Black Snake

'Black Snake' marked Russ Meyer's return to self-financed independent movies after short contract with 20th Century Fox which spawned two films. 'Black Snake' was also Meyers only experiment in Blaxploitation subgenre and it served, as the author himself said, his statement film about racial bigotry. But returning into independent film territory didn't mean return into top form. 'Black Snake' stays far behind from Meyer's best works. The film is not unwatchable as Meyer's energetic directing style and dynamic editing helps to carry the movie along with vigorous pace.

Shot in location of Barbados 'Black Snake' tells a story that takes place in 1835 at the time of colonial slavery. Charles Walker (David Warbeck) travels to San Cristobal Island to search his missing brother Jonathan. Posing as a bookkeeper, Charles arrives at Blackmoor Plantation ruled by disgustingly cruel and ruthless mistress Lady Susan (Anouska Hempel) who loves to torture men (white and black). Small clues are starting to point that Lady Susan who was briefly married to Jonathan might have killed the man.

Gorgeously photographed trashy period film about slavery that definitely offers some thrills to the fans of director and the genre.

Black Snake is a film that is somewhat hard to categorize. Despite being a Russ Meyer film, it doesn't have enough nudity to be a bona fide soft-core romp. While it sometimes tries to be funny, it doesn't have nearly enough humour to be a comedy. Even though it's about the evils of slavery, it's just not serious enough to work as a drama. While there are quite a number of scenes of violence, it never builds up any tension to make it a thriller. And irrespective of the exotic location, there is no adventure element to the narrative either. Black Snake is definitely, however, an exploitation flick. Taking the above into account, it really is very difficult working out what exactly Meyer was attempting to achieve with this film. At times he seems to be presenting the story about the atrocities of slavery absolutely straight but at others he most certainly isn't. It's not hard to see why this film struggled to find an audience – it doesn't really seem to be aimed at anybody! One thing is for sure though, like many early 70's productions it certainly seems to have one foot in the blaxploitation bandwagon. Although it's difficult to see that particular genre's core audience getting much out of this flick.

The key elements of Black Snake seem to be harsh racist language, bloody violence and a (very) little bit of nudity. The storyline is unremittingly grim, with a group of nasty individuals lording over a slave colony – a sexy female plantation owner, a thuggish Irish foreman and a black enforcer. An accountant travels to the island under a false name to try and find his brother who disappeared there. As it turns out the brother is now a mute vegetable who roams about the island independently. Throw in a rape, a shark attack, numerous whippings, a crucifixion, a burning and an attempted buggery and you have the makings of an exploitation movie. While it's a Meyer film it would be remiss not to comment on the women. There are only two in the picture, a slave girl and the sadistic plantation owner played by Anouska Hempel. The latter looks and acts the part but she really isn't a patch on Meyer's usual strong women. It seems that RM later realized himself that Black Snake was a step too far in an unfamiliar direction. After this film he would go back to basics with a string of 70's films that are far more typical - Supervixens, Up! and Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens.

This is definitely a lesser Meyer work no doubt about it. But still, it's entertaining in its grimy nastiness. It's just very difficult to label and is most certainly one for Meyer completists only.

If you can make it thru "classic Meyer" titles/intro, you can wade thru anything. But would you want to? I did not find a lot there to dig my teeth into. I suppose if you go into it with low enuff expectations you will be delighted (a la Charlie's Angels.) But for my money I'd like a little something more, more visual, more moving. More. I feel like I'm begging for gruel @ the foot of the master . the mans got the goods . but he just won't share.

I recently watched Black Snake (1973) on Facebook. The storyline takes place on a slave plantation in the Caribbean during the 1830s, at the height of the spice trade. An uprising is inevitable, but the organizers face resistance from other slaves, must infiltrate the recently weakened plantation leadership by any means necessary, and execute their plan flawlessly if they hope to escape.

This picture is directed by Russ Meyer (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) and stars Tura Satana (The Astro-Zombies), Susan Bernard (The Killing Kind), Stuart Lancaster (Edward Scissorhands), and Haji (Motorpsycho).

The film is uneven but fun to watch unfold. The costumes, settings, and sets do a great job of pulling you into the era, while the background music fits the genre perfectly. The cast delivers solid performances, and the leading ladies are stunning. There are only one to two topless scenes-less than I expected-and a few rough sequences, including an intense whipping scene. The corpse effects are handled well, and the ending delivers a spot-on message.

In conclusion, Black Snake is a unique period piece that isn't great, but has just enough substance to hold your attention. I would score it a 5.5/10.

Operating under the firm belief that his brother has been murdered by his evil wife, "Sir Charles Walker" (David Warbeck) decides to travel to the Caribbean Island which "Lady Susan Walker" (Anouska Hempel) has turned into a slave plantation. However, since he needs proof before he can press charges he assumes the new name of "Ronald Sopwith" and goes there under the pretense of being her new bookkeeper. When he gets there he is horrified to discover how cruel the slaves are being treated by not only her but also her Irish foreman "Joxer Tierney" (Percy Herbert) and the man in charge of her security, "Captain Raymond Daladier" (Bernard Boston). He also learns that when they are not whipping the slaves their main occupation seems to be in satisfying their carnal desires. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie I will just say that this picture wasn't too bad as far as "blaxploitation" films go. A couple of criticisms I have concerned the longest intro I have seen in quite a while, a very weak ending synopsis and the lack of substance concerning the character development which caused all of them to seem rather one-dimensional. That being the case, this is certainly not the best film in the genre and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.