Film Review: Anaconda 4

My friend told me that Anaconda 4 was his favorite movie.

Having never had the opportunity to watch this masterpiece, I immediately put that on top of my to-watch list.

Last week, I had a meeting in a rural community at 5:00 p.m. and offer of a free ride to said community at 11:00 a.m.

(This free ride also included lunch and a ride back to my house, whereas the alternative included two buses, a thirty-minute walk, spending the night, and doing the same two-bus, 30-minute walk routine in the morning. So I obviously accepted.)

We finished lunch a little after 1:00 p.m. and I had a few hours to kill until my meeting. Somehow the conversation shifted to movies. Somehow it shifted to him showing me his movie collection. When the Anaconda collection appeared to pique my interested, he asked me if I wanted to watch.

Ian’s friend: Which one do you want to watch?

Ian: Whichever one is your favorite.

Ian’s friend: Then we’ll watch Anaconda 4

Keep in mind that I’m pretty certain that an officially named film Anaconda 4 has not been produced yet, which means that someone made a movie about a snake, slapped the name Anaconda 4 on it, and started selling it in bootleg movie stores throughout Latin America.

So we started watching.

The film is set in East Tennessee in 1986. The main character’s father dies of a snake bite during the opening credits. Instead of avoiding snakes for the rest of his life, the main character develops a fascination with the species. He goes to the local rare snake store (I haven’t spent too much time in rural eastern Tennessee, but from what I have heard, I have heard nothing about rare snake stores in that region). Well, the main character steals a really rabid, deadly snake from the store. He accidentally knocks it out of its cage, and it starts killing everybody in town.

From this summary, you might think that this is just your generic snake film. But I could just as easily treat this film as a love story, with a snake subplot.

A guy from eastern Tennessee falls in love with a park ranger. Their relationship goes through a roller coaster as a snake wreaks havoc on the town and their families. And at the end, the main character might or might not have to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of love.

Well, you see, it works as a love story too. Now, let’s go with the environmental plot.

Some snake store in eastern Tennessee imports a rare, poisonous snake from the Latin American jungle. The species is not native to the area and no natural predators. Plus it likes eating people. Well, outside of its natural habitat of the jungle, where it feasts on non-human things, the snake realizes that there is an abundance of humans in eastern Tennessee (maybe compared to the jungle I would describe the population density of eastern Tennessee as abundant. Maybe.). The rest of the move just shows the effect of an invasive species outside of its natural habitat. This could just as easily have been a film about the ash borer, but I think more people are interested in snake stories that ash borer films (even for the fourth edition of a snake series that got old after the first sequel, I would say there is more demand than for an ash borer flick)

Now, you see, this really isn’t your simple snake thriller. This is much more than that. And I think that is why my friend likes it so much. Well, at least that is what I thought, until the film ended.

Ian: What is that huge blood stain on the floor next to the table?

Ian’s friend: Oh, that. That was the chicken that died there last week.

Ian: How did he die?

Ian’s friend: A poisonous snake killed him.

(Now, keep in mind that this blood stain is on the floor between the two beds in this house)

I then realized why they like this film so much. It is close to an accurate depiction of their lives. They live in a rural community with the ever-present risk of snake attacks. They can relate. It might be difficult for them to get behind the inspirational story of Forrest Gump or the brilliance of the Godfather.

But Anaconda 4, they understand exactly what the characters are going through.