Rattlers
Rattlers
PG | 23 April 1976 (USA)
Rattlers Trailers

A herpetologist investigating a series of fatal rattlesnake attacks discovers that the creatures have been infected by a mysterious nerve gas disposed of in the desert by the military.

Reviews
Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype
Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!
Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
masercot This is a movie about aggressive rattlesnakes. Frankly, it has been a concern of mine for many years, just a little less foremost in my mind than the idea that someday squirrels might develop nuclear weapons.The movie starts with two boys wandering off and falling into a snake pit. The local sheriff is perplexed that falling into a nest of rattlesnakes could result in fatalities, so he checks the yellow pages under "personality-free herpetologists" and calls the first one listed. It is Al Gore impersonator, Dr Tom Parkinson.Dr. Parkinson gathers data from the scene of the accident and determines that falling into a snake pit can be a very bad thing. He returns to the University where he teaches the next generation of Metallica fans about snakes.Meanwhile, rattlesnakes murder a family in cold blood. This forces the sheriff to call Parkinson back as well as the most aesthetically-pleasing photographer in the area. Her name is Ann Bradley and she is a feminist by trade.At this point, you develop a new appreciation for the acting of Sam Chew jr. (Dr. Parkinson) because the acting of Elisabeth Chauvet is... well... just awful. The two map out the migration of the rattlesnakes and extrapolate to their starting point: A military base.But, not just any military base. This is an impossibly small base where none of the soldiers have military haircuts. They lend a helicopter to Parkinson and he learns from the pilot that a canister has been buried in a snake pit near the base. The scientist is so mad he can barely act.While this is going on, Ann is wandering around the desert trying desperately to put herself in great danger. A rattlesnake winds up in her car and then leaves because sometimes rattlesnakes just leave.The two set up camp in the desert until they are summoned back to the base to investigate a snake that bit through a jeep tire and then killed two soldiers. These are no ordinary snakes.I'd describe the final scene but mere words cannot do it justice and mere film could not save it. Suffice it to say, if you like movies about snakes and I mean a LOT of snakes, this might be the movie for you. If one of your fetishes is rattlesnakes and naked soapy bad-tempered women, this movie is definitely for you.
Bezenby This (you might guess from the title) is one of them 'revenge of nature' films from the seventies. After two kids are killed in the desert by rattle snakes (somehow the bodies managed to roll away down the hill away from the pit, but let's not dwell on that), the local police draft in a snake expert to find out what's going on. After wandering about a bit, and picking up a two hundred dollar paycheck, he acknowledges that yes indeed, those kids were killed by rattlesnakes. With a bit of a shrug, he heads back home.Soon after, a whole army of snakes descend on a farm and kill everything on it, so the local police think that it's probably best to bring the expert back to track down these snakes. This time he's accompanied by a female photographer (Cue the old 'You're…a woman?' bit, and they find out a bit more this time, including the shenanigans of the local army base and their possible involvement in the new aggression of the rattlesnakes. Can our sexist expert and his sidekick stop the snakes in time? And what's the army got to do with it? Not exactly big on action, kills, or even gore, Rattles is still entertaining enough due to a very high cheese level (rated PG, for Parmesan, grated), bad acting, nonsensical situations and general daftness. I loved how our heroic duo had a quick holiday in Vegas for no real reason and then just headed back to their tent in the desert just in time to get attacked by snakes. Or when a cobra escapes our expert's lab and his boss nearly craps his pants in fear. The emergence of a crazy army officer and the subsequent gunfight were good too, plus the 'snakes in the bath' bit. Overall, a very tame film, but sometimes, when the acting is this bad and the situations hilarious, you can forgive the lack of action. I found Rattles to be quick a fun, daft, film. Also quite refreshing was the fact that the filmmakers didn't resort to killing any real animals, which is a bit of a change from your usual seventies films.
eegah1962 OK here's another movie of the "animals gone mad and randomly attack people" genre. A local sheriff investigates the deaths of some local campers from rattle snake bites. He calls upon a university specialist in snakes to help lead the investigation. The prof is joined by a pretty photographer to take photos (ostensibly) and provide for his other needs out in the cold desert (ultimately but not at first, of course). The investigation leads to military experiments, of course. Why is the military and radiation always liked together in these types of movies? (sigh) Anyway our heroes drive around in the desert looking for "clues" as to the rattle snakes' aggressive behavior. Because these rattle snakes are charged up with nuclear mutations or energy or whatever, they are capable of improbable feats, such as making coordinated attacks and even biting through the tire of a jeep as it is traveling down the road. There's some graphic violence in the movie and implied sexuality but no nudity. Elisabeth Chauvet makes an attractive sidekick and sleeping bag warmer for the prof.
lastliberal Now, we know who put those snakes on the plane.Two kids are killed after falling into a den of rattlers, and the sheriff immediately calls in a snake expert (Sam Chew Jr.). They fell in a rattler den, for goodness sakes! Some good snake scenes, sch as the rattler crawling up the plumber's (Tip McClure) pants, and some ridiculous ones, like the mom (Jo Jordan) in the bathtub getting attacked and not standing up so we could see her.As you would expect the dialog was terrible, and some scenes ridiculous, like the mine shaft explosions. Someone called it the "Plan Nine From Outer Space" of snake movies. I could not say it better.