Rubber snakes, animatronic snakes, CGI-snakes, big snakes that kill with brute force, little snakes that kill with venom, snake-men, snake-women (we love the sexy slither of a lady snake) ... A snake was the first narrative antagonist (apple, anyone?), and has been a staple of adventure, thriller and horror movies since cinema's invention. When you need a quick bit of symbolism and don't have the budget for a train going through a tunnel? Bring on the snake!
We love killer animals, and snakes are one of our favorite killers. It's not just the variety, it's not just the phallic symbolism ... there's something about the purposefulness of a snake slithering forward, the fanged mouth, so primitive yet cannily malicious at the same time. When we're looking for a thrill, popping a snake movie into the DVD player is a quick way to get the skin crawling.
So in tribute to our favorite reptile, we hereby submit this brief guide to some of our favorite snakes in cinema.
