The Serpent And The Rainbow (1988) Review: A Truly Horrifying Horror Gem

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) is one of the first horror movies in a while to get under my skin; a lot of that is because some of the story is true. 

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) came out in the 80's and stars Bill Pullman. It was directed by Wes Craven. Wes Craven, at the time, had already made a couple of classics such as The Hills Have Eyes and Nightmare on Elm Street. Wes Craven would go on to make even more massive movies, such as Scream.

This movie seems to be lost in his filmography, but, like most things, it has seemingly gained popularity recently, especially now that it's on Prime Video. The concept of The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) is what really makes it interesting.

It’s a somewhat true story of a man going to Haiti to study a voodoo drug used in religious practices that will turn people into living zombies. Bill Pullman plays Dennis Allen, a white anthropologist who really is out of his element in Haiti when he first gets there.

He’s the only white person there, and he sticks out like a sore thumb. Some people say the movie has the white savior trope, and I can see a little bit of that, but I think it really shines when it’s scary and not too movie-like. 

What I mean is that there are moments in The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) that feel a little cliché or stereotypical, but for the most part, it is pretty unnerving and chaotic. I actually didn’t see a lot of twisting terms coming.

There were only a couple of times when it had some classic horror tropes. I think because of that, the movie got under my skin because I couldn’t really pinpoint what was going to happen next.

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) is not a jump scare kind of movie. In fact, most jump-scare movies are modern. This movie does a genuinely good job of building up the scares and weaving a good enough space of time in between them.

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) is based on a nonfiction book that gives an account of what happened.

It’s a strange thing because a lot of people don’t believe all these events really happened in the book, and then you get the movie, which adds more fictionalization to it, so there’s a strange line of what actually happened because there could possibly be elements from the book that didn’t happen, and we also know that elements from the movie are fictionalized. 

What’s really scary is that we know for a fact that this drug is real, and even if a fraction of the story is true, it’s pretty terrifying. Getting into the world of spells and voodoo is something that seems absolutely horrifying. And Dennis Alan really gets in over his head.

It’s not until later in The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) that he starts getting the message and meeting allies in Haiti who help him understand more about that world. I think that might be one of my only complaints with the movie: he’s able to kind of save himself in a stereotypical movie way.

He somehow is able to overcome improbable odds and get extremely lucky. I think just about everything leading up to that is pretty incredible. 

Throughout The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), we see the effects of drugs on their user. These effects seem horrific, and this is where a lot of the creativity that Wes Craven is known for comes into play.

There are so many cool, practical effects in these horror visions Dennis creates in the movie.

It feels extremely creative and unique. Also, each person seems to have a different nightmare on this kind of drug, so seeing the different kinds of nightmares that they have is pretty unique as well. 

Going back to the effects in The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), I think they haven’t aged a day. There were a couple scenes where there were a lot of prosthetics and handmade props. If it were made nowadays, it would be all CGI, and it would be really easy to tell that it was fake.

The effects still hold up pretty well for an old film like this.

Wes Craven is a great director, but I was surprised to see him go so dark with The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988). He didn’t write it, and he only directed it, but at the same time, this might be one of the darkest movies he’s ever made.

I said that because the subject matter is real and the images are more horrific than just about any other movie he’s made. Of course, Nightmare on Elm Street has some pretty horrific images, but at least for me, I never really feel scared watching them because they kind of have a fun factor.

Of course, some of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies are scary, like the first one and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, but at the same time, those don’t really feel as scary as this film. 

I think Wes Craven wanted to tackle something different with The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), especially with the film taking place in Haiti. It’s always cool to see horror films take place in places we don’t usually see in movies.

Apparently, they tried to film in Haiti but were unable to, and it ended up being filmed in the Dominican Republic. The sets do look incredible, but it is a shame they were not able to film in Haiti for The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988).

I think The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) is a special gem of 80s horror. It doesn’t feel like it’s an 80s horror movie either. It feels very timeless. I think it’s a really great concept, and it could even be remade one day; it may even show what is happening with the drug in modern days. 

The concept of being under this spell where your body can’t do anything for a couple of hours and you can possibly be buried alive because people think you’re dead, and then you wake up in your coffin, is truly horrifying. Sometimes we forget how scary real life can be and how the mind can be altered by so many strange substances. The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) is truly a hidden gem.