Anacondas: Trail of Blood

It’s relatively surprising to note that Anacondas: Trail of Blood marks a minor improvement over its nigh disastrous predecessor, as the movie boasts a handful of better-than-expected performances and an opening hour that’s actually kind of watchable. The film essentially picks up where Anaconda 3: The Offspring left off and follows John Rhys-Davies’ Murdoch as he attempts to procure the blood-orchid serum that could potentially save his life, with the dying millionaire’s efforts consistently confounded by the ravenous snakes roaming the jungle and the myriad of disparate figures whose respective fates are now intertwined with his. Director Don E. FauntLeRoy, working from a script by David C. Olson, initially does an effective job of infusing Anacondas: Trail of Blood with the feel of a slasher flick, as the superficially-developed characters are knocked off one at a time by the increasingly vicious super-snakes. The unabashedly campy atmosphere is perpetuated by almost every aspect of the production, with the jaw-droppingly shoddy special effects work and laughable instances of dialogue certainly ranking high on the film’s list of overtly incompetent elements. And while the strong work from several of the movie’s actors (especially Crystal Allen, Linden Ashby, and Danny Midwinter) ensures that the viewer can’t help but root for protagonists’ ongoing success, there comes a point at which Cooper plum runs out of things for his characters to do – with much of Anacondas: Trail of Blood‘s final third following the survivors as they wander around the jungle aimlessly. The lamentably stagnant vibe inevitably destroys the good will built up by the film’s silly yet acceptable first half, and it’s ultimately clear that both Offspring and Trail of Blood – reportedly shot back-to-back – would have been better off if they’d been edited down into one movie.

** out of ****