| Venomous | |
| Director: | Fred Olen Ray (as Ed Raymond) |
| Producer: | Alison Semenza Jim Wynorski (as Noble Henry) |
| Starring: | Treat Williams Mary Page Keller Hannes Jaenicke |
| Music: | Neal Acree |
| Cinematography: | Andrea V. Rossotto |
| Editing: | Randy Carter |
| Studio: | Phoenician Entertainment |
| Distributor: | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 97 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Venomous is a 2001 American direct-to-video disaster horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray, credited as Ed Raymond, and starring Treat Williams, Mary Page Keller and Hannes Jaenicke.
In 1991, a group of Iraqi commandos penetrate a secret American government lab, releasing genetically modified rattlesnakes. Over the following years, the snakes breed and multiply. In the present day, an earthquake drives them from the underground to the surface, and the snakes infect whoever they bite with a fatal virus. A small-town doctor tries to correct the situation, but the government wants to hide the traces of its wrongdoings. At the end of the movie, the Snake's lair is located and destroyed by an explosion, killing apparently all vipers. But the last scene shows a viper who survived.
TV guide stated, "In its B-movie way, the production succeeds in shaking up fright fans; if it had only talked less and slithered more it might have been a small gem".[1]
The Dutch website Cinemagazine found that, "If there are viewers who have a soft spot for runaway snakes and therefore want to see every film in this subgenre, then Venom may come as a surprise. Furthermore, it is mainly a film that fails to captivate. The acting fails to convey the intended emotions and watching an hour and a half of a search for an antidote is not what you rented the film for."[2]