Sssssss

source: Sssssss

Like most people of my generation, I only know Dirk Benedict as the Faceman in the cool 80's series "The A-Team", where he used his womanizing skills and good looks (hence the alias) to seduce a new gal in every episode. It's quite interesting to see a much younger Benedict star here as an insecure and heavily bullied student who ends up being the involuntary guinea pig of a cuckoo old scientist with an obsession to turn people into snakes. Why? Because Dr. Stoner – splendid performance by Strother Martin – strongly believes that snakes are the only creatures capable of surviving the inevitable upcoming ecological holocaust, so basically he's doing mankind a favor by transforming us all into snakes! Dr. Stoner lures David to his secluded mansion where he injects gallons of serum into his veins. He tricks David into believing the injections will make him immune to all types of snake bites, but in reality he gradually mutates David into a King Cobra. Problems arise when the crazy doctor's unwary daughter Kristina falls in love with David and when the nearby police force comes to question him about his previous assistant who went missing. "Sssssss" – in fact you have to watch it if only for the unique title alone – is definitely a worthwhile and recommended gem for horror fans, although it's far from great. The plot is indescribably moronic, but simultaneously it's also an admirable throwback to the good old "Mad Scientist" horror movies from the 1940's and 1950's. The mad-scientist plot is actually the best part of the film, since you really witness Dr. Stoner transform from a patient and amiable elderly doctor into an obsessive and fanatic maniac who'll stop at nothing – not even murder – to complete his mission. Too bad the script also features too many dull moments and elements that are completely inappropriate for this type of story, like biblical references and extended hallucination sequences. The ending is also a bit of a letdown as it feels rushed, abrupt and boosts totally gratuitous footage of animal cruelty. The make-up effects are mostly superb – that circus snake man is genuinely creepy – and the cheesy'n'cheap 70's atmosphere is simply irresistible. Sssssssee thissssss film!

The movie is great! Actors know how to act and what to do, and that's very good for the movie. The feeling of horror is to be experienced, though it's a nice movie to watch and sometimes it's quite funny. The movie was shot in the beginning of Dirk Benedict's Career, so his performance not as good as it became later, but he was a very talented and promissing actor. Good job!

What we have here is a failure to....OH, wrong Strother Martin film. Well, Martin is the star of Sssssss(7 s's), and I must admit he is rather enjoyable to watch as a kindly, softspoken, insane, murderous herpetologist trying to save the human race by turning men into cobras. The story is absurd and rather difficult to follow. The special effects suck(being blunt and candid) as we see Dirk Benedict get an occasional scale on his green body. The snakes are impressive, however. Martin's over-the-top performance saves this film from being utterly mundane and makes it fun to watch.

This film is like numerous science fiction/horror films from the 1950's, 60's and 70's as it features a mad scientist with a bizarre experiment he wishes to conduct. It differs a bit in that the scientist at times is almost likable and shows regret for what he is doing, but he is clearly a mad scientist in that his theory and the reasons for his experiment are highly flawed and questionable. There really is not a whole lot going on in this one either, but they manage to have a full length feature at 99 minutes. There is very little gore in this one, but it does have its moments...granted, most of the gore comes from a couple of snakes being dispatched and not by people. So this film has its good points, but a lot of bad points too. The story has a man who researches snake venom requesting a student at a local college to help him around his place. The teacher lets him have one and you have to feel a bit for the guy as the researcher does not want to use him as an intern, but rather as the focus of an experiment to turn man into snake! As the story progresses a couple of people get on the researchers bad side so he dispatches them by using his large array of snakes. However, his theory that the next step in man's evolution is to turn man into snakes is pretty much undone by the finale of the film which has a mongoose killing the first successful man snake within five minutes of having been turned to said creature. My guess if one cannot survive a furry little rat, one certainly will not survive all the stuff the doctor told him he would survive. The researcher meets his end in utterly stupid fashion as he just has to talk down to his cobra face to face giving it multiple opportunities to bite him. The film features a few notable celebrities, the most notable being a young Dirk Benedict as the poor student who gets to be the researcher's assistant and Reb Brown who would go on to play in multiple B movies. Though I have to say this was sadly probably the best acting performance I have seen. The scientist was played by Strother Martin who, while not a top guy, was in a large assortment of movies and television shows. The make up effects are okay, but at the end they kind of go the cheap route, but then you can only use make up so much before the transformation into a snake can be made to look reasonably realistic. So it has some good points, but at the same time it has an equal number of bad, hence my score of five. The mad scientist was clearly mad and simply wanted the world full of snakes as any real scientist would know that taking away man's arms and legs would not be evolution, but devolution. I have seen this film a couple of times now as I watched once when I was younger and recently stumbled upon it on a DVD with two other horror films, Legacy and The Sentinel for only 1.88 so most definitely a great buy as none of the films are great, but are all fun watches. This one though is one I feel should be remade, but only because I want to go see it at the movie theater and say, "One for SSSSSSSS please!"

