I think it took me several viewings to
really get The Serpent and the Rainbow. However, it’s a
creepy movie. As far as I can tell, it’s the source of the “powder
that makes you appear dead for several days” cliché, although I
believe this may only be that powder’s primary use in horror. It
generally seems to pop up in dramas and mysteries in which the plot
dictates that a character be dead, then not be dead.
The film is very loosely based on a
true story, because the reality was far less interesting. There was
an anthropologist who claimed that such a powder actually existed.
Today, there’s an ongoing controversy over whether or not he
committed fraud. The alternative seems to be that there is such a
powder, but it has such an unbelievably low success rate that no
one’s ever been able to reproduce it under laboratory conditions,
and the actual cases of zombies are rare anomalies that happen just
often enough to make people believe.
That said, this movie delves into the
nature of reality and belief. Dr. Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman), our
main character, goes to Haiti, hoping to discover the secret of
zombies because of the potential uses as an anesthetic for surgery.
The movie is technically a period piece, set against the downfall of
Bebe Doc’s government, but the setting is only ten years before the
film was made.
Dr. Allan finds a knowledgeable
practitioner named Louis Mozart (Brent Jennings). Mozart’s an
interesting character, as he’s willing to help Dr. Allan purely for
his own benefit. Initially, he wants money for the powder, but
eventually gives it to Dr Allan simply because he believes it could
make him famous. Louis is a wise-cracker, who we're led to like, but
far from heroic.
On the other hand however, a priest and
official under Bebe Doc by the name of Peytraud (Zakes Mokae) is
determined both to drive out the foreigner and to protect the secrets
of Voodoo. This is not because of his piety, but simply because he
sees the power of the religion as something to keep enemies of the
regime in line; so he threatens to steal the soul of Dr. Allan.
The eventual fall-out walks a line
between the magical and the mundane. Dr. Allan has many horrifying
experiences that may be supernatural, or may simply be the result of
chemically induced hallucinations. Ultimately, it doesn’t really
matter, because both possibilities are terrifying beyond belief.
Eventually, this culminates in Dr. Allan being buried alive and dug
up to face Peytraud in a vulnerable state.
Bill Pullman gives an excellent
performance. I’ve heard some accusations of racism directed
against this movie, but given that every main character other than
Pullman’s is black, it seems to make perfect sense that the
villains are black. Furthermore, Voodoo is portrayed as a Religion
that has been corrupted by the leaders of Haiti, not simply as evil
magic.
The final few minutes of the movie
arguably go a bit too far with their imagery and actually begin to
come across as silly. On the other hand, I suppose a man who’d
just been poisoned and buried alive might see some silly things.
Whether he’s been attacked with magic physically, attacked with
magic psychologically or just dosed with chemicals is left for the
viewer to decide. Hell, any event that happens after Bebe Doc
fleeing Haiti (which, at minimum, we know actually did happen) is
pretty much up for grabs.
I wish more movies like this existed,
mixing physical terror with the psychological. There is no monster
to jump out and say “boo.” There is only human evil in whatever
form you believe it manifests, harnessing whatever powers it can.
This movie is great.
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