Color, 1982, 92m. / Directed by Piers Haggard / Starring Klaus Kinski, Oliver Reed, Nicol Williamson, Sarah Miles, Sterling Hayden, Lance Holcomb, Susan George, Michael Gough / Blue Underground (US R1 NTSC) / WS (1.85:1) (16:9) / DTS/DD5.1
While on vacation in England, American boy Philip (Holcomb) becomes the kidnapping target of a group of criminals: family chauffeur David (Reed), his nanny girlfriend Louise (George), and sadistic anarchist Jacques (Kinski). Alas, the scheme goes awry and, after the impulsive gunning down of a passing bobby, the group holes up in the boy's house with his macho grandfather (Hayden) and, unbeknownst to them, a deadly snake sent by accident from the pet store. The arrival of scientist Miles, the snake's intended owner, adds another hostage to the roster; meanwhile outside, the chief inspector (Williamson) tries to salvage an escape plan as the body count rises.
Obviously even a lousy film could wring suspense out of such a scenario; after all, the thought of an unseen snake slithering around air ducts and popping out from beneath furniture and window curtains is enough to keep most viewers gripping their armrests.
Usually seen on cable and via Vestron's ugly VHS transfer for its first two decades of video life, Venom finally gets a watchable presentation thanks to Blue Underground's DVD. The image quality is excellent, with vivid colors and accurate framing (similar to but more polished than the earlier no-frills Australian release). Both surround mixes sound fine; the snake attack scenes (complete with occasional POV shots, no less) benefit the most from the audio overhaul, but the nice early score by the late Michael Kamen gets a solid boost as well.
Haggard appears from an enjoyable but low-key commentary track with moderator Jonathan Sothcott, covering all of the bases including his dissatisfaction with Hooper's footage, the multiple collisions between actors, and the difficulties of mounting such a complicated production on limited means. Other extras include the theatrical trailer (which plays up the snake angle, of course), four TV spots, a poster and still gallery (complete with press kit), and detailed bios for Reed and Kinski well worth reading.
A solid nailbiter sold as a nature-on-the-rampage horror film, this crime film with some tense black mamba action sports one of the strangest all-star casts of its era. Though virtually buried upon release (during a year crammed with superior genre fare), this adaptation of a potboiler by Alan Scholefield still stands up fairly well as a solid, low-key genre mix with some enjoyable
scenery chewing from the biggest, most psychotic hams in the business.
Fortunately Venom is more than competent with its material, thanks to efficient handling from director Haggard, a genre veteran from Blood on Satan's Claw and TV's Quatermass who took over after a week's shooting by Tobe Hooper. The result is an unexceptional but diverting piece of entertainment worth using to kill a slow evening; after all, the once in a 
lifetime teaming of volatile Reed (who did the much worse snake yarn Spasms the following year) and Kinski merits a look simply by itself, and as far as deeply troubled productions go, at least this turned out better than most.
