Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

Though far from excellent, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid nevertheless represents a significant improvement over its lackluster predecessor – as the film boasts a tongue-in-cheek, unapologetically campy sensibility that ultimately carries it through its dull spots. The storyline follows the gung-ho members of a scientific expedition (including KaDee Strickland’s Sam, Matthew Marsden’s Jack, and Eugene Byrd’s Cole) as they travel deep into the heart of Borneo’s jungles to retrieve a valuable flower with life-altering properties, though the campaign, led by the grizzled Bill Johnson (Johnny Messner), is inevitably thwarted after several vicious anacondas arrive on the scene. There’s not a lot more to Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid than that, admittedly, and it goes without saying that the whole thing generally plays out precisely as one might’ve expected. The inclusion of several light-hearted interludes, however, ensures that film remains fairly watchable from start to finish, although it’s hard to deny that the uneventful midsection, seemingly devoted entirely to arguments, double-crosses, and various other pointless character-building encounters, does prove a test to the viewer’s patience. Messner’s almost comically stoic work is clearly a highlight – his character wrestles a crocodile, for crying out loud – while Byrd’s panicky-black-guy schtick becomes tiresome right from the get-go. In the end, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid lives up to its place as an utterly disposable bit of forgettable entertainment – which is, admittedly, pretty much all one can ask out of an entry from a series such as this.

**1/2 out of ****