The Serpent and the Rainbow

Wes Craven

1988

I watched this one not really expecting much, I'd never heard of it but the story sounded interesting. Zombies and Voodoo rites in deepest Brazil. Reports of corpses rising from the grave to live again prompt an American Doctor to investigate, finding a deep seated conspiracy at work. He discovers the secret of the Zombification lies in a strange white powder which he spends most of the film searching for. 

The film, while almost completely lacking in the gore department is actually very good and well worth a look. Some excellent scenes include one where while in a dream like state the Doctor imagines himself falling through the ground, through a tunnel with dozens of pairs of hands grabbing at him through the walls. Wes Craven proves himself an excellent Director who doesn't have to rely on gore scenes to create the impact in the film, instead keeping you interested with a fast paced storyline. Anyone who can watch the torture scene without flinching is made of sterner stuff than me, it brings water to my eyes just thinking about it!!

Gore

Virtually non-existent with much left to the imagination. One exception is where the Voodoo priest rips off his own head and throws it at the Doctor. Weird!!