SSSSSSS is not a great film by any stretch of the imagination; it is rather heavily flawed and definitely very silly, but it’s also rather original, very inventive and certainly makes for an interesting watch, so the bad reputation is baffling! Along with spiders and scorpions, snakes are another interesting animal that often finds itself a part of horror films, and SSSSSSS puts it’s focus squarely on the scaly reptiles, in particular the impressive King Cobra. The film obviously takes its influence from mad science horror films; in particular the likes of Frankenstein and puts snake twist on it. We focus on the aptly named Dr Stoner, a herpetologist heavily engaged in research on snakes. He takes in David Blake, a young student, as his assistant and promptly starts him on an “anti-venom” treatment. However, unbeknown to David, the treatment is actually a plan by the not so good doctor to turn him into a King Cobra! Much to the dismay of the doctor’s young daughter…

It is a silly story, but the way that it’s portrayed is good in that it’s always interesting. It’s always obvious where it’s going, and despite a few surprises along the way; the ending itself is not a big surprise. However, the way that it keeps a simple idea going for over ninety minutes is impressive. The cast is good, with character actor Strother Martin managing to be both sinister and gentle at the same time. Cult TV actor Dirk Benedict is at the centre of the cast as the unlucky medical student, while the cast is topped off by the beautiful cult actress Heather Menzies as the doctor’s daughter. The film was obviously made on a budget as the special effects looks incredibly cheap; but that gives the film charm which actually benefits it. At the start of the film we are told that all the snakes used are real snakes, and I can believe it as they do look real and they’re also rather impressive – the King Cobra is the centrepiece, but a twenty foot long python also makes its impression! This may be a silly film, but it’s a good watch and very entertaining, so it gets a thumbs up overall from me!