VENOM (1982) ***½ Klaus Kinski, Oliver Reed, Nicol Williamson, Sarah Miles, Susan George. Even though this film is called "Venom" and features a snake, this is no "creature feature." Two English domestics (Reed and George), along with an international criminal (Kinski), conspire to kidnap their wealthy employers' ten-year-old son. The plan goes awry after the boy mistakenly receives a highly aggressive, super-poisonous black mamba (originally intended for a research facility), which kills one of the conspirators and transforms the attempted kidnapping into a tense armed standoff. A box-office flop in its day, American audiences were probably turned off by the film's stodgy English production values and thanks to a misleading advertising campaign probably felt duped once they realized it wasn't a killer snake movie. Still, a strong script and Kinski and Reed's explosive performances make this a powerful thriller. Highly recommended.