I first saw this when I was 8 or 9. I already had a fascination for, and a fear of snakes. But this movie (Along with "Stanley") increased both the fear and the fascination, for me! I think cobras are the coolest of any snakes, deadly as they are! I agree somewhat with the other comments, that some of the acting ranged from mediocre to downright lame! But whether you love or hate snakes, wouldn't you agree that the snakes in this movie are/were more exciting to watch than the human actors? They were, for me! As cheesy as the acting was, otherwise, I still recommend this movie. Especially if you like to watch venomous snakes and specifically, King Cobras! I can't believe I sold my VHS copy of this movie at a pawn shop! I miss this movie!

Originally this was titled SSSSNAKE, but someone in Universal's publicity department thought SSSSSSS was clever. So the name was changed, and the movie did poorly in the theaters. In 1976, NBC acquired the rights to this film, and it became a sort of cult movie, growing stronger as VHS in 1997 and DVD in 2004 added fuel to the fire. This is basically your standard mad-doctor film. Strother Martin plays Dr Stoner, who believes man is doomed as a species. He wants to speed up man's evolution, and since the King Cobra is the deadliest creature on the planet, he wants man to evolve into the King. So he finds a college student to act as his assistant, and injects him with cobra venom (the student thinks the serum is an inoculation against snake bites). SPOILER ALERT ***** SPOILER ALERT **** SPOLIER ALERT **** For those of you you have seen the film, you know that the film ends on a freeze frame of Heather Menzies screaming as the David/Snake is killed by the mongoose. I've always thought this was a weak ending! If this movie is ever remade (as everything is these days), I hope the producers would consider this ending: Heather grabs the policeman's gun and shoots the mongoose. She saves David/Snake. Now that her father's dead, she runs the show on Sundays. She begins the show by saying: "The King Cobra is the deadliest creature on the planet. But I have a very special Cobra here" David slithers out. Heather pets David/Snake on the head. The crowd gasps in surprise. "He is a very special friend of mine".

Ok, I've got to qualify that "Ssssssscary as Hell!!!" statement. I first saw this movie on TV when I was like 5 years old. My babysitter wanted to watch it, despite the fact that it scared me to death. In fact, this movie is the one defining moment in my life that made me forever ssssssscared ssssssspitless of sssssssnakes. About a year or so ago, I saw the ad for this movie on the SciFi channel and it again made my blood run cold. But I decided to watch it anyway, finger on the remote switcher button, to see if it was really as I remembered it 25 years ago. Granted, the special effects were exceedingly lame and the acting was even worse, but remember, this was made back in the early 70's -- long before Industrial Light and Magic and when the only prerequisite for acting was big * and a tight butt. Regardless, this movie, in it's time, really was ssssssscary. So scary, that after watching it (at that young age), that I refused to get in a shower (I'd only take baths) until I was probably 12. Oh, and I did actually get through the whole movie on SciFi and actually developed feelings for the pet cobra that gets...well, something happens to it, but I'm not telling what for those who haven't seen it. After watching it recently, a little bit of that pent up fear was released -- although, I still can't stand snakes, not even to look at a picture of them in a book or anything -- except cobras, I really like cobras, now. Oh, well. I recommend the movie. Just remember the time period it came out of and watch it for what it is. Granted, the story-line was a bit hokey, but just think what it could be like if they made a remake with really good special effects, really good horror movie actors, and a little bit of work on the script. Ssssssso long!

A doctor who specializes in snakes develops a way to turn a human being into a king cobra! Will he use this on the college student who has just became his new assistant? Sssssss (love that campy title, that's seven S's folks) is an above-average man-becomes-creature horror film. The film is very well made and despite its seemingly cheesy premise actually creates itself an effectively serious tone. The story is intriguing, thanks largely to the likable and well-rounded characters, and builds to some terrifically chilling scenes as well as a nice show-down finale. The makeup effects are solidly created and genuinely creepy. The lovely music score by Patrick Williams is also a highlight. The cast is definitely one of the films best features. Veteran actor Strother Martin is excellent as he balances his performance between fatherly teacher and sinister scientist. Young Dirk Benedict is charming as Martin's young assistant and attractive Heather Menzies delivers a sincere performance as Martin's daughter, and Benedict's love interest. Also Reb Brown makes for a good bully. So, you don't have to like snakes to enjoy this intelligent old-fashioned horror tale. It's definitely one of the best of its kind and well worth catching for fans of old school B horror. *** 1/2 out of ****

This movie is more Sci-Fi than horror. And then it is more silly than Sci-Fi. The enjoyment comes from making fun of this one. The story line sounds like it could really be good; but then you realize the project goes limp. Some of the special effects are decent, but not enough to carry a movie. Strother Martin plays a doctor working with grant money. His project on the side is turning his assistants into snakes. One ends up with a traveling circus as the "snake-man". The doctor's daughter (Heather Menzies) falls in love with her father's current assistant (Dirk Benedict)and fails to stop the body change process. Familiar actors Tim O'Connor and Jack Ging also appear. Rent this one with a couple of others and enjoy some refreshments. Feel free to chat back and forth without fear of missing anything. Pre-puberty viewers will rate this one pretty high.