Julie Hoverson I bought this because it was made to sound like a horror movie. It's not - it's a fairy tale. It's actually a very sweet fairy tale, much in line with stories like "The Little Mermaid" (NOT the Disney version) where a girl who is not quite human falls for a human man and has to choose between her world and his.(Possible spoilers)In this tale, a woman living in the jungle with her brute of a husband falls in love with a snake spirit (a really cool giant boa constrictor who can change into a handsome man) while her husband is away. She gets pregnant and when her husband finds out that it's not his, he kills her. He splits her stomach open, and kills all the little snakes she carries - except one. One baby snake escapes and is found by a holy hermit, who realizes what it is (since it is also sometimes a human baby girl) and raises her in a cave.Years later, three children are playing in the river which flows by the cave and the girl tries to make friends with them, only to be rebuffed because she looks dirty and uncivilized - then they pull off her headscarf to reveal the true oddity - she has a head of snakes instead of hair!The children flee, as does the poor girl. Again time passes, and one of the boys (one who was nice to her before) falls into the river and she rescues him. The hermit gives her magic to make herself look normal, so she can tend the young man without frightening him. He ends up taking her back to his home as a sort of adopted sister (much to the chagrin of his arranged fiancée, who is a complete stuck-up type).The movie climaxes in a magical battle between the hermit and a midwife/witch enlisted by the fiancée to get rid of the snake girl.Cool things about the film: First, the head of snakes. They're not special effects - they're actual snakes!! I wonder if the audition for the part of the snake girl started with a questionnaire "Would you let us slap some snakes onto your head? OK you've got the part!" It looks really cool. Second, there's a long sequence where the young man and the snake girl run around some really cool ruins. The place is soooooo neat.It may not be worth buying, but it is interesting to watch, particularly if you're into comparative folklore.

oiistaa This is one of my favorite horror movies of the year. On of the first movies to be filmed entirely in Cambodia and in Vietnamese in many years. THe Snake Hair that the heroine wears looks so real..............know why? Because it is really is real live snakes. The director had trouble finding something that looked realistic enough with the budget they had so opted to glue/tape/tie real snakes to a head piece. Lets hope PETA doesn't find out about it. Nonetheless memorable, with excellent camera work.

Pedro-37 The poster / DVD cover of this Thai / Cambodian co-production looks quite cool, however, the actual movie fails to deliver. We get lots of glimpses of the hair made of snakes (the image on the cover), but that's about all that's fascinating about this film. It lacks suspense, it lacks action, well it actually lacks everything. Some nice visuals don't make up for those lacks.I haven't seen that many Thai movies (yet) but those I have seen (among them the brilliant "Tears of the Black Tiger", the impressive "Nang Nak", the sensual "Jan Dara" and the entertaining "303 Fear Faith Revenge") made me curious for more. "Snaker" is the first disappointment in the territory. It's not completely bad, it's just not doing anything for me.Rating: 4/10 (and I'm being rather generous)

Watuma This film is an attempt to revive the once-thriving Cambodian movie-making industry that was decimated by the Khmer Rouge government. Co-produced with Thailand, THE SNAKE KING'S CHILD is based on a folk tale about the child of a peasant woman and a snake god.For westerners, the film's main attractions are visual. The cinematography is often striking, with atmospheric use of colour and shadow. All the characters wear eye-catching costumes. Actual Cambodian locations were used for many of the beautiful settings. Most memorable of all is Pich Chan Barmey's fabulous snake-hair effect, which easily outstrips any of the unconvincing attempts in western movies to portray gorgons.Whether THE SNAKE KING'S CHILD will succeed in resurrecting Cambodian movie-making remains to be seen, but it certainly constitutes a promising start.A letterboxed DVD, with rather eccentric English subtitles, has been released by Hong Kong's Winson Entertainment.