User reviews

The film deals a mad doctor(Strother Martin),his former helper has disappeared and he asks to University professor(Richard B. Shull)a student. A young man called David (Richard Benedict)looking for employment is hired by the scientific.The doctor works a secrets experiments on snakes.Meanwhile David falls in love with his daughter(Heather Menzies).Then the ¨mad doctor¨ injects him a serum into becoming a King Cobra snake causing a horrible transformation.

The motion picture packs horror,romance,shocks and is quite entertained. In the film appear known actors from the 70s and 80s as Dick Benedict(¨Galactica Battlestar,A Team¨),Strother Martin(Peckimpah's usual player:¨Wild bunch¨),Heather Menzies(Robert Urich wife and little girl actress in ¨Sound of music¨)and Reb Brown(a beefcake who played many hunk men vehicles). John Chambers provides a deliriously imaginative make-up ,he won an Academy Award by the classic ¨Planet of Apes¨and made the sequels among others films(Phantom of the paradise ans Island of Dr. Moreau).Executive producers are Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown ,short time after they produced the successful ¨Jaws¨to Steven Spielberg. The motion picture is well directed by Bernard L. Kowalski who worked with Roger Corman.Slick film aimed at youthful audiences and terror lovers.

Pretty silly horror movie about Dr. Carl Stoner (Strother Martin) who has perfected a drug that turns men into King Cobra snakes. (Yeah--I know it's ridiculous). WHY he wants to do this is never fully explained. He wants to use it on young David Blaine (Dirk Benedict)...but his daughter (Heather Menzies) is falling in love with him.

OK--the story is more than a little silly but this is fairly watchable. They used real snakes in the film (as a statement at the beginning tells us) and just watching them is pretty interesting. The story itself moves pretty quickly and (science aside) is pretty involving. The acting helps--Martin is actually not bad as the doctor; Benedict (so young and handsome) is also pretty good as Blaine and Menzies overdoes it a little (particularly in an argument with Martin) but she's not bad. There's also some fairly impressive (for the time) makeup and special effects. It's OK.

Trivia: Flashes of nudity (mostly from Menzies) are inexplicably "covered up" in the prints now in circulation. Strange--it was OK for a PG in 1973.

A college student becomes lab assistant to a scientist who is working on a serum that can transform humans into snakes.

This film is far from perfect. It could use a few more horror or science fiction elements, perhaps. Where it excels is with the use of real snakes and the knowledge that the professor has. I am not a herpetologist, and would not claim to be any sort of snake expert. But when the professor is explaining different things about snakes, it sounds very real, like he really knows what he's doing. So, well done on the script.

The premise is a bit silly, but not overly so. This seems like the sort of thing that might be in a 1950s movie rather than a 1970s film from Universal. Director Bernard Kowalski (1929-2007), perhaps not surprisingly, is a veteran of such Roger Corman-produced films as "Night of the Blood Beast" and "Attack of the Giant Leeches". (Kowalski was director on both, but you can imagine that Corman had his fingers in the pie.)

I have fond memories of watching this film as a kid. So often those movies you enjoyed as a kid turn out to be trash when you watch them as an adult, but this was a rare case of a movie that managed to hold up.

Sure it has it's faults, but nothing that can't be over looked. The plot is a bit silly, and the ending more so, but the way the movie is played you ignore the rampant over acting and outside of reality plot.

Plus, the film doesn't seem aged. So many films from the Seventies look so out of place looking at them in modern times, but this film managed to avoid all of the trappings that put it out of time. It holds up amazingly well for a thirty plus year old movie.

If you've seen this once and remember it fondly, i recommend a fresh look through grown up eyes.

Poor Dirk Benedict. We all have to start somewhere, but having a film as patently absurd as Sssssss on his resumé must have made it hard for him to land movie roles (hence his subsequent career acting almost exclusively in TV).

I imagine the conversation going something like this...

Movie casting agent: "What else might we have seen you in, Mr Benedict?" DB: "Well, in Sssssss, I played a college student who was turned into a snake by a mad scientist." Movie casting agent: "Errr... sounds... umm... interesting. We'll take a look and get back to you if we like what we see".

Welcome to TV land Dirk!

