r/horror • u/kaloosa Evil Dies Tonight! • Oct 24 '19
Official Discussion Official Dreadit Discussion: "Rattlesnake" [SPOILERS]
Netflix Original release on Oct 25, 2019
Summary:
When a single mother accepts the help of a mysterious woman after her daughter is bitten by a rattlesnake, she finds herself making an unthinkable deal with the devil to repay the stranger.
Writer/Director: Zak Hilditch
Cast:
- Carmen Ejogo as Katrina Ridgeway
- Theo Rossi as Billy
- Emma Greenwell as Abbie
Rotten Tomatoes: 43%
Metacritic: TBA
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u/mikeysma11z Oct 27 '19
Just watched this and wish there was more to the symbolism of the ending.
Was it the supernatural’s way of testing her limits to see if she’d do anything to save the daughter? And then the supernatural says “okay - she did it. Let’s reset this guy”
Or is it that they both see him because they are pretty much owned now
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u/JackFrosttiger Oct 29 '19
I would just say that the THING can decide it wants to be seen. And who it interacts with.
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Oct 25 '19 edited Oct 25 '19
A bit predictable. Carmen Ejogo did the best that was possible given the scrip IMO. She was the saving grace. I'd give it a 6.5/10 for the sheer excitement.
Could have been better if she researched the demonic/supernatural forces that forced her into the game. Opportunity for stronger writing there that could have taken the film into a different direction. Instead, it's just a matter of playing along with a few... I wouldn't even say twists... but road bumps.
Strong parallels to "The Box" with Cameron Diaz on the theme of morality/ethics.
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u/ManOnFire2004 Oct 26 '19 edited Oct 26 '19
I disagree. I actually liked that they avoided the whole "main character does research to investigate entity" trope. It's a good way for the audience to learn lore, sure. But, it's so by the numbers and overdone by now that its the 1st thing I thought was about to happen after the turn point. THAT would've been predictable.
I was actually ok with just a story about a woman having to come to terms with what she had to do, and then trying to pull it off. It was more about that then all the other shit they usually throw in there to "spice it up".
Predictable isn't inherently bad, even tho I kinda just said I'm glad it wasn't for that specific type of storyline. Smetimes it's about going on the journey with the character, and this was one of those times I think.
But, my only problem with that is the symbolism, lore, or something should've been hinted at more. Like, what did the end mean? I dont see the connection with the rest of the story cause we dont know enough.
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u/SoloDolo314 Oct 28 '19
Movie was extremely frustrating and boring at times.
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u/justafuzzyunicorn Oct 30 '19
I agree. I thought the premise had potential but overall the movie was frustrating with how much it dragged on and even some of the plots points/plot holes. At one point I left to go to the bathroom and it was when she was trying to kill that one abusive guy. When I came back she was still trying to kill him and I was like, what the heck he already fell off a cliff, how long does this need to take??
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u/CalKersten Oct 27 '19
I liked the concept and thought the lead was pretty compelling and well acted (aside from when her accent felt glaringly obvious) but ultimately, this movie felt like it was a starting off point and not much else.
I rarely say this, but this movie went too many places. It feels like it would have worked better as a bottle movie, all taking place in the trailer or the canyons rather than going from place to place. That way, they could focus on building up the countdown element and some added claustrophobia or just tension to the environment.
As I watched it reach its inevitable conclusion, I couldn’t help but wish that things played out a little more unexpectedly, like Abbie (battered wife) begging her not to kill him, even though we know what an abusive prick he is, but at least having a dissenting opinion rather than “oh, we are gonna kill the wife beating asshole? Yeah, I’m cool with that.”
I almost wanted to take the core concept and make an entirely different movie. Same concept as a soul for a soul but make it a mom, dad, and kid. Hiking a canyon, kid gets hurt, mom makes the deal of a soul for a soul, but they get lost trying to get help. She becomes increasingly desperate cuz time is running out and while her kid is okay she knows it only sticks if she delivers a soul, but there are only 3 available souls; her own, the kid’s, and her husband’s.
I did thoroughly enjoy that, despite being predictable, it got me thinking about possibilities for this concept. Ultimately, I was decently into it because Carmen Ejogo was great but it feels like there is untapped potential there.
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Dec 01 '19
Twist: The mother is actually a serial killer running from her past. She is trying to get a fresh start away from where she murdered her victims.
Unbeknownst to her, her undiagnosed schizophrenia is coming to light due to the traumatic life she has lived. As the doctor said, her daughter was just suffering from sever heat stroke while the tire was being changed.
The trailer, the woman, the bite were all caused by her condition. As the stress if her daughter's health grows on her, so do her schizophrenic symptoms with her seeing her victims again. This culminates in her killing of the domestic abuser.
At the end as they drive away, there is a lone hitchhiker walking the roads. The hitchhiker is just that, a random hitchhiker whom she sees as the abuser, thus why her daughter saw him too.
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u/5683968 Dec 22 '19
I was waiting for that happen to happen. The entire time I wondered if she was just mentally ill.
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u/Flip86 Oct 27 '19
Horrible. The fact that the wife beater guy drove to a secluded area before he decided to fight back was pretty dumb and not realistic at all.
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u/fields Oct 27 '19
When you’ve got a gun pointed at you, you’ve got one chance to make your move to fight back. Why wouldn’t you wait for whenever you feel gives you the best odds?
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u/Flip86 Oct 27 '19
The woman was laying down in the back seat with no seat belt. Slam on the brakes and jump out of the truck. Pretty simple.
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u/johndoe1985 Oct 27 '19
I didn’t understand the whole point of her asking him to drive the truck to the canyons. And then she said “I just wanted the truck” before he attacked her. What was she trying to do.
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u/jeggah Oct 27 '19
Enjoyed this film. But then I came on here, read the comments, and now I'm not so sure anymore.
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Oct 29 '19
Same lol, but I'm not gonna change my opinion based on other people's, I can appreciate some of the criticism though.
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u/sicklle Oct 29 '19
I watched it last night & i enjoyed it for what it is,till the last seen which destroyed the whole movie for me.a spirit?really?it would'v been away better if this place was valley of demons & she stumbled upon a one of them asking for help,so the human sacrifice as price will make more sense.
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u/Teddymac12 Oct 30 '19
Honestly I thought it was a decent movie that had most of the elements for a mediocre creepy film. One thing the film did lack was having the main character’s internal and moral struggle with the thought of killing an innocent person to save her beloved loved one. The writer definitely made the decision easier for her and us (audience) by introducing an obviously demented woman beating jerk out of thin air as the intended target. Most people were confused by the ending but I felt as though that it added a whole new element of mystery and a presumed twist to the story. My take was basically when the mother made the deal with the devil for a soul, it was of her own. If you take clues from ending such as the daughter had colored a picture of the mysterious figure seen in news articles of the killings within that town, the mother was able to see the ghost of the woman beater creep she just killed and last but not least when they where playing the alphabet game on the mother’s turn she repeated “I” multiple times but you heard no response from the daughter. We can only draw our own conclusion that the daughter unfortunately went back to her dying state and now we realize the mother is locked in this “soul for a soul curse” to save her daughter for the rest of their lives.
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u/Sojourner_Truth Oct 25 '19
I feel like this, along with all the other netflix "horror" movies released recently, would be better as like 30 or 60 minute shorts. The last 30 minutes felt agonizingly long.