After a businessman kills thousands of snakes in a pit while they are building a new apartment building. The people living there soon become attacked by millions of snakes with a vengeance.
For thoughts on Calamity Of Snakes, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Calamity Of Snakes comes to Blu-Ray via Unearthed Films with a 1080p master in its original aspect ratio derived from a source that is unclear in origin. Considering that the film has never even had a DVD release before, it is pretty amazing to have this presented with such quality in high definition. This is far from a flawless presentation, but it maintains a consistency that indicates some level of care was taken here. There is a fairly consistent level of light wear and tear, but thankfully not much in the way of huge splotches or appalling damage. The presentation does show some instances of compression artifacts in the darker moments, which is not helped by the presumed instability of the source elements.
The transfer does not seem to have much in the way of filtering or DNR applied which allows it to present with an organic appearance. While the grain largely resolves well in this respect, there are some minor moments when the grain field spikes. The film also presents with a bit of a softer appearance. The transfer features acceptable color saturation throughout with the grotesque hues of the blood rendering well on screen. Fine detail can be observed within intricate facets of the carnage and production design without hindrance. Unearthed Films has put forth a good effort here.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray presents the film with a LPCM 2.0 mono track in Mandarin along with a Cantonese and English option. Dialogue is a bit fuzzy at times but mostly clear and easily distinguishable throughout the film. Much like the video side of things, there is a small bit of wear and tear at play, but things could be much worse off. The score maintains a fine fidelity with no real instances of distortion to ruin the experience. The film does not try to push beyond its means during kinetic moments, but what is featured does not lack in power. This release does have optional English subtitles provided. Unearthed Films has done a respectable job of presenting this film in the best quality possible.
Special Features
- Theatrical Version (1:26:17) and a Cruelty-Free Version (1:16:41)
- Audio Commentary: Nathan Hamilton and Brad Slaton deliver an entertaining and somewhat informative commentary track, especially as Nathan has a debilitating fear of snakes and appears to be watching the film for the first time. The track is more so an instant reaction to the events on screen rather than much in the way of actual background information, but it works if you want to act as if you are watching with a couple of genre-loving friends.
- From Shaw To Snakes – The Venom and Violence of Early Chinese Language Horror Cinema: An excellent 76-documentary which delves deep into the history of genre cinema in China from the influence of the early political landscape to the establishing of major studios and the expansion into more extreme fare. There is a considerable portion devoted to Calamity of Snakes, but this is a very illuminating piece on the genre at large.
- Reptilian Recollections – Lin Kuang-Yung In Conversation with Chui-Yi Chung: A 16-minute interview is provided between independent filmmaker Lin Kuang-Yung and actor/stuntman Chui-Yi Chung in which he discusses how he become involved with the project, working with the snakes, how they kept the snakes from biting, harrowing stories from production, the release of the film and more.
- Uncut Version (1:26:53): This version is presented in rough standard definition with an English dub in Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.
- Alternate Credits: A nearly five-minute piece which shows the Mandarin opening and closing credits.
- Gallery: A minute-long gallery of marketing material and stills is provided.
Final Thoughts
Calamity Of Snakes is a deeply upsetting film more so for how it treated the titular reptiles during production more so than the content of the movie. If you can set this aside – and it is understandable if you cannot – the film works well as a creepy creature feature. The film can be a bit campy, over-the-top and just plain dumb, and that is kind of what you want from the genre. If you cannot cheer at an acrobatic king cobra seeking out revenge, this is not the movie for you. Unearthed Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a pretty strong A/V presentation and some really great special features. The inclusion of a “cruelty free” version is a nice touch for those who want the dumb fun but not the animal cruelty. If the subject intrigues you and you think you can stomach it, you should seek it out. Recommended
Calamity Of Snakes will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD on April 25, 2023.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Unearthed Films has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.