The transformation of student David Blake (Benedict) into a king cobra is instigated by herpetologist Dr. Carl Stoner (Strother Martin), who believes that he can create a new evolutionary species with the best qualities of both human and reptile. The doctor gives Blake, his new lab assistant, a daily injection that he claims is to build up an immunity to snake venom, but which, in reality, is gradually bringing about physical changes: peeling skin, a green complexion, a drop in body temperature, scales. Blake, not the sharpest tool in the box, doesn't suspect a thing, but the doctor's daughter Kristina (Heather Menzies), who has fallen for the young man, begins to doubt her father's supposedly good intentions, as does local Sheriff Dale Hardison (Jack Ging).

This ridiculous plot could very well have resulted in a huge dollop of enjoyable drive-in trash, had director Bernard L. Kowalski pushed the envelope at every opportunity, but the pacing is terrible, and the film simply isn't as crazy as it should have been (the scene where Blake hallucinates whilst high on snake venom could have been a visual tour-de-force, but is frustratingly weak). When the most notable things about the first hour are an albino turtle called Sam (so cute!), a hilarious skinny dipping scene with strategically superimposed foliage (Austin Powers style), and the horrible spectacles and haircut sported by Kristina, then we're in trouble.

The final half an hour or so isn't much better: Doc Stoner killing nasty jock Steve Randall (Reb Brown) with a black mamba is lacklustre, and Blake's eventual transformation into a cobra a real anticlimax (although the stages between man and snake do provide a few unintentional giggles). My favourite part of the last act is when a mongoose turns out to be the reincarnation of Houdini, craftily escaping from his cage at the exact moment most convenient for the plot. The funny thing is that Katrina recognises the snake wrestling with the mongoose as being David! How?

4/10. Has its moments, but the potential for it to be a lot wilder, and consequently much more entertaining, goes to waste.

I first saw this when I was 8 or 9. I already had a fascination for, and a fear of snakes. But this movie (Along with "Stanley") increased both the fear and the fascination, for me! I think cobras are the coolest of any snakes, deadly as they are!

I agree somewhat with the other comments, that some of the acting ranged from mediocre to downright lame! But whether you love or hate snakes, wouldn't you agree that the snakes in this movie are/were more exciting to watch than the human actors? They were, for me! As cheesy as the acting was, otherwise, I still recommend this movie. Especially if you like to watch venomous snakes and specifically, King Cobras!

I can't believe I sold my VHS copy of this movie at a pawn shop! I miss this movie!

"Dr. Carl Stoner" (Strother Martin) is a herpetologist who is working on a special serum and needs funding from the nearby university to continue. Unfortunately, due to the lack of funds available he decides to take a serious shortcut and begins to experiment on humans. When one of his lab assistants supposedly quits he finds a new one named "David Blake" (Dirk Benedict) who seems more than eager to help the kindly doctor as much as possible. Also helping out is Dr. Stoner's daughter, "Kristina Stoner" (Heather Menzies) who seems to take a liking to David almost from the very beginning. Now, rather than reveal any more of the movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that even though there were some scenes which were a bit creepy there were also other scenes that I thought were a little dull and predictable. Along with that, although I liked all three of the actors I just mentioned, I thought the overall plot was kind of silly and towards the end I found it rather difficult to watch without shaking my head in disappointment. Obviously, others may disagree but even so I rate the movie as below average.

A doctor who specializes in snakes develops a way to turn a human being into a king cobra! Will he use this on the college student who has just became his new assistant?

Sssssss (love that campy title, that's seven S's folks) is an above-average man-becomes-creature horror film. The film is very well made and despite its seemingly cheesy premise actually creates itself an effectively serious tone. The story is intriguing, thanks largely to the likable and well-rounded characters, and builds to some terrifically chilling scenes as well as a nice show-down finale. The makeup effects are solidly created and genuinely creepy. The lovely music score by Patrick Williams is also a highlight.

The cast is definitely one of the films best features. Veteran actor Strother Martin is excellent as he balances his performance between fatherly teacher and sinister scientist. Young Dirk Benedict is charming as Martin's young assistant and attractive Heather Menzies delivers a sincere performance as Martin's daughter, and Benedict's love interest. Also Reb Brown makes for a good bully.

