meddlecore Before there were Snakes On A Plane, there was one snake, in a house...with a f*cking vendetta against Klaus Kinski and his gang of kidnappers.This is basically a film about a hostage situation gone horribly wrong...because, as usual, Oliver Reed is a f*cking psychopath.Kinski and his gang plan to kidnap the child of a wealthy family- his minions having infiltrated their house, as the help.But from the very beginning, things go awry. The boy leaves on his own to pick up a pet snake, right as they are about to put their plan into action.They give him the wrong snake. A black mamba, instead of an African house snake.When they open it, it bites the maid in the face, killing her.Now it's on the loose in the house.This causes Oliver Reed to panic, and he shoots a cop.Now, they are stuck in the house, with a dead cop, and a killer snake on the loose inside.They do a good job of managing the hostage situation at first...taking a doctor prisoner, in the process.But as soon as the cops try and break in...sh*t hits the fan...and everyone runs terrified from the snake.Except Reed...who gets bit in the dick (insert trouser snake joke here).As you might have guessed, it all comes down to a one on one showdown between Kinski and the snake...resulting in humorous consequences.There is something hilariously satisfying about watching Kinski roll around on the ground like he's being killed by a black mamba.Classic Kinski! And a pretty decent film too.6.5 out of 10.

casablancavic Bad story, bad actors, bad soundtrack. Not much good about this - except the poor snake which had to endure typecasting of being a bad snake for the rest of it's film career.The snake was the only character that held any interest, but it wasn't in the movie long enough to be given top billing.Anybody else in this POS made horrible decisions to remain in the movie once they received notice of it.What has to be some of the stupidest police ever with absolutely no negotiating skills or sharpshooting skills and horrible police procedure.If the box cover enticed you like it did me...then you already lost. They won, you lost. Don't! Don't let them get you. It's not worth your time - even the final poorly developed shootout or what was of it was so poorly executed.The only good part about this entire thing is the credits rolling at the end to signify that the entire thing is over. Good!

BA_Harrison Not to be confused with Spasms, another early-'80s Oliver Reed snake-themed horror movie, Venom sees a kidnapping go awry when a deadly black mamba escapes into the house where the villains are holding ten-year-old Philip (Lance Holcomb) and his grandfather Howard (Sterling Hayden) hostage.Reed is chauffeur Dave, who, along with sexy maid Louise (Susan George) and German terrorist Jacmel (Klaus Kinski), find themselves cornered by police Commander William Bulloch (Nicol Williamson) and his men (after a shotgun toting Dave gets trigger happy with a cop) and menaced by the highly venomous and very aggressive reptile, the result of a mix-up of orders at a pet shop.Despite a top-notch cast (which includes Sarah Miles as toxicologist Dr. Marion Stowe, and Michael Gough as a snake expert), director Piers Haggard (The Blood on Satan's Claw) is unable to elevate his film from mediocrity thanks to a pedestrian script that is a little light on the snake action and a touch too heavy on police procedure, delivering not nearly enough suspense or horror. Kinski is as slimy and menacing as always, Ollie turns to the booze when the pressure is on (no surprises there), and George strips to her underwear (no surprises there either!).5.5 out of 6, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

ferbs54 A movie about a kidnapping? Cool. A movie about a kidnapping that degenerates into a hostage crisis? Even better! But howzabout a movie about the kidnapping of a seriously asthmatic kid, that turns into a hostage crisis, while the victims and criminals besieged by the law in a London town house are threatened by an escaped black mamba snake, the world's swiftest and most deadly? What could be better than that? Well, as the 1982 British thriller "Venom" demonstrates, perhaps an all-star group of performers to put this fun-sounding conceit over! Thus, we have an absolutely sterling cast here, consisting, in part, of, uh, Sterling Hayden as the asthmatic boy's supercool grandfather, Klaus Kinski and Oliver Reed as the kidnappers (a terrific pair of bad guys, with Oliver's ultimate fate in the film giving new meaning to the old expression "trouser snake"), Sarah Miles as a toxicologist, Nicol Williamson as the police commander in charge of the crisis, and Michael Gough (wasted in a teensy role) as a snake expert. The picture has been directed for maximum suspense by Piers Haggard, with much of that suspense naturally arising from the fact that the viewer can never predict where or when that deadly mamba will raise its ugly head. Any opened drawer, cabinet or door in the picture can serve as a most lethal jack-in-the-box of sorts, and this knowledge keeps us primed and nervous throughout. With the exception of that final ambiguous shot of a snake in the town house's ductwork (I still can't figure out the meaning of that!), I found this film to be thoroughly satisfying and entertaining. And the further good news is that the picture has been given a great-looking treatment by the always dependable folks at Blue Underground. Thanks again, guys!