Silent Predators

Twenty years ago there was a car accident one night in a small southern California town San Catalano where a crate of tropical rattlesnakes escaped into the area. Now the area is experiencing a boom in housing development, and this has disrupted the nest of these deadly predators. Vic Rondell the new fire chief has just arrived, and when one snake attack after another occurs. He goes about trying to discover why the sudden attacks, but the greedy property developer Max Farrington doesn't want to start a panic and tries his best to get Rondell on the wrong side of the community. So it's left up to a tainted Vic and Farrington's business associate Mandy Stratford to put a stop to it.

Routine, repetitive and lame creatures run amok TV b-feature. Not that I think it's the complete pits, but everything that happens here has been done to death. Even in the film itself! It's always the same actions occurring over and over again. Not helping out is that it's not bad enough to be hilarious, of course stupidity fills nearly every moment and everything about it is clumsy. However it doesn't have that schlock presence or any sense of fun. The low-rent script (supposedly written by John Carpenter in the 70s) throws a bit of everything into the contrived premise, but in the long run it's a poisonous venture that's witless and incredibly textbook stuff. Director Noel Nosseck does a real nothing job with it, and makes sure you're in for something of extreme blandness, poor pacing and tired false jumps. While the deaths are mostly random there's no suspense, nor thrills. Nothing is sustained or delivered, because they are poorly staged and too goofy to have any sort of effect. While the obnoxious score gets in the way. A special mention though, at least they didn't succumb to digital effects for the snakes. We even get some snake vision, using a red filter. Strange the title actually makes no sense, since we're talking about rattlesnakes here. The no-frills performances are your standard mould found in these features and so are their stock characters. A dopey looking Harry Hamlin is here to save the day! Dominic Purcell and an animal loving Patty McCormack also feature in minor parts.

Formulaic and unexciting is what it ends up being.

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.

We know right from the opening seconds of SILENT PREDATORS, when we see a truck hauling a huge crate marked: "Danger... Handle With Extreme Caution... Venomous Reptile", that we're in for another killer snake movie. When the obvious happens, and the creature is unleashed, we know we're in for a treat.

20 years later, the citizenry of a small desert town are under attack by an army of slithering super snakes. Could it have anything to do with the new housing development that's being constructed nearby?

Harry Hamlin stars as the new Fire Chief, barely able to settle into his position before the deaths begin. Mr. Hamlin plays his part in a low-key fashion, which lends a calming effect amid the growing chaos. Shannon Sturges plays the love interest, and employee of the loathesome real estate developer (Jack Scalia). Also, watch for Patty "The Bad Seed" McCormack as the local pet shop owner.

Based on an early screenplay by John Carpenter, this TV movie isn't bad. In fact, it's an above-average entry in the "animal attack" subgenre. The rattlesnakes are suitably scary, and their "snake vision" shots are effective. There's also the obligatory, greed-driven cover-up to help keep the goodguys on their toes.

Highly recommended for fans of this subgenre...

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.

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.