The Scariest Snake Movie Ever Made, Stream Without Netflix
Ophidiophobia, or the fear of snakes, is thought to impact nearly one third of the world’s population. Films have long capitalized on this irrational emotion, giving horror audiences the legless reptiles as the primary antagonists in films like Snakes on a Plane and Anaconda, or chilling them by using them in scenes to briefly torment film heroes, as in Raiders of the Lost Ark. But one forgotten killer snake movie should stand out as the most terrifying to ever hit the drive-in theater screen, a 1976 low-budget entry named Rattlers that has a level of horror that far exceeds its production dollars.
Rattlers Wastes No Time Establishing Terror
Rattlers supposes that something is making the deadly pit vipers go into a ultra-aggressive frenzy in a small section of the California desert. The film opens with two families on a camping trip at the base of a small mountain after setting up on a site with their RVs. Two young boys get permission from their parents to go explore the area and soon find themselves at the mercy of deadly rattlesnakes that they stumble across.
A Sinister Plot Is Uncovered
The deaths of the two boys in Rattlers is only the beginning. Soon, the small town nearby has its residents attacked and killed by legions of these deadly snakes. A university herpetologist, Dr. Tom Parkinson (Sam Chew) is brought in to investigate, along with a photographer named Ann Bradley (Elisabeth Chauvet).
The clues lead them to a nearby army base, where the pair eventually discover that an experimental nerve agent that’s been stored in a cave has seeped into the groundwater and altered the snakes’ demeanors.
Highlights Ongoing Environmental Issues
Rattlers were produced in a time where human impact on the environment was beginning to be heavily scrutinized. In this post-Silent Spring era, horror filmmakers used these concerns as a mechanism to stoke fear in their productions. Like Rattlers, Kingdom of the Spiders, The Swarm, and other genre films gave audiences a chilling look at how human neglect of the environment can cause a backlash/overreaction from the other species that are impacted.
Relentless Pacing Makes Up For Obvious Fiction
While it’s highly improbable that humans would inadvertently create a chemical that would elevate the level of aggressiveness in a reptile as we see in Rattlers, it’s known that these otherwise docile snakes will engage in deadly venom strikes if they feel threatened. Their greatly embellished natural tendencies displayed in the movie aside, the opening scene is certainly realistic and sets the pace for the horror that unfolds in the rest of the film.
Stream This Horror Classic For Free On Tubi
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By the time the first three minutes of the film have passed, viewers see two young boys lose their footings and fall literally backward onto a nest of diamondback rattlesnakes. The horrified looks on their faces and their screams convey a sense of terror that most filmmakers tend to stray from. Many horror films include the deaths of younger characters, but Rattlers shows their agony in a way that others do not and gives the movie a realistic scar that’s bound to make you look twice when you explore in the desert.
You can stream Rattlers for free on Tubi.
