QUEEN OF THE SNAKES (2019)

QUEEN OF THE SNAKES (2019)

Tagline: There will be fangs!

(Horror, Thriller, Snake Women) [PG]

Note: This movie was never given an MPAA rating, but I feel it would have been a PG. 

In this one, Mrs. Crawford is an old bitter woman who probably loves her daughter Betty but mostly relies on her for support because she is a paraplegic. The reason for this is her daughter which adds to the strife between the two no matter how much Betty tries to make things right. One day Mrs. Crawford gets a package that doesn’t belong to her but opens it anyway and ends up inflicted with the horrifying powers of “The Queen Of Snakes”. She uses this power to exact her deadly will on others threatening not only herself but everyone around her. Can she be stopped? How does one defeat the evil Queen of Snakes?

First off this movie is directed by the legendary Christopher R. Mihm who is single-handedly for the most part bringing back the 50s style sci-fi films, but occasionally we get one that is a bit off the beaten path falling outside of the genre. These movies are meant to mirror the low-budget b-movies of the 50s, they are not out to be groundbreaking CGI-driven flawless movies with all their ducks in a row. In fact, Christopher R. Mihm’s films also known as the “Mihmiverse” is meant to be imperfect like the movies they are mimicking from the 50s. If you go into this expecting that, you are going to have a lot more fun with these movies. I also suggest watching a few 50s b-movies as a warm-up just to get used to the style these movies are going for. Good movies to check out before watching this might be something like THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE or TEENAGERS BATTLE THE THING. 

This one departs from other “Mihmiverse” films in that it’s the only full-color “Mihmiverse” movie as of 2022. It’s also one of only 3 of his movies so far that are not sci-fi. The other 2 are HOUSE OF GHOSTS (which is also a horror film) and THE PHANTOM LAKE KIDS IN THE BEAST WALKS AMONG US (to avoid spoilers I am not going into why that movie doesn’t qualify as sci-fi). 

Acting-wise it feels like Stephanie Mihm has gotten better and better with each film she’s appeared in. She plays the lead Mrs. Crawford in this one. Again, keep in mind the whole idea here is to mimic the acting style of the 1950s, not win an academy award. This one also features Rachel Grubb who was in 3 other “Mihmiverse” films, as Betty. She is pretty decent in this, but I thought she was better in WERESQUITO: NAZI HUNTER. We also get a brief appearance from Michael G. Kaiser who plays Deputy Hayes in this one. He’s always pretty good in these and always plays either the monster or Deputy Hayes until he eventually becomes sheriff. This is also kind of a nod to the fact that a lot of these films are at least loosely connected. To round out the main cast Daniel Sjerven is solid as Henry. Sjerven is a “Mihmverse” veteran who showed up in a good number of these movies playing everything from the hero to the biggest jerk on screen that day. Then finally we have Christi Jean Williams who plays Mrs. Davis. As of the writing of this review, Williams has only been in 2 movies (both in the “Mihmverse”), but this was her first speaking part. She is perfect for the role. 

Overall this is probably the 3rd most serious movie in the entire “Mihmverse” so far, that I have seen (and I have seen all but one). The aesthetic is very 50s horror and the make-up work and or masks are gloriously cheesy but the storyline is pretty adult and deals with family dysfunction, cheating, and all kinds of un-fun stuff. I will say though that WEREQUITO: NAZI HUNTER and THE WALL PEOPLE are more serious and “dread-filled” than this one, so if you watched those, you can handle this. 

In light of this being a great concept probably borrowed from 1966’s “THE REPTILE” and stripped down to a b-movie budget (which means it’s a movie made for moviegoers like me) some of the storyline made me dislike just about everyone, we get on screen. That is always at least a point off the rating. I mean, I have to at least be rooting for someone? Right? The rest of this though does work (even though I almost had a heart attack when I saw this was in color). Why Christopher why?

Anyway, this lands at a 4 out of 7 for me. It accomplished the goal and it was cool seeing Stephanie Mihm branch out even more with her acting skills.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF ALL FOR GEORGE PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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