Long before Samuel L. Jackson engaged in the ridiculous Snakes on a Plane, and before Ice Cube remonstrated with an anaconda, director Kuei Chih-Hung got it right. More than just a mindless action flick, The Killer Snakes (1974) deftly tells the tale of Zhihong, who, as an only child, was traumatized by his parents’ open (and noisy) practice of a sado-masochistic bondage and submission lifestyle.

Zhihong (which also happens to be an alternate name Chih-Hung went by in real life) grows up to be a sexually frustrated loner, who is tormented and abused by local prostitutes, low-life criminals, and even businessmen in his neighborhood — that is until he discovers he has a special, psychological bond, a sort of Willard complex, with poisonous snakes.

While the film does have a significant amount of violence and graphic, bizarre sex, it would be unfair to label The Killer Snakes a product of the exploitation films that were popular in the 1970s. Chih-Hung does well to delve deep within the tortured psyche of Zhihong, caused by his own physical desires and the abuse suffered at the hands of strangers in his everyday life, and the first kill doesn’t occur until just over 30 minutes into the film.

Additionally, there is a well-crafted, believable story (aside from the whole snake telepathy thing, that is). Zhihong lives in a dilapidated room behind a store that sells the gall bladders of cobras as delicacies because of their supposed healing properties. The wounded snakes begin escaping their cages into Zhihong’s room, hence the discovery of his psychic relationship with the serpents.

After his life-affirming discovery, Zhihong’s life begins to resemble some level of normalcy in that he gets a job and his love interest, Xiujuan, agrees to go out on a date with him. But when he is stood up, the still emotionally unstable Zhihong spirals downward and embarks on a quest to get justice for Xiujuan, as well as fulfill his own twisted desire for revenge. He gradually becomes drunk with power as he realizes the snakes readily do what he says, and a series of well-connected plot twists drive the story to its unexpected and tragic conclusion.

The film is definitely not for the squeamish or the easily offended, but it is one of the better horror films, if it should be labeled as such, that I’ve seen in quite some time.
The film is unrated, and the DVD’s special features include a still gallery, the theatrical trailer for The Killer Snakes, other Shaw Brothers trailers, and other genre-related trailers.