Silent Predators (1999)

A small town deals with an invasion of rattlesnakes.

Director:

Noel Nosseck

Writers:

John Carpenter (teleplay), William S. Gilmore (teleplay) (as William Gilmore)

Stars:

Harry Hamlin, Shannon Sturges, David Spielberg

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harry Hamlin	...	Vic Rondelli
Shannon Sturges	...	Mandy Stratford
David Spielberg	...	Mayor Parker
Patty McCormack	...	Vera Conrad
Beau Billingslea	...	George Mitchell
Phillip Troy Linger	...	Dr. Matthew Watkins
Jack Scalia	...	Max Farrington
David Whitney	...	Ken
David Webb	...	Sheriff Howell
Carolyn Bock	...	Anita Young
Beth Champion	...	Karen
Sandra Bell	...	Laura Holden
Kirsty Boden	...	Tammy Holden
Darce Florio	...	Anita's Friend
Paul Tassone	...	Stranded Motorist

Storyline

In 1979, a delivery truck makes its way up a lonely southern California highway in a storm, bound for the San Diego Zoo with a deadly tropical rattlesnake as cargo. When the truck suffers a blowout, the driver loses control and hits a tree, shattering the snake's aquarium in the back and the window separating the snake from the driver. The snake slithers into the front of the truck, kills the driver with its bite and then moves off into the forest. Flash forward to 1999. The small southern California town of San Vicente has grown from 6,000 to 30,000, and the rattler, which escaped nearby years ago, has bred. There are now 25,000 of these hybrid rattlesnakes, and they are slowly making their way downhill into the town, attracted by the movement of the blasting as the town paves its way toward progress. Progress, in this case, brings terror, in this tale originally penned by John Carpenter.

---

Plot Keywords:

creature feature | town | rattlesnake | snake | small town | 

---

Taglines:

The hunt is on. You're the Prey.

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was based on "Fangs", a script John Carpenter did back in the 1970s when he wrote as a gun for hire. In the original, according to Carpenter himself, there were scares and jumps all over the place. One scene included a man who hears a rattle, thinks it's his infant, and finds a rattlesnake in the crib.

---

Goofs

When they pull Mandy out of the mine with the bulldozer, the lever that the operator pulls would not, in reality, stop the bulldozer.

---

Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Ghetto Blaster, Terror in Beverly Hills, and Killing American Style (2014)

User Reviews

Aah the good old times.

Silent Predators a made for TV movie came out in 1999, looking as cheesy as ever, showing us from the very start who is the good guy, the villain and of course the love interest.

Now was it a good movie? No. But did it manage to excite a little with its premise and execution? Also no. So unless you saw the movie back then, I could recommend it for the simple fact that it does manage to bring on some nostalgia. A time when horror productions and Sci-fies had the courage to be raw, dark, with no other consideration but to come out exactly the way the director visioned it.

So is it campy, cheesy and solves itself with no real climax. Yes, it is and does all that. For harmless fun, you may try out Silent Predators.

Cheers!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Angriff der Klapperschlangen

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Von Zerneck-Sertner Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Color