KnotMissPriceless
Why so much hype?
Brightlyme
i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.
Solidrariol
Am I Missing Something?
DipitySkillful
an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.
manchester_england2004
Most British horror films are good and I've enjoyed watching them ever since I was a kid. I've spent my adult years tracking down the ones I never got to see, for whatever reason, when I was growing up. Today I finally got to see VENOM, which I'd never heard of to be honest. It could have been one of those "hidden gems" we all come across from time to time. But sadly it isn't.The plot revolves around a mad scientist trying to create a poisonous nerve gas from spider venom. The idea is interesting and one could imagine Hammer, Amicus or Tigon making an interesting film out of the premise. But sadly, VENOM is as dull as dishwater. It's also very incoherent and it seems that every five minutes or so, the main character is chasing this girl through the woods. The problem is that there really isn't much mystery other than the motive of the mad scientist. The characters aren't interesting and nor do they do anything that holds your attention through the film. If you stick with it, you're merely doing so just so you can "cross one off" your list of British horror films to see.Director Peter Sykes has made only two other horror films besides this one - DEMONS OF THE MIND and TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER. What makes his style different from most other directors of British horror films is that he goes out of his way to try shocking the viewer. In TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER the shocks are quite effective in my opinion. But VENOM just fails to escape its flat feeling so much that one could be forgiven for falling asleep before the shocking moments arrive. I won't explain what happens but it's tame and not as compelling viewing as it should be.The whole production has the feeling of everyone simply going through the motions. The acting isn't awful by any means. But the whole production just feels flat and lifeless most of the time. Derek Newark, usually cast as a police inspector or detective in films and TV shows from the 1960s and 1970s, is wasted here. Gertan Klauber is better in his brief appearances in the CARRY ON films, as well as his small role in SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN. The remaining cast members are nearly all unknown to me and Simon Brent is particularly bland as the lead.Overall, VENOM is a very boring film. It remained obscure in the UK for a long time for good reason. Recommended only for British horror completists.
morrison-dylan-fan
With Halloween coming up,I started talking to a family friend about Horror movies that he was looking for.Telling me about an interesting-sounding title that he had spotted when leaving HMV,I searched round the films alt titles and finally found the DVD being sold at a good price on Amazon UK,which led to me getting ready to enter the spider forest.The plot:Visiting a German village in order to take some wild life photos, photographer Paul Greville spots a mysterious girl in the woods with a scar that looks like a spider on her shoulders.Attempting to get more info from the villagers about the stranger, Greville finds himself being completely stopped in his tracks,with the towns people whispering that any man who gets near the girl is doomed to die.Pressing the town leaders, Greville is told that the mysterious figure is a "troubled girl" called Anna,who he should forget about if he knows what is best for him. Desperate to discover what Anna's "curse" is, Greville starts to investigate the webs of the towns peoples secret and lies.View on the film:Dipping the opening scene in green tint,director Peter Sykes & cinematographer Peter Jessop give the German village a lush,Folk Horror appearance,with the warm greens and yellows of the woods allowing the deadly spiders (and deadlier humans) to lurk hidden in the background.Hitting Greville's (played by a rugged Simon Brent)battles with the villagers with a firm thump,Sykes gives the final spiders webs an unexpected, pristine Sci-Fi shine,as Greville untangles the web of Anna's "curse."Stepping on all the villagers toes,the screenplay by Christopher Wicking and Derek & Donald Ford digs into a paranoid Folk Horror vein,as Greville's obsession with learning more about Anna leads to him brushing against the hushed myths of the village,and the rulers of the town who want to keep those myths crawling.Whilst the turn into Sci- Fi for the final cobweb is unexpected,the writers layer the paranoia on the lead villagers shoulders and deliver a deliciously strange final web.
Darkling_Zeist
Quite a curio this.'Legend of The Spider Forest' is partly shot in what appears to be the picturesque Bavarian mountains, concerning the bizarre, esoteric legend of the deadly Spider Woman; played by the truly delicious Nada Arneric. Various libidinous young men are dying in the uber spooky forest; is it really the dastardly machinations of the nubile Arneric or is there something far more sinister afoot? Throw in the ubiquitous mad German scientist and you have a giddy mish- mash of unctuous horror goodness that is bound to appeal to most Brit horror completists!
The_Void
Peter Sasdy made a lot of films that were disappointing; Demons of the Mind and To the Devil a Daughter were two of the worst of all the Hammer films and House in Nightmare Park was not nearly as entertaining as it could have been. The Legend of Spider Forest is actually Sasdy's least disappointing film, but that's only because I had no expectations going into it. The film really does make little sense and while the fantasy elements of it might have lifted it out of the bottom of the barrel, they unfortunately don't. The plot has something to do with a mad scientist, a mythical 'spider woman' and some spider venom; there's a forest involved too. It actually gets off to an interesting start as we witness an interesting sequence taking place in a forest but the rest of the film is an absolute mess. It's far too easy to get lost in what's going on, and since the film is not very interesting, it's difficult to find the motivation to actually care what is going on - which kind of makes watching this film rather pointless. I guess this might appeal to people who like daft films that don't make sense, but everyone else can feel free to leave this one languishing in obscurity!