An anthropologist goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies.An anthropologist goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies.An anthropologist goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Jaime Pina Gautier
- Julio
- (as Jaime Piña Gautier)
Kimberleigh Aarn
- Margrite
- (as Kimberleigh Burroughs)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDue to political strife and civil turmoil in Haiti during the production, the local government informed the film crew that they could not guarantee their safety for the remainder of the shoot. The crew subsequently relocated to nearby Dominican Republic to complete filming.
- GoofsAt Captain Peytraud's first meeting with Dr. Alan, Peytraud wears his full Haitan Tonton Macoute uniform including a row of several award ribbons. All of these ribbons are in fact United States armed forces decorations - clearly visible are the Vietnam Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Air Force Overseas Ribbon, and the Army Good Conduct Medal.
- Quotes
Dennis Alan: Don't let them bury me! I'm not dead!
- Crazy credits[Opening card] In the legends of voodoo the Serpent is a symbol of Earth. The Rainbow is a symbol of Heaven. Between the two, all creatures must live and die. But because he has a soul Man can be trapped in a terrible place Where death is only the beginning. The following is inspired by a true story.
- Alternate versionsUK video and DVD versions are cut by 5 seconds by the BBFC to remove shots of cock-fighting (illegal animal cruelty).
- SoundtracksMadame Marcel
Performed by Le Roi Coupe Cloue
Courtesy of Chancy Records
Featured review
For horror fans
Wes Craven's "The Serpent and the Rainbow" is one of the more original and ambitious horror movies to come out of the '80s. Not only does it seek to reconnect cinematic zombies with their voodoo roots, ala classics like "White Zombie", but it also uses the creation of zombies as a political allegory. The film is set in Haiti during the last days of the dictatorship of "Baby Doc" Duvalier.
Based - very loosely one surmises - on a true story, the plot follows Dr. Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) as he investigates a powder that is said to turn people into zombies. He is aided in his quest by Dr. Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson), who he quickly falls for, and Louie Mozart (Brent Jennings) an expert in voodoo. Dargent Peytraud (the chilling Zakes Mokae) is the snarling villain of the piece, a man with sinister powers both government-sanctioned and supernatural.
The film abounds with creatively gruesome imagery - a man is buried alive, screaming, in a coffin as it fills with blood, a fiendish hand reaches out from a bowl of soup - this is one of those rare films that genuinely makes your skin crawl. Horror fans should not miss it. It's a shame that the film runs just a little longer than it should and becomes disappointingly routine in its final moments.
There is a sense that this movie was aiming a bit higher than it ending up reaching. I can't quite hold that against it.
Based - very loosely one surmises - on a true story, the plot follows Dr. Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) as he investigates a powder that is said to turn people into zombies. He is aided in his quest by Dr. Marielle Duchamp (Cathy Tyson), who he quickly falls for, and Louie Mozart (Brent Jennings) an expert in voodoo. Dargent Peytraud (the chilling Zakes Mokae) is the snarling villain of the piece, a man with sinister powers both government-sanctioned and supernatural.
The film abounds with creatively gruesome imagery - a man is buried alive, screaming, in a coffin as it fills with blood, a fiendish hand reaches out from a bowl of soup - this is one of those rare films that genuinely makes your skin crawl. Horror fans should not miss it. It's a shame that the film runs just a little longer than it should and becomes disappointingly routine in its final moments.
There is a sense that this movie was aiming a bit higher than it ending up reaching. I can't quite hold that against it.
helpful•606
- sparklecat
- Jan 5, 2005
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $7,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $19,595,031
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,848,700
- Feb 7, 1988
- Gross worldwide
- $19,595,031
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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