Spasms

Plot

Jason Kincaid (Oliver Reed) has a massive serpent captured in a remote island. He brought it to the US because it killed his brother, and he now shares some kind of psychic link with it. He enlists the help of psychologist Tom Brazilian (Peter Fonda) to study the animal and the mental connection, but they do not count on a group of snake worshiping Satanists to complicate matters by accidentally setting the beast free.

Cast

Production

The screenplay by Fruet and Don Enright is based on the novel Death Bite by Michael Maryk and Brent Monahan. The production ran out of money before shooting was finished and the final scene had to be heavily padded with flashback sequences in an effort to lengthen the movie to a respectable runtime. The film's special effects were designed by Dick Smith.

According to interviews with director William Fruet and some other people involved in movie at the time when it was released, longer version of the ending fight between Oliver Reed and giant snake was planned and filmed, it included parts where he stabs the snake and snake swallowing his arm but due to the problems with effects the scene was not finished and had to be cut. Scene where sailor who is bitten by snake gets his arm swallowed by it was also cut, and there was also a nightmare sequence in which some victims of the snake show up covered with gory wounds. Director said that he shot some additional violent scenes for the Far East versions of the movie but none of these sequences were ever reported to be included in any version of the movie.

Release

The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by Producers Distributing Corporation in May 1984. The film was released on VHS by Thorn EMI Video. In April 2016, CodeRed released the film on DVD for the first time.

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by Eric Robertson. Tangerine Dream contributed the original theme over the end credits.