So, you don't have to like snakes to enjoy this intelligent old-fashioned horror tale. It's definitely one of the best of its kind and well worth catching for fans of old school B horror.

*** 1/2 out of ****

Released in 1973, the curiously titled "SSSssss" is about a modern Frankenstein-type (Strother Martin) who experiments with snakes and human beings in the desert hills of Southern California. David (Dirk Benedict) is hired by Dr. Stoner (Martin) as a lab assistant after his previous lab assistant mysteriously went missing. As the youth falls in love with Stoner's daughter, Kristina (Heather Menzies), the doctor begins injecting David with some king of snake serum.

This is a pretty decent horror flick that has the early 70s written all over it, but I can't give it a higher rating because it comes off as a TV movie more than a theatrical release. Remember the TV movie "Gargoyles" from 1972? "SSSssss" has the same tone and look, but it's not as good even though it was theatrically released. Why? Because "Gargoyles" has a better topic and, at only 74 minutes, it lacks the padding of "SSSssss." Still, there's enough good in "SSSssss" to make it worthwhile for those who like these kinds of movies. There are a couple of carnival scenes, which are always good for horror flicks.

Martin is effective as the mad doctor and Reb Brown as a pompous jock, but Benedict and Menzies come off bland as the youthful lovers. Then again, they're playing intellectual college nerds so I'm sure that's how their characters were written. Nevertheless, IMHO Menzies is pretty forgettable here; she's better in 1977's "Piranha." Kathleen King plays the only notable woman, but her part isn't much more than a cameo. Needless to say, bad job on the female front.

The film runs 99 minutes and, although there is no listing on IMDb, it was obviously shot in the greater Los Angeles area.

GRADE: C+

We saw it back then in the seventies and were promptly scared to death by it. Set up like a mystery, you don't know what is in the back of the truck at the beginning and the gawking at the carnival freaks was pretty chilling too. Reb Brown's fate and his treatment of the pet snake were both something that made us sit up and take notice. And then there was the nosy neighbor/professor person and his destiny. The snake-handling looked very professional. Then I saw it years later. The daughter's shrieking and weeping could set your teeth on edge, the concealed nude swim scene is pretty amusing now with cartoon leaves, Benedict is completely naive and if you have no idea what to expect, you may even be rooting for him. Strother Martin was very believable as the mad doctor up to his confrontation with "Royalty". My brother said the hysterical daughter went on to pose for Playboy.

Hated her very seventies hairdo.

This movie is more Sci-Fi than horror. And then it is more silly than Sci-Fi. The enjoyment comes from making fun of this one. The story line sounds like it could really be good; but then you realize the project goes limp. Some of the special effects are decent, but not enough to carry a movie.

Strother Martin plays a doctor working with grant money. His project on the side is turning his assistants into snakes. One ends up with a traveling circus as the "snake-man". The doctor's daughter (Heather Menzies) falls in love with her father's current assistant (Dirk Benedict)and fails to stop the body change process.

Familiar actors Tim O'Connor and Jack Ging also appear. Rent this one with a couple of others and enjoy some refreshments. Feel free to chat back and forth without fear of missing anything. Pre-puberty viewers will rate this one pretty high.

No snakes were harmed during the filming of this movie. The concept was interesting. A brilliant doctor has the formula to help mankind survive the event of the holocaust and other cataclysmic proportions. Think of this, a snake with the intelligence of a human. So the girlfriend of the human test subject, David, witnesses her boyfriend's demise in the freakish predicament of a snake, his precious life ends at the paws of mortality itself, the otherwise innocuous ferret, who, in this case, does not stop to think that the snake he is killing for his next meal might and could just be a human, which the very same species he depends on for his survival.

How could the so-called medical geniuses not have seen it all along, turning humans into snakes to endure the next holocaust? What are my hard earned tax dollars going toward if not funding for the study of human-snake transformation! Idiots!

SSSS makes up in suspense and b-movie star power what it lacks in production values. Strother Martin is a classic 2nd string villain. Dirk Benedict, you might remember him from battlestar or A-Team. And the female lead,Heather Menzies, played one of the Von Trapps in the Sound of Music. She was also in Captain America with Reb Brown,who has a small part in this movie too! Nope, this movie came from a time when FX were cheap, shaky and down played but the movie was fun and exciting none the less