Cult of the Cobra

Richard Long, David Janssen, Marshall Thompson, Jack Kelly, and William Reynolds are four G. I.s on terminal leave in India. Looking for a souvenir, they bribe their way into the ceremony of a snake cult. When they are discovered, they are cursed with death, one by one, in the form of Faith Domergue, who follows them back to the US and kills them in the form of a cobra.

This is one of those 1950s Universal horror/scifi movies that, in the hands of someone like Jack Arnold, would turn out to have something sensible and even witty to say about the way we lived in that decade. In the hands of competent but uninspired Francis D. Lyons, it turns into a decent thriller which, if it had anything to say except "Don't be boorish", I can't see it.

On paper, this was arguably the least promising entry among Universal's second exclusive "Sci-Fi Collection" – but it turned out to be quite enjoyable in its unassumingly campy way, lying somewhere between the exotic fancy of Universal's earlier COBRA WOMAN (1944) and the cautionary Gothic of Hammer's THE REPTILE (1966). Director Lyon generally cut his teeth on a variety of Western oaters and, while not exactly inspired by the material at hand, elicits a very good performance from his leading lady Faith Domergue – a former protégée' of the legendary Howard Hughes. The story starts at the tail-end of WWII where six G.I. buddies, looking for some kicks before leaving Asia for home, attend a clandestine ceremony held by the titular sect where no reptiles are actually worshipped – instead we have a woman painted like one who comes out of a large vase and crawls around on the floor! Suspicious Richard Long, embittered (and incredulous) Marshall Thompson and a carefree David Janssen comprise half of the band of infidels who incite the wrath of the cultists by their irreverent presence (foolishly, one of them photo-graphs the ceremony, even if he had been repeatedly warned beforehand not to); needless to say, the proverbial curse is invoked on them by the High Priest which is subsequently enforced when they return to the United States. In quick succession, four of them get offed (including bowling alley owner Janssen who expires in a fairly spectacular car crash) after having a close encounter with a cobra; their demise coincides with Thompson's meeting with his sensuous but enigmatic neighbor Domergue. There are virtually no transformation scenes (or, rather, only in silhouette and via a quick dissolve to boot!) and we only get a good look at the large cobra during its last attack backstage in a theater, where it eventually receives its come-uppance by being pushed out a high window by Thompson (for whom the conflicted Domergue actually almost jeopardized her mission!)...and which is just as well, since there is no creature on earth that I loathe or fear more! Incidentally, I was somewhat bugged by the fact that when the dead snake inevitably regains human form, it is unaccountably dressed in the black gown Domergue wore prior to her demise!

In Asia, six airmen from the American Air Forces break in a secret cult of Lamians that worship a cobra goddess. However they are found in the temple and need to flee from the ceremony. They are cursed by the priest that sentences them to die, one by one. Back in New York, Sergeant Paul Able (Richard Long), who will marry the actress Julia Thompson (Kathleen Hughes), and G.I. Tom Markel (Marshall Thompson), who also loves Julia, are best friends and roommates. When Tom stumbles upon the mysterious Lisa Moya (Faith Domergue), they immediately fall in love with each other. Meanwhile their friends are dying and soon the coroner discovers snake venom in their blood.

"Cult of the Cobra" is an entertaining horror film with the storyline of a group of arrogant American G.I.s that breaks in a cult without any respect and are cursed by the priest to die. The gorgeous and exotic Faith Domergue is a goddess with the ability of turning into a cobra that travels to New York to revenge the worshippers. The negative point of the story is that she falls in love with one of the trespassers. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Maldição da Serpente" ("Curse of the Snake")

I came across this movie by accident as part of a collection. Not reading any reviews ahead of time I was surprised to see so many well-known actors; then I realized this is 1955 and a lot of them were just starting.

American G. I.s who trespass on a cult called Lamia.

Lamia - a mythical monster, with the body of a woman or with the head and breasts of a woman and the body of a snake, said to prey on human beings and suck the blood of children.

You know what happens next as they get cursed, and someone must pay.

Great formula and suspense; we get to see the shadow of metamorphosis and sometimes even root for the misunderstood dispatcher.

Trailer - "From halfway around the world she had come to make friends with five unsuspecting young men. And when she walked in the night, death followed swift and violent."

American G.I.'s who trespass in on a forbidden Hindu ceremony are relentlessly hunted down by a beautiful woman who has the power to metamorphose into a snake.

While the film gets a bit slow in the middle, the end is exciting and so is the beginning. What made this film great, for me, was the talented snake dancer from the cult. Her face is obscured, but her body is capable of amazing bends and twists.

One of the only really big drawbacks to the film is that the audience knows what is going on from the very beginning. We see the men try to solve a mystery we already know. The urge to yell "you are so stupid" is hard to suppress. And they really are not that stupid -- they simply have not reached the illogical conclusion we already know to be true.