SNAKEHEAD TERROR

In a lake in Maryland, the corpse of a fisherman and his dog is found. A few days later, during a party by the lake, another boy loses his life, devoured by strange creatures living in the water. The sheriff, with the help of a water system expert, will discover that the lake is infested with "snakeheads"—voracious fish that can breathe outside the water. Meanwhile, the sheriff's daughter, along with three other teenagers, organize a hunting expedition to kill the fish and avenge their friend devoured during the party. Released in Italy exclusively for the home video market (simultaneously with "Frankenfish," another film about voracious snakeheads), "Creature del terrore" is a film with a classic setup reminiscent of marine beast movies, paying homage to past classics that shaped the subgenre. In pure B-movie tradition, "Creature del terrore" borrows situations directly from the more famous "Jaws" and "Piranha;" indeed, we find all the clichés of the genre: the quiet town that relies on tourism suddenly disrupted by a threat from the water (which can be indifferently a great white shark, a giant crocodile, a school of piranhas, or snakeheads); the powerful figure trying to cover up the incident to avoid scaring tourists; the sheriff (just like in Spielberg's film!) who tries to warn the population but then must act alone; the involvement of science; etc. Therefore, it is immediately clear that this film does not have originality as its strong point. However, it must be admitted that overall it is an enjoyable movie, especially in the second part, set on a semi-deserted island, where we see the four "avenging" teens trapped in a house in the middle of the woods trying to defend themselves against the advancing of the dreaded fish, in a long sequence that seems to reference "Night of the Living Dead." Naturally, the film suffers from a very television-like pace and technical characterization: neither the direction nor the cast (which includes Carol Alt as the heroic water system technician) are memorable for any particular merits, nor are the special effects, which for the most part are created using somewhat ineffective CGI to show the snakeheads underwater and the giant monster at the end, while for the fish attacks on land, puppets in pure 1980s style were used. Unfortunately, gore/splatter effects are completely absent, and the fish feasts almost always end with red stains on the water's surface, as per tradition. In conclusion, "Creature del terrore" is a film without infamy and without praise; it is unoriginal but entertaining; nevertheless, it is superior to many other products released exclusively for the home video circuit. Best enjoyed on torrid summer afternoons with an iced drink, a tube of Pringles, and an air conditioner! Trivia. "Creature del terrore," like most snakehead films produced in recent years, is inspired by a real event that occurred in a small town in Maryland, where the fish in question infested and caused several damages in the waters of a lake, forcing authorities to intervene by poisoning the waters to exterminate them.