Cult of the Cobra

Lyon's underrecognized chiller takes an almost Lewton-esque approach to its tale of supernatural reptilian revenge. What separates _Cult_ from many '50s B-horror yarns is the strength of its core story and the specificity of its central characters. While the fright elements are imaginatively handled on a low budget via Faith's serpentine POV shots, there's a legit tragic quality to the impossible attraction of the melancholy Thompson and the self-doubting Domergue.

Reasonable attempt to capture the mood of a Tourneur-Lewton production falls short for a few reasons, one of them being that we never learn enough about the Cobra Cult to feel any real menace from them beyond their standing threat. Also, Domergue's character seems to be going through some compunctions, but they're never made too vivid. And the snake looks like one of those garden-hose things kids play with; even in silhouette, it's about as scary as a Muppet. Only the final shot/effect is cool.

I didn't know Faith Domergue had it in her with a genuinely spooky performance here. However the rest of the cast and production isn't quite up to the same task. There's no attempt to maintain any sense of mystery or even suspense. The cult premise is somewhat wasted here with only the beginning and the ending really making total use of it. Recommended to see what Ms. Domergue and Ms. Hughes can do.

Not altogether awful. It feels like someone grafted some "mysterious tale of the East" stuff onto a pretty good murder mystery. Keep your eyes open for a few "hey, it's that guy" actors.

"Cult of the Cobra" begins as a tale of American GIs who, disregarding another culture, find themselves cursed by a cobra shifter. While it attempts to weave a romantic subplot into its narrative, the effort barely makes an impact, primarily due to Faith Domergue's character, whose unconvincing longing glances fail to stir the intended emotional depth.