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Seminal horror films sure do cast an imposing shadow, especially for others that try to bear similar fruit in its shade; usually what grows is withered and nothing more than a mere husk of what came before. And some films simply don’t give a horse’s patootie. Welcome to Jennifer (1978), the ultimate Mad Libs homage to Carrie (’76) that, while not in the same league, works as a fun (and somewhat observant) high school horror - with snakes. A whole lot of ‘em.

Released by Aip in May, Jennifer opened to mixed reviews at best and indifference from audiences who felt they’d already been there, DePalma’d that. They weren’t wrong of course; Jennifer gulps thirstily from Carrie’s water fountain, but adds a couple other prevalent genre staples of the ‘70s to arrive at something decidedly weird (and vicious) enough to set itself apart.

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Kind of a shame the Carrie remake wasn’t a bigger hit because part of me would like to believe that might lead to a remake of the obscure 1978 knock-off Jennifer. Thanks to Scorpion Releasing, “The Snake Goddess” will be reborn on Blu-ray.

Jennifer is the movie that answers the question as to what you would get if someone combined the bullied high school girl with magic powers seeking revenge on her cool kid tormentors premise (i.e., Carrie) with the social misfit with the ability to make animals do their bidding to get revenge against their tormentors trope (i.e., Willard).

Lisa Pelikan starred in the film (also known by the title Jennifer the Snake Goddess) as a shy young woman from a poor, rural family of Pentecostal snake charmers who finds herself the target of conniving rich kids at the snooty private school she attends via scholarship. They finally push her too far,...