The Snake God (DVD Review) - Mondo Macabro

Italy/1970
Directed By: Piero Vivarelli
Written By: Ottavio Alessi, Piero Vivarelli
Starring: Nadia Cassini, Beryl Cunningham, Sergio Tramonti
Color/95 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1

The Film 
Nadia Cassini stars as Paola, the wife of a wealthy businessman who has brought her to the Caribbean to live on his plantation. He quickly leaves on business and Paola befriends a local woman named Stella (Beryl Cunningham) who shows her around. The pair quickly become inseperable and Stella shows Paola the local Voodoo culture. The local people worship a giant snake they believe to be a god named Djamballa. Djamballa immediately sets its sights on Paola, and she spends the rest of the movie fighting the deity's lustful desires.

That's about it. THE SNAKE GOD is a simple premise- Load up the most basic premise with tons of skin, exotic locations and a bit of Voodoo exploitation. Nadia Cassini really helps the 95 minutes fly by as she is barely covered through most of the film. The bits and pieces of Voodoo are mostly tame and more of a "diet" version of more hardcore Voodoo fare. The main exception being the goat ceremony scene, which gets quite nasty.

There isn't much in THE SNAKE GOD that is above average. The direction isn't exactly artful or inspired, the acting is good enough to get by, not bad but not great and the film relies on old tricks that had been done better before and after this production. That said, THE SNAKE GOD manages to be a mildly entertaining tropical romp of Voodoo, skin, sex and snakes.

The Audio & Video
Mondo Macabro gives THE SNAKE GOD  a fantastic looking DVD release with a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen print that shows strong detail, very nice color reproduction and an overall clean presentation. There are some instances of dirt speckling but it is light and doesn't detract from this excellent looking disc. The sound side of things is also quite good. The lone track is a Dolby Digital mix in Italian with English subtitles. They're well placed and well timed. The track is loud and crystal clear.

The Extras
Supplements include an interview with Piero Vivarelli, trailers and production notes. 

The Bottom Line
Mondo Macabro does another fantastic job with this US debut of THE SNAKE GOD. The uncut DVD is good enough for exploitation fans and Mondo Macabro collector's to enjoy adding this one to their collection.