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Rattlesnakes are attacking people as if it is their prey. Their fangs are sinking into people and leaving them dead. It is baffling because there has been a series of deadly attacks. The police have called in a herpetologist in hopes he will help them make sense of it all.
So with the aid of a more attractive-looking feminist as his photographer, they debate, do some snooping, and flirt a little. Try to stop me from wondering whether the local military installation could have anything to do with the attorneys missing football-sized tumours and the snakes becoming furious.
In ‘R’ rated animal attack films animals not people, fuck. These movies debuted after the unprecedented hit of Jaws, and those are the types of things that came out after. They can be understood as the modern amendment of monster movies born in the 50s powered by radioactive materials. These “monsters” do not grow to impossible, sky-high sizes, they are played more realistically. At least it’s an effort made.
This is definitely on the lower end of the scale of Rattlers. It doesn’t make sense, the horror is overly terrible, and the acting is just as bad. It is utterly void of suspense. For those who enjoy bad movies, as in the flip of this one, is fantastic, then Rattlers is certainly what you are looking for.
Rattlers 1976 cast horror movie version of Jaws is a bust, just move along Rattlers
I did see Rattlers once previously on one of the evenings with the old Mystery Science Theater 3000 and their live show Cinematic Titan. Did not think I would ever encounter a day when I would watch this exact movie again, till I stumbled upon it appearing on Turner Classic Movies. I thought watching MST3K without their cynical jokes would not be as fun but was delighted to find out it really is a stupid movie and there are so many laughs out of it.
The majority of the movie features a herpetologist and a gal photographer who happens to kind of resemble Ali MacGraw. They are driving around the Mojave Desert trying to find whatever it is that they are looking for. They walk, drive, and even fly around searching for something. I have no idea what that would be. Some clues as to why the rattles are coming, but that seems rather difficult from high above in a helicopter.
Clearly, the helicopter is not in motion with the actors inside. It is constructed from one of those sub-angled shots featuring a sky-filled background and makes it look like a cockpit mounted to a stand. And whom is this gal photographer supposed to be taking photos of? Once again, I am a bit perplexed. Rattlesnake attacks on unsuspecting victims are shown in between the investigating and bickering that is frequent throughout the film. Perhaps, if you suffer from a severe case of snakephobia, they may be frightening to some, but for the rest of us, they are just mediocre. Routine stuff someone looks around, sees the snakes, panic strikes, screams, and then there is the panic. It’s simple there is a total shortage of gore or suspense, so don’t have high expectations of the snakes bailing the movie out. 1976 scene Rattler snake bathtub A lot of the humour stems from the fact that she makes the character claim that the smoke does make the bath hotter than water. She’s pouring the tank hoping the house is under will get bit by the plumber. She is resting in the tub whilst the rattlers approach her when she is the tub. It’s a show program stunt that grips her tighter than her limp house pearls the girl. I suppose this bothered young viewers this way in 1976 even without any nude scene. But to most people today, the scene is just overly cheesy.
The affair between the herpetologist and the gal photographer has been so poorly executed that it is downright comical. The fact that most actors, in particular the actresses, are quite amateur does not help. It’s not acting – it is simply delivering lines. She gives an abysmal script-reading performance one would expect in a porn movie.
The unexpected side trip they make to Vegas is absolutely unhinged. It is so out-of-context that it is mind-boggling. My assumption was that there’s this emergency they need to help resolve with the rattlesnakes at the forefront, and instead, they are frolicking in the souvlaki bowls I mean, fountains of Vegas. What a nonsensical way of adding some romance to this movie.
Rattlers 1976 low-budget cheap snake horror movie, so that military base serves a purpose, but once again it is formulaic, lacking in any hint of enigma that you would not already guess based on its first mention, and just rushes through it to provide some context for these bizarre rattlesnakes.
Now, if Rattlers is not particularly an obligatory horror film to watch, that is entirely fine. But for me, I think 95% of all viewers would benefit by ignoring this entirely. For the 5% that enjoy those badly produced old films, there may be some entertaining nuggets. You already know what I mean.
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