Horror movies from the ’70s had a lock on creepy.
The uncertain soundtracks. The clumsy effects which still made your skin crawl. And the acting, often amateurish but with just a touch of reality that proved unnerving.
“Sssssss” had dollops of all of those elements plus a gaggle of snakes – a primo scare tactic unto themselves.
“Sssssss” (that’s seven ‘Ss’ for anyone counting) stars Strother Martin as the latest in a long line of mad scientists. His Dr. Stoner is a snake expert, a fellow who thinks the slithery creatures are best prepared to survive the famines, droughts and other earth-wide travesties to come.
Dr. Stoner would have had a field day with global warming.
So he decides to help humanity prepare for the inevitable in his own horrific way. He’s going to transform people into snakes, combining the latter’s survival instincts with the former’s brain power.
Enter David (Dirk Benedict), a university student who accepts Dr. Stoner’s job offer as a medical assistant.
Turns out those anti-venom boosters the not-so-good doctor has been stabbing David with are part of his evil master plan to turn man into snake.
“Sssssss” invigorates the “man becomes beast” sub genre by letting us get to know the snakes a little better. The early scenes explore the wonders of snake venom, feature actors interacting naturally with snakes and show the dangers they present to the general public if not treated with the proper respect and training.
And then there’s Martin, selling Dr. Stoner with a combination of kooky charisma and Kool-Aid swilling belief. Without him in charge “Sssssss” wouldn’t have a chance.
The special effects here are spotty at best, and one transformation sequence seems like it came straight from a ’40s wolf man movie.
But “Sssssss” casts a freak show pall over its conventional story telling arc, making it a memorable dip into ’70s horror canon.
(Photo: One of Dr. Stoner’s creations in “Sssssss.”/Universal Pictures)
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