The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)

 

Most people nowadays consider zombies to be the corpses come back to life, feasting on the blood of the living. Yet, there were stories in the olden days about 'true' zombies, deeply interwoven with tradition and rituals of the Caribbean. But then George Romero pretty much changed the playing field forever. Still, one of the films that did try to go back to the roots of the entire concept of possession and the supposed undead is 'The Serpent and the Rainbow'.

Based on a book (and allegedly real events), 'The Serpent and the Rainbow' tells the story of doctor Dennis Alan, whose sole mission is to go out in the world and discover new potions and chemicals that could be used to craft new types of medicine. He has a stint in the Amazon basin, but when he finally returns home, his superiors send him off to Haiti in order to find out what type of drug can make a person seem like a zombie: still alive, but clinically dead and impervious to pain ànd unable to move. 

Naturally, Dennis is sceptical about the whole affair and thinks that either people are having him on, or there is some more rational explanation. But things get ever more weird, as he is experiencing quite vivid and disturbing dreams about supernatural events and he even discovers there is such a thing as a zombification powder. 

But that doesn't make everything easy, because the local head of the Tontons Macoutes (a not-to-secret police that terrorises Haitians under orders of then dictators Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier) has his sights set on Dennis. To make matters worse, this Peytraud is also a bokor, something akin to a black magician. So, will Dennis find what he came for? Or will his mission fail? 

No undead corpses coming out of the grave to devour people in this one. Nope. Instead, we get a film that has the atmosphere and feel of the Haitian location (even if a lot was shot in the Dominican Republic) and what makes it all work even better is a relatively realistic approach to all things voodoo and black magic. I know that sounds strange, but the only fish out of water here is the character of Dennis Alan, as he is plunged into a world he knows absolutely nothing of. The Haitian characters of course grew up with this stuff and they treat him (rightfully so) as an unknowing child. 

Most of the performances are decent enough. Bill Pullman is a good lead, but it's true that some people feel he can't emote too well. There's something to be said for this, but when he is experiencing terror, it is rather vividly present. Not to spoil too much, but there's a torture scene that will make you cringe and squeal. Zakes Mokae is one of those faces that work so well as a bad guy and he is truly menacing as the gleefully evil Peytraud. It's his calm that does it, coupled with that ruthless efficiency and the knowledge that no one has got a thing on him. 

Wes Craven is of course no slouch and a lot of this film has that same eerie vibe that he so masterfully crafted in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. The nightmare scenes are haunting and even though there is nothing scary as such, a lot of the imagery is pretty disturbing. The live burial scene is one to remember and it is horrifying with the simplest of things. You could argue that Craven sticks close to what he knows best (hallucinations and the like), but it still works. 

Is 'The Serpent and the Rainbow' scary? Maybe not. Especially in the final act it can feel a bit too silly, as here they pull the supernatural card and it feels out of touch with everything that came before. But the film does succeed in bringing an atmosphere of discomfort and sometimes even chills as the story unfolds.