The Serpent and the Rainbow

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  • Trailer for this thriller directed by Wes Craven

Movie Info & Cast

Director:

Wes Craven

Producer:

Doug Claybourne, David Ladd

Writer:

Wade Davis, Richard Maxwell, Adam Rodman

Release Date:

Feb 1, 1988

Runtime:

1hr 38m

Synopsis

An anthropologist goes to Haiti to research a drug that makes someone appear dead by suspending all vital signs.

Cast

  • Bill Pullman
  • Cathy Tyson
  • Zakes Mokae
  • Paul Winfield
  • Brent Jennings
  • Conrad Roberts
  • Badja Djola
  • Theresa Merritt
  • Michael Gough
  • Paul Guilfoyle

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.3
47.1K
23.1K
9.8K
RATINGS 41 FANS
3.3
  • Jun 29, 2014

    "The Serpent and the Rainbow" is one of Wes Craven's best films, and, for much of its running time, it is one of the horror director's most restrained films. Telling a story based on actual events, Craven eschews gore and token exploitative touches for authentic fear and…

    163 Likes
    Travis Lytle
    Travis Lytle
    May 13, 2026

    This is one of those films that blurs the line between reality and hallucination. I often feel cheated by this gimmick, because they can do things like A SKELETON BRIDE CRACKS HER OWN JAW OPEN AND A POISONOUS SNAKE DARTS OUT. Then the dream ends. So, much of the scary stuff…

    162 Likes
    Digital Press
    Digital Press

    "I want to hear you scream" "Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh" "Not good enough...." Anyone who has seen this film knows what happens next....

    149 Likes
    DirkH
    DirkH
  •
    Aug 25, 2025

    70 Wes Craven's sense of the nightmarish is given anthropological weight here, which doesn't necessarily negate its clumsy plotting and thematic incoherence, but it at least establishes a framework by which to examine the barriers between life and death. Very good and…

    142 Likes
    SilentDawn
    SilentDawn
    Sep 30, 2025

    So many nutt cracking scenes you’d think it’s a Christmas movie

    124 Likes
    Hailli
    Hailli
    Mar 18, 2023

    "The Serpent and the Rainbow" presents the zombie topic in a different way and also shows the voodoo cult more precisely than other representatives do. But all in all it just wasn‘t for me. Most of the time it was quite boring to me. But I love Wes Craven‘s work and had to…

    117 Likes
    kat🕷
    kat🕷
  •
    Jun 28, 2019

    Craven tapping into more psychological fare while not forgetting his Fango-fans.  Kinda dated but still very disturbing. Also, is Bill Pullman 200% committed or was Craven committed to just torturing him? Damn. Brad Fidel completely “Horner”’s his TERMINATOR score here…

    109 Likes
    Joe Lynch
    Joe Lynch
    Oct 28, 2013

    the waking nightmare here, what i think it could really be after, is the failure of rationalization to confront a confluence of regional spiritual custom, political turmoil and foreign capital, but a lot of that gets tossed over because of Craven's predilection for goofy…

    108 Likes
    matt lynch
    matt lynch
    Oct 13, 2019

    Geoff T's Hoop-Tober 6.0 Challenge Craven Triple Bill #1 The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) Felt like treating myself to a trio of previously unseen films from the late Wes Craven. Very loosely based on the accounts of Wade Davis, Serpent and the Rainbow felt to me…

    99 Likes
    🎃 Geoff T 🎃
    🎃 Geoff T 🎃

Queue Community Reviews

78%
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15%
👍 LIKE
63%
😐 MEH
16%
👎 DISLIKE
6%
Top Reviews
  • Big E
    Big E is "meh" on
    The Serpent and the Rainbow

    A little convoluted and confusing, had some decent effects for being from the 80s, but it was a story about a “good guy”working for big pharma, stealing a special drug from a poorer country to use “for good”, and refusing to leave the country after being told several times to go.

    3Y
    kendra jo
    kendra jo liked
    The Serpent and the Rainbow

    i surprisingly liked this one! the story is interesting & horror/spooky elements are fun & chilling. i liked the cinematography & i think the film was well made. i’m curious as to how much of this story was actually true, it’s pretty interesting.

    3Y
    CvptvinHowdy
    CvptvinHowdy disliked
    The Serpent and the Rainbow

    I went into this blind anticipating a good Wes Craven zombie film, but it was just bland with few cool moments

    2Y
  • Figo Nyberg
    Figo Nyberg liked
    The Serpent and the Rainbow

    Nice horror movie by the talented director Wes Craven. Overall interesting story with some intense scenes.

    2Y
    Angela
    Angela liked
    The Serpent and the Rainbow

    Holy moly it just keeps getting crazier and crazier. one dude never stops coming back istg

    1Y
    Orlando Ramone
    Orlando Ramone liked
    The Serpent and the Rainbow

    A hidden gem by Wes Craven. I still wonder how much of this story is actually true.

    4Y
  • Nova
    Nova loved
    The Serpent and the Rainbow

    This was deep in words I can’t put together.

    1Y
    Brett Bettendorf
    Brett Bettendorf liked
    The Serpent and the Rainbow

    Good movie. Would watch again.

    2Y
    South Philly Dilly Dilly Jawn
    South Philly Dilly Dilly Jawn liked
    The Serpent and the Rainbow

    Creepy.

    2Y

Atom Users Reviews

No one has posted a user review yet.

Metacritic

64
metacritic
Based on 13 Critics
6.6

USER SCORE (11)

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Reviews
75

Mingling a frank trashiness with unexpected ambition, Wes Craven's The Serpent and the Rainbow emerges as one of the more commanding horror movies of recent months.

Metacritic review by Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
90

The Serpent and the Rainbow does for the old Caribbean zombie movie what Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark did for the serials. It preserves all the spooky fun of a movie like White Zombie while drawing upon all the sophisticated resources of big-budget modern film making: richly photographed authentic locales, wondrous special effects and amazingly acute sound recording...The result is an ambitious, entertaining--though not flawless--feat of the imagination, a highly visual and skillful blending of supernatural and political terror, high adventure and anthropology.

Metacritic review by Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
40

More than a little has been lost in the translation. Screenwriters Richard Maxwell and A.R. Simoun have created a horrific Indiana Jones adventure with Davis being portrayed by Bill Pullman, an actor who does a poor imitation of Michael Douglas doing a poor imitation of Harrison Ford.[6 Feb 1988, p.2D]

Hal Lipper
Tampa Bay Times

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) family-friendly?
The movie has been rated as R, meaning that Under 17 requires an adult accompaniment.
How long is The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)?
The movie is 1hr 38min long.
What's The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) about?
An anthropologist goes to Haiti to research a drug that makes someone appear dead by suspending all vital signs.
Who's the cast of The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)?
  • Bill Pullman as Dennis Alan
  • Cathy Tyson as Marielle Duchamp
  • Zakes Mokae as Dargent Peytraud
  • Paul Winfield as Lucien Celine
  • Brent Jennings as Louis Mozart
  • Conrad Roberts as Christophe
  • Badja Djola as Gaston
  • Theresa Merritt as Simone
  • Michael Gough as Schoonbacher
  • Paul Guilfoyle as Andrew Cassedy
Who's the director behind The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)?
Wes Craven directed The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988).
Who produced The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)?
Doug Claybourne and David Ladd produced The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988).
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