howard returns home early, and the black mamba is released and bites Louise in the face repeatedly before fleeing into the ventilation system. Müller and Taylor Species take Howard and Philip hostage, while Louise dies from the black mamba's venom. Dr. Stowe contacts the police, having discovered the mix-up, and a police officer is dispatched to the Hopkins residence. The officer is shot and killed by Dave with one of Howard's rifles, but the officer manages to call for backup before he dies. More police officers arrive, led by

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

William Bulloch, and after learning about the hostages, Bulloch has the street sealed off and tries to negotiate with Müller, but refuses to give in to Müller's demands for transportation and one million in different currencies. Dr. Stowe arrives with a case of

anti-venom Anti-Venom is a fictional antihero appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in '' The Amazing Spider-Man'' #569 (August 2008), and was created by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. The creature belongs to a race of amorp ...

and informs Bulloch of the black mamba. Bulloch and Dr. Stove warn both the kidnappers and hostages of the snake, and Müller lies that Louise is still alive, and orders Dr. Stowe to come to the front door with the anti-venom to treat her. Dr. Stowe complies and is taken hostage. Bulloch discovers a secret entrance through the cellar, and he and two other officers try to enter. Dr. Stowe suggests turning off the central heating source, as this would send the black mamba into a coma. Dave and Howard climb into the cellar at the same time Bulloch and the officers enter. Bulloch shoots and injures Dave, and the black mamba attacks, forcing Bulloch and the officers to flee while Howard flees from the cellar and back onto the first floor. Dave is unable to escape and is killed by the black mamba. Müller gives Bulloch a severed finger, which he falsely claims belongs to Dr. Stowe. Unable to enter the cellar with the black mamba inside, Bulloch gives in to Müller's demands and brings him his getaway car, which was previously confiscated. Bulloch demands to see the hostages, and Müller forces Dr. Stowe onto a balcony, forcing her to tell Bulloch Howard and Philip are fine. Philip and Howard notice the black mamba and allow it to attack Müller, who stumbles onto the balcony while grappling with the snake. Howard pulls Dr. Stowe out of the line of fire, and police snipers proceed to shoot Müller and the snake multiple times, and Müller and the black mamba tumble off the balcony. The hostages are rescued and Ruth embraces Philip. The final shot of the film reveals that the black mamba had laid an egg in the vents, which hatches and slithers off.

Cast

as Jacques Müller (Jacmel) *

Sterling Hayden Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor and decorated Marine Corps officer and an Office of Strategic Services' agent during World War II. A leading man for mos ...

as Howard Anderson *

as Dr. Marion Stowe *

as Cmdr. William Bulloch * Cornelia Sharpe as Ruth Hopkins * Susan George as Louise Andrews * Lance Holcomb as Philip Hopkins *

as Dave Averconnelly *

Mike Gwilym Mike Gwilym (born 5 March 1949) is a Welsh actor. Early life Born in Neath, Gwilym is the brother of actor Robert Gwilym, son of Arthur Aubrey Remington Gwilym and Renée Mathilde Eugénie Léonce Dupont. His parents were the proprietors of a ...

as Det. Constable Dan Spencer * Paul Williamson as Det. Sgt. Glazer *

Michael Gough Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer Horror Films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthu ...

as David Ball *

Hugh Lloyd Hugh Lewis Lloyd (22 April 1923 – 14 July 2008) was an English actor who made his name in film and television comedy from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was best known for appearances in ''Hancock's Half Hour'', ''Hugh and I'' and other sit ...

as Taxi Driver *

Rita Webb Olive Rita Webb (25 February 1904 – 30 August 1981), later known as Olive Rita Thompson, was an English character actress, mainly in comedy roles. She was the eldest child of Henry Augustus Webb (1880–1926) and Rose Jeannette Keysor. She had ...

as Mrs. Loewenthal *

Edward Hardwicke Edward Cedric Hardwicke (7 August 1932 – 16 May 2011) was an English actor, who had a distinguished career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in ''Colditz'' (1972-73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Te ...

as Lord Dunning * John Forbes-Robertson as Sgt. Nash

Production

Tobe Hooper Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influenti ...

was originally attached to direct but quit because of "creative differences", and

replaced him. Kinski chose to do this film instead of ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronal ...

'' because the salary was higher. In his autobiography, ''

Kinski Uncut ''All I Need Is Love: A Memoir'' is the autobiography of the German actor Klaus Kinski first published 1975 in German under the title "Ich bin so wild nach deinem Erdbeermund" (English: I am so wild about your strawberry mouth). The first translat ...

'', he also stated that the script for the Spielberg movie was "moronically shitty". Haggard later recalled:

I took over that at very short notice. Tobe Hooper had been directing it and they had stopped for whatever reason. It hadn’t been working. I did see some of his stuff and it didn’t look particularly good plus he also had some sort of nervous breakdown or something. So anyway they stopped shooting and offered it to me. Unfortunately I had commitments, I had some commercials to shoot. But anyway I took it over with barely ten days of preparation—which shows. It doesn’t become my picture, it’s a bit inbetween... liver Reed wasscary at first because he was always testing you all the time. Difficult but not as difficult as Klaus Kinski. Because Oliver actually had a sense of humour. I was rather fond of him; he could be tricky but he was quite warm really. He just played games and was rather macho and so on. Klaus Kinski was very cold. The main problem with the film was that the two didn’t get on and they fought like cats. Kinski of course is a fabulous film actor and he’s good in the part, the part suits him very well. They were both well cast but it was a very unhappy film. I think Klaus was the problem but then Oliver spent half the movie just trying to rub him up, pulling his leg all the way. There were shouting matches because Oliver just wouldn’t let up. None of this is about art. All the things that you’re trying to concentrate on tend to slip. So it was not a happy period.Piers Haggard interview, 2003, MJ Simpson
accessed 11 April 2014

Release

The film was released theatrically in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

on 29 January 1982. It grossed $5,229,643 at the box office. The film was released on

special edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

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 ...

Blue Underground Blue Underground is an American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult and exploitation movies on Blu-ray Disc and DVD. It was originally formed as a shell company to oversee 'making of' documentaries during founder ...

on 29 July 2003. It features audio commentary by Haggard.

Critical reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 43% based on 7 reviews with an average rating of 4.8/10.

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "If ''Venom'' doesn't turn out to be the silliest film of 1982, it's a good bet that it will land within a hoot and a holler of that distinction."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Venom (1981 Film) 1981 films 1981 horror films 1980s horror thriller films British natural horror films British horror thriller films 1980s English-language films Films about hostage takings Films about snakes Films based on South African novels Films directed by Piers Haggard Films produced by Martin Bregman Films scored by Michael Kamen Films set in London Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films shot in London HandMade Films films Paramount Pictures films 1980s British films