SSSSSSS
(1973)Director: Bernard Kowalski
Universal
SSSSSSS
(1973)Shortly after leaving Fox for Universal (and a couple of years before HUGE success with JAWS), Darryl Zanuck was executive producer for this low-budget mad scientist/science fiction effort directed by the man behind such 50s AIP titles like THE GIANT LEECHES and NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST. Veteran make-up designer Dan Striekepe (known for his work on the "Planet of the Apes" films and TV series) also produced for the first and only time to date, and co-wrote the story which is actually a throwback to something AIP would make in the 50s.
Strother
Martin stars as Dr. Stoner, an ophiologist (a scientist specializing in snakes)
who runs a snake farm, which is sometimes open to the public. Needing a new assistant
for the summer, he hires friendly yet naïve college student David (played
by a very young Dirk Benedict of "Battlestar Galactica" and "The
A-Team" fame) who soon after is given regular injections of an "immunization
serum" since he'll be around dangerous snakes all day. Of course, since Dr.
Stoner is a mad scientist, these injections are intended for his ultimate plan:
to transform a man into a male species of King Cobra. David discovers layers of
his skin shedding, his facial features starting to change (eventually turning
a shade of green) and growing scales! He is also romantically involved with Ston
er's
daughter Kristina (Heather Menzies from PIRHANA) and when she visits a carnival's
freakshow to get a glimpse at one of dad's "failed" experiments, she
begins to realize the truth about what is happening to her boyfriend.
With
a rather silly premise which includes a totally oblivious victim/leading man,
SSSSSSS still has enough ingredients to please B movie fans. Strother Martin gives
another meaty performance as a determined nutcase who talks to his array of pet
snakes, sinisterly employing them to get rid of his enemies, including a dumb
bullying jock (Reb Brown) and a sleazy rival professor (Richard B. Shull). Real
snakes are seen attacking, slithering and biting, so anyone with a fear of these
reptiles is bound to find the film creepy. John Chambers (also known for his Oscar-winning
achievements on the "Planet of the Apes" films) also worked on the make-up,
which is pretty impressive, especially when viewing the failed "snake man"
experiment, played by
Noble Craig, an actor with no legs and one arm. Universal originally packaged
the film with THE BOY WHO CRIED WEREWOLF (yet to make its home video debut), making
the program one of the last double bills released by the studio.
Universal
has released SSSSSSS on DVD in its original 1.85:1 theatrical ratio with anamorphic
enhancement, and it looks quite nice. The presentation is free of blemishes and
defects and creates a solid picture with great detail. Colors are rich and vibrant,
with natural fleshtones and solid black levels. The Dolby Digital mono audio track
is strong and renders the dialog and music fine, and there are optional Spanish
and French subtitles. Optical censoring of brief nudity -- in the form of inserted
leaves and a lamp's silhouette -- is apparent in two scenes. Since this was also
the case with Universal's previous VHS release, and since they obviously went
back to the negative for this DVD transfer, it's hard to tell if this was done
for theatrical release or not, as the film always maintained a PG rating. The
only extra is the original trailer. (George R. Reis)