Curse II: The Bite – 88 Films

Directed by: Federico Prosperi
Written by: Federico Prosperi & Susan Zelouf
Starring: Jill Shoelen, J. Eddie Peck, Jaime Farr
Year: 1989
Country: USA
Running Time: 98mins
BBFC Classification: 18

Gross, creepy, goofy and really rather good body horror/creature horror finally gets a dust off from the VHS days with this welcome new Blu Ray release. Coming at the tail end of the 80s VHS horror boom, The Bite is an unfairly forgotten horror.

Twentysomethings Lisa (Shoelen) and Clark (Peck) are cruising the southern desert states of the US on their way to California. Predictably ignoring, as all good-looking young people in 80s horrors do, the advice of a local gas station attendant to not take a known short cut, the couple do unaware they are crossing radioactive lands. Said radiation has got into the local snake population and when one of the critters sneaks into their jeep when they stop to fix a flat tire, Clark inevitably gets bitten by the slippery sucker. While a traveling salesman/wannabe doctor (Farr) administers some antidote to help Clark it has little effect as the radioactive poison begins altering Clark’s personality and alarmingly transforming his bitten arm into a ravenous snake!

Part road movie and part body horror exploitation, The Bite is a fun little shocker bolstered by a game cast and some wicked gooey effects from the great Screaming Mad George (Nightmare on Elm Street 4, The Guyver). Barminess is certainly abound (it’s a killer snake B-movie afterall!) but with solid direction, some fantastic lensing from Roberto D’Ettore Piazzoli (Tentacles, Beyond the Door), and an all-out icky effects laden (not to mention rather downbeat!) finale, The Bite is some great 80s all-done-with-a-straight face horror. One time scream queen Jill Schoelen (The Stepfather, Cutting Class, Popcorn) is a great final girl sharing good chemistry with Peck. In fact, the two leads are well written for what would be considered by most shlock, actually having personalities and what seems like a real relationship. There’s also great support from an array of hey-it’s-that-guy genre support including Bo Svenson, Sydney Lassick, Savian Gersack, Marianne Muellerleile and the great Jamie (M.A.S.H) Farr as the likeable salesman/wannabe doctor hot on the trail of Lisa and Clark to warm them of the dangers of the bite.

But the real stars of the flick are the fantastic photography and the awesome practical gore effects. Piazzoli’s crisp, fluid, widescreen photography captures the sun-soaked New Mexico landscape in lush vistas. Along with director Federico Prosperi’s (billed here as Fred Goodwin!) proficient execution, the cinematography boosts the production values, and for a film about a dude’s arm turning into a snake, The Bite is well made and performed. While perhaps a little dated and rubbery, Screaming Mad George’s slimy gory effects are still great and include a wince inducing jaw ripping and an unforgettable climax that sees the hero literally puking up giant snakes!

Produced by the infamous Ovido G. Assonitis (Piranha 2, Madhouse), he slapped the Curse II moniker on The Bite to capitalize on the success of his previous produced Will Wheaton starring shocker The Curse (another groovy old school 80s horror!), despite having no real connection to the film. The wannabe Curse franchise would also see two more entries in Blood Sacrifice (featuring Christopher Lee) and Catacombs (aka The Ultimate Sacrifice). While Assonitis was known for his shlock, The Bite rises above its schlocky concept to be an eerily engaging shocker. It may be a little slow burn and quirky for modern (and snooty!) tastes, but old school horror connoisseurs should get a kick out of it.

88 Films released Curse II on Bu Ray & DVD 24^th July 2023.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Double Walled Gloss Finish O-ring featuring new artwork by Dani Manning (First Pressing Only)(2000) – not available at the time of review.
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation in 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio – the film looks absolutely amazing. This new Blu-Ray edition cleans ups the old VHS picture perfectly highlighting Roberto D’Ettore Piazzoli’s wonderful desert set cinematography, making this one of the best looking 80s B-movies. The colours pop with the picture crisp and slick but still retaining that warm glow of 80s cinematography.
• Lossless 2.0 Stereo, Optional English SDH
• Audio Commentary by Critics Kim Newman and Sean Hogan – fun and informative commentary from Hogan and genre titan Newman that while they certainly make fun of certain aspects of the film, they seem to have a real fondness for it. Newman in particular, who is a wealth of knowledge of the B-movie (well, any movie!) circuit, and while his trivia is certainly interesting it does occasionally get in the way of the two of them talking about the film at hand. Still, plenty of insight and a lot of love for the cast and crew and insightful knowledge about the makers of the flick, especially about notorious producer Ovidio G. Assonitis. Good stuff.
• Reversible Sleeve featuring new art by Dani Manning and VHS Artwork – not available at the time of review.