Silent Venom (2009)

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

First, there was "Snakes on a Plane". Next, we were given "Snakes on a Train" by poverty-row studio The Asylum. Now, with "Silent Venom", we are given (thanks to notorious director Fred Olen Ray) snakes on a submarine! In fairness to Ray, this movie looks a lot better than a lot of his past cheapies. They actually got a decent-looking submarine set, for one thing, and it's acceptably photographed. But those looking for low budget horror thrills will be very disappointed. The movie is pretty dull in its tone, the movie moves very slowly, and there's very little blood. (Also, the CGI snakes look REALLY bad and are not the least bit scary.) The movie has a lot of stuff happen offscreen or is never explains (Just what is that mysterious substance that's found on a pipe at one point?) Perry looks aged, and Berenger fans will be disappointed because he's hardly in the movie. To sum up, it's incomprehensible that a major Hollywood studio would handle this direct-to-DVD release.

Lt Commander James O'Neill(Luke Perry)is granted by Admiral Bradley Wallace(Tom Berenger)one last mission before allowing him to retire after 20 years of service(we're supposed to accept that someone as young as Perry had been at it for 20 years)and that is to make a pick up of two personnel from an island to transport them to the Okinawa base. Krista Allen is Dr. Andrea Swanson, her field in snakes, along with assistant Jake Goldin(Louis Mandylor), and they are on the island, doing studies on snake venom research. Snakes of abnormal experimentation are brought on board the submarine without O'Neill's knowledge(as you might expect, certain military members are behind the venom research in the hopes of helping soldiers in the field of battle), and against Swanson's orders(there were only supposed to be four brought on board the sub, but Jake sees great potential on the black market for the snakes he was ordered to dispose of). So once aboard the sub, a moronic, curious member of O'Neill's crew opens the canister containing them(anytime you hear a noise and see a canister rattling, instead of telling another crew member, you open the canister and let whatever is inside loose). So commences "snakes on a sub" with O'Neill having to handle this situation(along with another dangerous development, Chinese ships, including a war sub, occupying waters forbidden for O'Neill's sub; O'Neill's coordinates from his commanders were a mistake sending him in the wrong direction)the best way he can without the ability to use torpedoes(they are dummies), while running his sub with a skeleton crew. Yep, the deck is stacked against him. Surprisingly, director Fred Olen Ray's SEA SNAKES(as titled by sci-fi channel)goes through the motions, with all the clichés expected, no new surprises. About like Luke Perry who doesn't crack his sullen expression, seemingly bored with his role as a commander in charge of a sub with plenty of insurmountable obstacles standing in his way. The plot just forwards ahead to it's predictable conclusion. Jake is the typical cretin who steals two vials of anti-venom to keep for himself, keeps the secret of his bringing so many snakes on board from Swanson until it is absolutely necessary to tell her, and gets what's coming to him in the usual fashion. It just never seems to take off for some reason; it lacks the fun you normally expect from a FOR creature feature. I think it was the serious approach, everyone in the movie plays the material straight. The ending, where O'Neill grapples with one of two giant snakes brought on board, is a bit hard to swallow. And, after O'Neill specifically requests that the gun usage should be at a minimum, he sure gets gung-ho with his when the time comes. I did like how the filmmakers incorporate live snakes in the movie, but, as expected, the two(CGI) big ones aren't very convincing.

"Silent Venom" is--no surprises here--essentially snakes-on-a-sub. The U.S. Navy has sold an old submarine to Taiwan and Admiral Bradley Wallace (Tom Berenger of "Sniper") assigns Lieutenant Commander James O'Neill (Luke Perry of "The Fifth Element") to skipper the sub. It seems that O'Neill disobeyed a direct order and he stands to lose his retirement benefits as well as his rank, but Wallace engineers a deal that will save the Lieutenant Commander both his rank and honor. Naturally, our hero does not care to sail as a skipper on an unarmed sub. Meanwhile, on an island, Dr. Andrea Swanson (Krista Allen of Emmanuelle, Queen of the Galaxy") and her unethical research assistant Jake Goldin (Louis Mandylor of "Renegade Force") have been conducting research on venomous snakes so that they can provide the Pentagon with anti-toxins for troops in chemical warfare situations. The Red Chinese decide to stage maneuvers and the Pentagon needs somebody to pick up Swanson. You guessed it. The old sub is the closest thing to transport so Admiral Wallace orders our hero to let them hitch a ride. The catch is that Dr. Swanson can neither divulge the nature of their research nor that they are bringing snakes aboard a submarine. Furthermore, Swanson has only a few bottles of anti-toxin that has never been tested so she does not know if it works. No sooner have Swanson and Jack settled into the sub than the snakes get loose. A curious sailor is the culprit."Silent Venom" is reminiscent of a 1974 made-for-television David Janssen thriller "Fer-de-Lance." The bigger snakes are clearly computer-generated-imagery while the smaller snakes appear to be real snakes. Veteran exploitation filmmaker Fred Olen Ray of "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers," knows his craft well enough to milk a modicum of suspense out of the formulaic screenplay by Mark Sanderson. Indeed, Ray has called the shots on over an hundred of these direct-to-video movies. The best scenes show both the real-life actors handling the snakes. Luke Perry has to remove several snakes from the neck of Krista Allen. "Silent Venom" qualifies as strictly an exercise in boilerplate suspense. The ending is clever.Tom Berenger doesn't have a big role, but everybody does fine.

Fred Olin Ray with Luke Perry and Tom Berenger is what amounts to "Snakes on a Sub". the plot has a decommissioned sub going to rescue a research team from an island. The crew is unaware that the people they are rescuing are doing research with poisonous snakes, and that the snakes will inevitably get out at the worst possible time.How many films have there been with computer generated snakes over the last couple of years. Too many if you ask me, I'm guessing that the effects supply store had a fire sale and every low budget producer bought a snake program. That said as these sort of dumb films go this film is pretty good. Of course you'll have to over look a couple of logic gaps the size of Montana but assuming you can do that you might enjoy yourself. Actually if you watch this with friends in a witty mood, you'll have an even better time.