Sssssss (1973) | 31 Days of Horror: Oct 23

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I’d like to buy a vowel please.

A week of film anniversaries continues with the 50th Anniversary of Sssssss, a mash-up of a natural horror film with body horror. Basically, if you are bothered by snakes then this is the best horror film for you.

Before Viewing

The trailer makes it appear that this is a film about snake attacks, with multiple images of characters being bitten or strangled by cobras and pythons. But then it takes a weird turn as a man apparently is turned into a snake. It’s an early body horror film of epic proportions, and as the narrator says, “the most unusual horror film ever made.” Get ready for Sssssss!

Presented below is the trailer for the film.

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After Viewing

Herpetologist Doctor Carl Stoner (Strother Martin) is paid $800 by Kogen (Tim O’Connor), a sideshow operator, for a specimen in a crate. He calls the doctor a great man who is going down in history. Stoner visits the local college looking for a new intern since his last one left on short notice. His old colleague, Dr. Daniels (Richard B. Shull) recommends David Blake (Dirk Benedict). Stoner takes David back to his ranch house and snake laboratory where he is introduced to Stoner’s daughter and assistant Kristina (Heather Menzies).

Stoner introduces David to a number of his specimens before giving him an immunization shot to protect against a King Cobra bite. David becomes immediately drowsy over dinner and falls asleep, having very strange hallucinations. The next day Stoner and Kristina have a pubic show at the house where Stoner lets loose a King Cobra that he captures and milks for venom. Later during a feeding, Stoner is bitten by a Black Mamba, but is unconcerned due to his inoculations.

The next day Sheriff Dale Hardison (Jack Ging) and Deputy Bock (Ted Grossman) stop by the Stoner’s house inquiring about his previous assistant Tim McGraw who has been reported missing. Stoner believes he left because his Uncle was ill. The cops assist the Stoner’s in relocating a sick python into his cellar. David comes to Stoner concerned about peeling skin on his face and back. The doctor tells him it’s just a side-effect of the shots he’s been getting. After a trip to the local post office, David and Kristina stop at a nearby lake to skinny dip–obviously sharing a mutual attraction.

David takes Kris to a local carnival that night, where the sideshow contains a “real” snakeman, with Kogen offering $1000 to anyone that can prove it fake. Kris declines to go inside. While David is checking out the oddity, Kris is accosted by local jock and bully Steve (Reb Brown). David saves her by attacking Steve and biting him on the neck. Steve later shows up at the Stoner’s believing Kris really wants him. When he tries to enter her room, her pet boa constrictor Harry attacks him. Steve beats Harry to death.

The next night Stoner puts his Black Mamba in a valise and drives to Steve’s dormitory. He sneaks in and releases the snake into the shower where it bites Steve, leaving with the evidence and no one the wiser. While he is gone David and Kris consummate their relationship. Daniels returns the following day to let Stoner know his grant has been terminated. When the professor accidentally sees David, whose skin has started to turn green and scaly, Stoner knocks him out and feeds him to the python in the cellar.

Kris, believing something is up, visits the sideshow and sees the snake man (Noble Craig) who she recognizes as Tim, her father’s old assistant. She races back home. Meanwhile, David is undergoing his final metamorphosis as his legs and arms fuse into his body. He transforms into a King Cobra. Stoner is accidentally bitten by his other King Cobra, killing him, as the police arrive and shoot it. Kristina enters the lab realizing what has happened and sees David, now a full snake, fighting with a mongoose. She screams his name.

“What are you trying to do? Kill me?” – David

Sssssss seems to have been inspired by any number of horror films about animal attacks, including The Birds (1963), Willard (1971), Ben, Frogs, and Night of The Lepus (all 1972). But it also includes elements of body horror, being an early entry in that genre as well. Some other films that may have inspired it include The Blob and The Fly (both original versions, 1958) and The Wasp Woman (1959). But its roots in cinema may go even further, all the way back to Freaks, a 1932 film by director Tod Browning. It dealt with a carnival sideshow which included actors with real-life deformities portraying the “freaks.” This obviously parallels Dr. Stoner selling his rejected experiments to the sideshow.

Body horror films, which are much more popular in the modern era due to the advancements in special and visual effects, have their roots in films like Sssssss. These films have unnatural destruction or transformation of a character’s body which results in horrific consequences for the character, and usually the mad scientist performing the work. The trailer for Sssssss appears to minimize the body horror aspect, but the film itself foreshadows the process, making it relatively clear what is about to happen. Other films that viewers may be familiar with that fit into the subgenre of body horror include The Thing (1982), any of David Cronenberg’s films, and the sci-fi/horror crossover Annihilation. But the one film that is a thematic sequel to Sssssss has to be Kevin Smith’s Tusk, which features Justin Long being converted into a walrus. Terribly disturbing, if not a little bit campy.

As mentioned above, one of the reasons that body horror films were not as popular before the 1980s had to do with the special effects. It was difficult to both replicate the human body with other materials and do so in a believable way. Sssssss faced similar challenges. Ninety-percent, or more, of the film featured Dirk Benedict in makeup created by John Chambers, who created Spock’s ears on Star Trek, the prosthetics for the Planet of the Apes series, as well as the creature effects on the 1977 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau. The work started with a simple peeling skin effect, followed by a makeup design on Benedict’s skin. Chambers also created the snake-man makeup and prosthetics for Noble Craig, an actor who had lost both legs and part of an arm in Vietnam. The makeup work ended with a full body suit worn by Benedict which made him seem like a human sized snake man. Unfortunately the final moments of special effects work showing David turn into an actual snake was sub par, even for 1973.

The one thing that sets Sssssss apart from other natural and animal horror films is the care that was taken to explain about various types of snakes to the audience. Obviously making a horror film about snakes is a great idea, since many people are naturally phobic of them. But this film also tries to educate audiences that not all snakes are bad, and even the venomous ones are often only dangerous when provoked. Stoner cautions the viewers of his King Cobra taming to avoid taking photos until instructed. One man, of course, does not listen and the flash both distracts Stoner and causes the snake to strike, nearly missing the scientist. Dr. Daniels teaches his class about the difference between the coral (poisonous) and king (non-poisonous) snakes, which look nearly identical by the banding. But the colors are important, as he mentions by giving them the rule “red touch yellow, kill a fellow,” indicating what to watch out for.

Sssssss may seem a little outdated, but as with The Legend of Boggy Creek, it was one of those films I remember seeing at a younger age that really freaked me out. This may even be worse for people that have ophidiophobia, also known as the fear of snakes. With a little bit of work to tighten up the runtime, this could have been an even more tense thriller. The director does a good job trying to hide David’s transformation as long as possible, allowing the audience to find out at the same time as Dr. Daniels. Unfortunately, it suffers from issues with the plot–which causes characters to do things because they need to, not because they necessarily would.

Assorted Musings

• According to IMDb, this film was released as a double feature with The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973), making the program one of the last double bills released by the studio.
• This is the first film produced by The Zanuck/Brown Company, which would go on to produce Jaws in two years.
• Classic film fans may recognize Heather Menzies as Louise von Trapp, the third oldest child, from The Sound of Music.
• This was the first starring role for Dirk Benedict who is probably better known as Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica or as Faceman from The A-Team.