Serpent's Lair

Lisa B's most famous or infamous movie depending on your view of it. Jeff Farley is a successful executive who meets the tantalizing Lisa B who rather fascinated by him. His ego being flattered he sees another conquest like his career available. Except she appears to be rather dominant and leaving him more tired than he would wish in the morning. This film is an attempt to follow classics like Rosemary's Baby and The Omen. I saw this after some word of mouth and recommendations on the net. The most intriguing was some weird parallels that occurred outside this film but were related. Lisa B plays the demoness Lilith at the time she had a successful music carer and as a campaigning journalist. One of the people recommending this was the journalist, actor, occultism and composer Stephen Armourae who knew Lisa and has done a portrait of her since. His interest in Lilith and occult groups like 'Temple of the Winged One' meant I had to see this movie. Its funny how a little background information elevates an otherwise average film to something more chilling. And this film needs it. The best parts of it are the unintended comedy of Lisa having multiple orgasms as she is a Succubus taking his energy. Also that she would be so interested in someone who is not a big Hollywood star, he has no glamor or enough good looks for a role of someone who arouses a beautiful demon.

This is a movie that attempts to combine horror with erotica. The horror aspect is the succubus and the erotic aspect is the succubus seducing a married man. There are a number of love scenes which are mildly erotic. Nothing to get too excited about. Good for teenagers.

Here we have one of those nice young couples who have found the apartment they've been searching for, only it has a sinister past. But heck, they say, so what if a guy killed himself and wrote some strange words on the wall. We'll just throw a mirror over that. But there are also a few amenities they didn't count on, like a multitude of vaguely menacing cats. Plus the apartment comes equipped with its own sexy succubus--not what every wife would want for her husband.

There is more sex than scares in this movie, though neither will have you on the edge of your seat. But things do pick up a little toward the end. Jeff Fahey, B-movie vet, stars as the husband and Lisa B (didn't she used to play for Prince?) is the bedeviling demon lady. Taylor Nichols ('Metropolitan' and 'Barcelona') also has a small role.

SERPENT'S LAIR is ostensibly a horror movie on paper (with shades of ROSEMARY'S BABY in the set-up) but it plays out as one of those late night softcore thrillers of the kind that Shannon Tweed made a career of starring in during the 1990s. This one has Jeff Fahey, one of the more underrated stars of the era, playing one half of a couple who buy a new apartment only to find it haunted by a succubus with designs on the hubby. All of this leads to the usual gamut of softcore fumblings and nude sequences, which quickly become tiresome to all but the hungriest of erotic film fans. Fahey does his best, but I found this one tiresome before long.

In SERPENT'S LAIR, Tom Bennett (Jeff Fahey) and his wife, Alex (Heather Medway) move right in to their dream apartment This, in spite of having seen the burn marks and a message on the wall -written in red!- left by the former occupant.

Weirdness starts right away, accompanied by weird music that lets us know that it's only going to get weirder! There's even a neighbor who's, you guessed it, a weirdo! Hell, even their new cat seems to act... weirdly.

Meanwhile, Tom's dreams turn into soft core cheeeze, and a cat-caused "accident" puts poor Alex in the hospital.

Enter Lilith (Lisa Barbuscia), a sizzling hot woman who claims to be the former tenant's sister. Lilith winds up alone with Tom for the evening, and it's not long before he forgets that he's married to what's-her-name. For some reason, more cats materialize, and further "accidents" occur.

For her part, Lilith isn't one for small talk. She's also very persistent. Tom doesn't know what he's up against, since Lilith isn't what she appears to be. Will Tom ever snap out of his Lilith-induced coma?

More cats appear.

A movie like this is all about building sexual tension, with the consummation thereof leading to total destruction. Lilith being insatiable and unstoppable certainly brings things to a lusty boil! For the most part, Tom is just a goggle-eyed rube with weak knees.

QUESTIONS: #1- Will Alex get out of the hospital before Lilith reduces Tom to a smiling sack of dust? #2- Will the cats ever stop multiplying? #3- How will Tom and Alex afford the food and litterboxes for their growing feline multitude?

BEST SCENE: When Lilith "surprises" Tom at work, and an office chair becomes a recreational instrument! This scene proves to be as ludicrous as it is sensual!

Let nothing stop you from witnessing the final, fiery, demon-cleansing showdown!...