The Serpent and the Rainbow backdrop
The Serpent and the Rainbow poster

THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW

1988 • US HMDB
February 5, 1988

A Harvard anthropologist is sent to Haiti to retrieve a strange powder that is said to have the power to bring human beings back from the dead. In his quest to find the miracle drug, the cynical scientist enters the rarely seen netherworld of walking zombies, blood rites and ancient curses. Based on the true life experiences of Wade Davis and filmed on location in Haiti, it's a frightening excursion into black magic and the supernatural.

Directors

Wes Craven

Cast

Bill Pullman, Cathy Tyson, Zakes Mokae, Paul Winfield, Brent Jennings, Conrad Roberts, Badja Djola, Theresa Merritt, Michael Gough, Paul Guilfoyle
Horror Thriller

REVIEWS (1)

MC

Marco Castellini

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In Haiti, a young American researcher searches for the secret of voodoo magic and zombies. François Duvalier, Grand Priest of the Cult but also dictator and head of the local police, will try to stop him without succeeding in preventing the intrepid scholar from reaching the truth. Wes Craven, one of the most established and innovative genre directors (at least for the early part of his career) with this film analyzes the myth of zombies from a sociological and political perspective, starting from the Haitian tradition. Critics approve, the public a little less (upon release in theaters, the film had little success). «The Serpent and the Rainbow», is an exciting and visually impactful film, carefully crafted by Craven in the smallest details, that manages to be engaging and, at times, even unsettling. Based on the eponymous novel by Wade Davis.