Simply A Masterpiece

Must See Movie...

Let's be realistic.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

~Spoiler~It's a movie about a guy with a snake hand...how do you f**k that up? The Curse II: The Bite is a sequel that has nothing whatsoever to do with the Wil Wheaton original. And if you disliked the first film, you ain't seen nothing yet. The Curse II is about a couple (played by 80's scream queen Jill Schoelen and soap star J. Eddie Peck) traveling through the desert who pick up a hitchhiking radioactive snake. When the boyfriend gets bitten by the traveling snake, he thinks it's okay to get treatment from a traveling salesman (Klinger from M.A.S.H.) who happens to be carrying anti-venom from various snakes. As his hand later transforms into a giant snake head and he gets all kinds of sick, his girlfriend can't understand what's wrong with him and even yells at the poor guy. Then local redneck sheriff Bo Svenson comes along and makes matters worse. I wish I were making this up. With this story and collection of random actors, you probably think I'm making this up! The Curse II might sound like some bizarre cult film, but it's not. It's really very boring until the end. That's where Screaming Mad George's unique effects come into play. The hero of the story starts vomiting baby snakes, his eyes fall out, and eventually a huge snake tears its way out of his head. It's as disgustingly offensive as it sounds. Speaking of disgustingly offensive, there is a slow-motion scene of the couple driving over hundreds of snakes on a deserted stretch of highway that will absolutely puzzle the hell of you. I would strongly suggest staying away from this film. But somebody out there must have liked it because there are 2 other movies that exist which bear the "cursed" Curse title.

As a standalone goes, this isn't bad and is miles ahead of its terribly lame unrelated second sequel 'Curse III: Blood Sacrifice (1991)'. Still even here, I couldn't help but be a little disappointed with the final outcome. What begins promising and ends so (mainly centring on Screaming Mad George's tremendously vivid and killer first-rate special effects) has too much time on its hands when it should be more exciting than it actually is with an odd, colourful assemble of sub-plots hanging off its already creative premise. The problem is it seems to want to only the scrape the surface with minimal details, than delving in deep with any sort of lasting imprint and ends on a whimper. So the comparisons to Cronenberg's cerebral remake of 'The Fly' seemed to be unjustified, with only the transformation effects ringing true. Leaving it as a simple, taut and silly b-grade cautionary on-the-road feature. Although expect something dreary, downbeat and utterly horrifying. Likable leads Jill Schoelen (who's always a complete delight) and J. Eddie Peck (the poor guy goes through the slivering changes) make the trip an easy ride. There's fun support in the shape Jamie Farr, Bo Svenson, Sydney Lassick and Savina Gersak. The atmosphere might be lacking (even though the well presented photography frames the blistering sand bowl locations to good effect), but it has a real nasty streak abound (the plastered shocks and unnerving deaths) and the macabre effects are grotesque and leave sickening punch in the guts. It looks like they were trying to blow you away, and it mostly does good at that. I guess we know what the main selling point is here.

After a young man is bitten on the hand by a radioactive snake, his hand changes into a lethal snake head, which attacks everyone he comes into contact with. Also, his body becomes filled with snakes. Now, he must prevent himself from hurting others. "Curse II" is not only poorly made, but is also boring as watching paint dry. There are some gruesome parts, and screaming mad George's special effects range from really bad to acceptable, but the script is awful, the acting is so-so, and the music is extremely annoying. Don't watch 'Curse 2: the bite". it's a typical excuse for a sequel. (By the way, what does this have to do with the original?) 2-2.5/10.

The movie is lousy, I won't pretend it isn't. But it will always rank in my Top 10 list of Most Erotic Movies Of All Time, because of one scene near the end of the film. Of course eroticism is subjective, but in my own humble opinion this film contains some of the most erotic footage ever committed to film. Fans of Showgirls (which I found about as erotic as corned beef) will probably not agree, but fans of Dario Argento's brand of erotic horror, or of JoBeth Williams towards the end of Poltergeist, should really check out The Bite (as it is known in England). Skip through the first hour or so if you wish - go on, I won't tell anyone - but that one scene will amply reward you.