Silent Predators

This movie was well acted and well directed. The storyline was good and the ending was surprising. I was hoping that the snakes could have been kept for more observation. It was a really good movie and I would like to see it put on TV again or released to video.

"Silent Predators" uses every single cliche from countless other horror movies which have "nature vs. the greedy interests of capitalism" as a theme e.g. "Empire of the Ants" Although this formula is tired, sometimes two big heaping scoops of banality is just what the doctor ordered. Rating: 6 out of 10

Living and working in Tokyo has some advantages, one of them being the fact that Channel 12 runs movies every afternoon -13:30-15:30- Monday to Thursday; some of course boarder on the inane but I just saw Silent Preds today and it's as fine a TV film as there is. Good camera work, nice production, solid acting and a realistic dialog, for a TV movie budget Silent Preds hits an easy 6. I personally wouldn't put it in the genre of B movie either, it doesn't have the feel or themes of a B movie, for a start Silent Preds uses real snake shots, not overly obvious rubber nasties flopping around as a muscle bound wanna be hero 'fights' them. This is no Ed Wood production and I found myself looking out for snakes where I'd seen them in this film. Watch, enjoy, creep yourself out!

When I first saw this movie, I only caught the first half hour of it, but it was enough. I had seen enough of these formulaic, made-for-TV movies to know how it was going to end. Two months later, the curiosity of the accuracy of my predictions got the best of me, so I rented the movie and finished it this time. And I can say that with my guesstimation abilities, movie companies should hire me to write formulaic, made-for-TV movies. Everything happened that I anticipated: the progression of the plot, the introduction and killing off of characters, the role each character plays in the movie, it all was there.

If you've seen one of these movies, you've seen them all. Movies like this one, Marabunta, The Fury Within, Nightscream, Burial of the Rats, they are all the same. Watch one movie, replace the aggressive animal with a different animal, and enjoy.

Scott says: For a movie of silent rattlesnakes, the snakes sure broke script a lot.

In 1979, a rare breed of rattle snake – naturally, a more ferocious variety than the typical species – is set loose after the truck carrying it overturns. After fatally striking both the occupants of the crash, it then descends on a disused mine shaft where it breeds with regular rattlesnakes, and 20 years later the effects of this lethal concoction are awoken by a housing development. Harry Hamlin is the new fire chief whose first day on the job sees him dealing with a fatal snake bite, after a pair of juveniles frolicking in a thicket stumble on a specimen. From there, matters deteriorate as locals are overcome by a plethora of the new breed, the venom from which is more deadly than any known to man, and predictably, for which no serum currently exists. A herpetologist is enlisted but with the local economy's purse strings being controlled by greedy developer (Scalia), action is far from swift or decisive. So, inevitably, several bystanders quickly become victims until Scalia decides to take matters into his own hands, with disastrous results.

Not bad for a tele-movie, with capable performances and well conceived sub plots. McCormack as the local snake enthusiast comes off best, in spite of her whacky idea to address the problem by introducing more snakes, while Scalia plays a remarkably restrained villain, whose worst trait is being unethical moreover than exhibiting any overtly sinister behaviour. The blossoming romance between Hamlin and Sturges offers gentle respite in the film's troughs, and generally speaking, the show moves along with reasonable momentum and pace. While the special effects aren't all that special, director Nosseck still manages to build the suspense and an effective balance between storyline and detail. Perhaps the only real faux pas is the film's title – unless fitted with a silencer, one would assume that rattlesnakes indeed rattle, and would therefore only be silent to the hearing impaired.

A sharp eye for detail will reveal that the location is clearly not the USA in which the picture is set, but actually Queensland, Australia, as such the peripheral cast will be familiar to Australian audiences with familiar faces in bit parts and some supporting roles. Not movie of the week material, but competent within in its own limitations and definitely worth a look for those who don't suffer from snake phobia.