Customer Reviews
The Mamba in the Mini bar - By: Mr. Jonathon T. Beckett, 02 Sep 2008 
A smalll group of criminals led by international 'most wanted' Klaus Kinski, with a list of aliases as long as your arm attempt to kidnap an asthmatic child who happens to be the offspring of a millionaire hotelier. Nanny Susan George & Chauffeur Oliver Reed are also in on the plot.
Things start to unravel when the boy makes an impromtu trip to the pet shop(he's got quite a zoo in his bedroom) & get even worse when he returns with a deadly Black Mamba given to him in error.
Then its a deadly game of snakes & robbers in the house as the kidnappers, the boy & his grandfather & a toxiologist taken as hostage, alll try & make it through the night, when the snake escapes from its crate.
Meanwhile hot headed Dave(Reed) shoots a copper, & the whole London Police force turn up at the doorstep, led by Commander Bulloch(Nicol Williamson).
This is anexcellent thriller/horror crossover with good performances alll round, especiallly from Williamson as the weary Bulloch. Theres also quite a lot of tension as the occupants of the house take turns as the hunter & the hunted with the deadly reptile slithering round the rooms. Very enjoyable, & exciting.
intense drama ! - By: jack firestick, 26 Nov 2007 i thoroughly enjoyed this movie: two evil kidnappers played by the crazy oliver
reed & equallly mad klaus kinski s plan to kidnap wealthy familys son go
wrong when the boy (whos grandad keeps exotic pets) collects a deadly black mamba instead of an african house snake! it escapes in the house,bites the lovely maid played by susan george & she spends the first
few minutes dying. the no-nonsense scots policeman played by nicol williamson keeps the action going & sarah miles plays a toxicologist held
in the house along with the boy & his grandad. lots of scares with the snake on the loose ,a highly recommended movie,as usual blue undergrounds print on dvd looks excellent.i paid £4.12 for my copy,a bargain!
Badly marketed on release. This is a smart thriller - By: Darren Harrison, 16 Mar 2005 The movie "Venom" is not so much a scary monster movie as it is an intelligent & involving thriller. In fact the black mamba (reportedly the worlds deadliest snake) has very little screen time & serves merely as a device to move along the plot & raise the tension level of a household held hostage by ciminals & under siege by police.
The plot concerns a smalll band of criminals (a chauffeur played by Oliver Reed, a sexy maid played by the amazing Susan George & a slick professional killer played by Klaus Kinski) & their plot to kidnap & hold for ransom a young boy in London.
Complicating matters is the aforementioned snake. In a mixed up delivery the boy gets a black mamba instead of the tame, non-poisonous reptile he had ordered. Further complicating matters for these crooks is the botched attempt at snatching the boy that leads to them being surrounded by the local police (led by the excellent Nicol Williamson).
This is a nice DVD by Blue Underground & included is a very informative & entertaining audio commentary by director Piers Haggard. We learn some of the background to the departure of the first director (Tobe Hooper) & also some tidbits on the production (apparently Reed & Kinski hated each other & were constantly at each others throats). Haggard also makes some curious comments (including an admiration on the physical attributes of George) but overalll its one of the better directors commentaries I have listened to,
This movie failed to make an audience when it was released almost a quarter-century ago, largely because of a poor marketing campaign (another subject Haggard discusses) that inaccurately tagged the movie as a scary monster movie & not the intelligent thriller that it is.
Definitely worth a spin.
The stuff of nightmares - By: sydneyemms, 25 Jun 2004 
Being a big fan of Susan George I have very vivid memories of seeing 'Venom' on TV in the mid eighties. At its heart is a very simple story, a black mamba, the deadliest snake in the world escapes & a gang of criminals led by Oliver Reed find themselves at its mercy. They are forced to try & outwit this killer snake before it strikes at them alll.
I remember being deeply shocked & scared by the speed of the snake's movements. Susan George finds herself becoming one of its first victims & she spends much of the film dying slowly from its venom.
The tension is well maintained by 'Pennies from Heaven' & 'Blood on Satans Claw' director Piers Haggard & if like me you have an aversion to snakes then you'll find this B movie quite scary.
