SSSSSSS

SSSSSSS (released as Ssssnake in the UK) is a 1973 horror film starring Dirk Benedict, Heather Menzies, Reb Brown, and Strother Martin. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski and written by Hal Dresner and Daniel C. Striepeke. The makeup effects were created by John Chambers and Nick Marcellino. The film has developed a small cult reputation and is acclaimed by many horror fans. It received a nomination for Best Science Fiction Film in 1975 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA.

Plot

College student David Blake (Benedict) is hired as an assistant by Doctor Stoner (Martin), an ophiologist. Stoner's previous assistant had mysteriously left town without telling anyone. Stoner begins David on a course of injections, purportedly a safeguard against being bitten by a snake in his care. David begins a romance with Stoner's daughter Kristina (Menzies), to which Stoner objects. David is perturbed by the strange side effects of the injections. Kristina visits a carnival freak show. Its "snakeman" bares an uncanny resemblance to Stoner's previous assistant. David finds he is transforming into a cobra and is finally killed by a mongoose when he tries to escape.

Cast

• Strother Martin as Dr. Carl Stoner
• Dirk Benedict as David Blake
• Heather Menzies as Kristina Stoner
• Richard B. Shull as Dr. Ken Daniels
• Tim O'Connor as Kogen
• Jack Ging as Sheriff Dale Hardison
• Kathleen King as Kitty Stewart
• Reb Brown as Steve Randall
• Ted Grossman as Deputy Morgan Bock
• Charles Seel as Old man
• Ray Ballard as Waggish Tourist

Trivia

• This film was released by Universal as a double feature with The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (1973), making the program one of the last double bills released by the studio.
• The library was a real herpetological library
• The title for the films release in Spain was Ssssilbido de muerte, which translates to Hiss of Death in English.
• The venomous snakes were not defanged during production. Five King Cobras were imported from Thailand for this feature, they ranged from 10-15' in length. They were recently wild caught and in good health with full venom capabilities. The "Snake Park" milking scenes were real and meant to mimic what Bill Haast did at his Serpentarium in Florida daily. About one ounce of venom was collected during each take with no harm to the snakes. A different cobra was used for each take. The filming of this part of the movie took most of a day, as the cobras spent most of their time trying to escape the fenced enclosure rather than raising up in the traditional cobra attack mode.

External links

• SSSSSSS at the Internet Movie Database
• SSSSSSS at Rotten Tomatoes
• SSSSSSS at Cinema de Merde