Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- eerie
- nightmare-like
- paranoid
- late night horror viewing
- 1980s horror marathon
What critics said
Critics generally found the film intelligent and politically informed, with a chilling atmosphere and striking visuals that are sometimes undermined by excessive special effects.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story centers on Vodou practices, zombification, cemeteries, and Haitian spiritual power rather than generic occult imagery.
Dennis Alan is subjected to visions, nightmares, and terrifying experiences that make his investigation increasingly psychologically destabilizing.
Dargent Peytraud combines supernatural authority with the coercive power of Haiti’s feared Tonton Macoute regime.
A Boston pharmaceutical executive seeks the Vodou drug as a profitable anesthetic, turning Haitian knowledge into a commodity.
Films like The Serpent and the Rainbow, and why
Angel Heart
supernatural horror rooted in culturally specific folklore, with political menace and hallucinatory imagery
The Wicker Man
folk horror atmosphere, colonial anxiety, and a protagonist confronting occult forces in an unfamiliar culture
A Nightmare on Elm Street
nightmare logic, graphic supernatural terror, and a vulnerable protagonist trapped inside an oppressive world
The Dead Zone
zombie mythology, colonial exploitation, and politically charged horror built around altered states
Movie Details
- Director
- Wes Craven
- Release Date
- 1988-02-05
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (574)
Cast
- Bill Pullman
- Cathy Tyson
- Zakes Mokae
- Paul Winfield
- Brent Jennings
- Conrad Roberts
- Badja Djola
- Theresa Merritt
- Michael Gough
- Paul Guilfoyle
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Serpent and the Rainbow about?
- A Harvard ethnobotanist’s search for a Haitian zombification drug becomes a nightmarish confrontation with Vodou, political terror, and the limits of rational explanation.
- What is The Serpent and the Rainbow like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Serpent and the Rainbow as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Serpent and the Rainbow violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Serpent and the Rainbow as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Serpent and the Rainbow?
- Critics generally found the film intelligent and politically informed, with a chilling atmosphere and striking visuals that are sometimes undermined by excessive special effects.
- Which films are like The Serpent and the Rainbow?
- Films with a similar feel include Angel Heart, The Wicker Man, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Dead Zone.
- How long is The Serpent and the Rainbow?
- The Serpent and the Rainbow runs 98 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Serpent and the Rainbow?
- In United States, The Serpent and the Rainbow is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
