A documentary film crew, led by director Terri Flores, travels deep into the Amazon jungle to locate a mysterious lost tribe. Their journey turns into a nightmare when they rescue Paul Serone, a stranded snake hunter with a dark agenda. As Serone hijacks their boat to hunt a legendary, forty-foot anaconda, the crew realizes they are being used as bait for a predator that strikes with terrifying speed and lethal force.
Information |
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|---|---|
Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
April 11, 1997 |
Running time |
89 minutes |
Genre |
Action Adventure Horror Thriller |
Budget |
$45,000,000 |
Box Office |
$136,885,767 |
Crew |
|
Directed by |
Luis Llosa |
Produced by |
Verna Harrah Leonard Rabinowitz Carole Little |
Written by |
Hans Bauer Jim Cash Jack Epps Jr. |
Music by |
Randy Edelman |
Cinematography |
Bill Butler |
Edited by |
Michael R. Miller |
Production Co. |
Columbia Pictures Cinema Line Film Corporation |
Distributed by |
Sony Pictures Releasing |
Official Trailer
The Plot
A Desperate Choice on the Amazon
Deep within the dense, humid labyrinth of the Amazon River, a lone poacher huddles in the shadows of his boat, paralyzed by a primal fear. Something massive and unseen is hunting him, its presence signaled only by the terrifying sound of wood splintering as it tears through the vessel's hull. Realizing that there is no escape from the predatory force closing in, the man makes a final, harrowing decision. Rather than face the agony of being consumed alive by the creature, he presses the barrel of a gun to his head and pulls the trigger, choosing a swift death over the horrors lurking in the murky water.
The Expedition for the Lost Shirishama
Not far away, a professional film crew moves downriver, blissfully unaware of the carnage. Led by director Terri Flores, the team is on a mission to produce a documentary about the Shirishamas, a legendary and long-lost indigenous tribe shrouded in mystery. Accompanying Terri is her childhood friend and cameraman Danny Rich, production manager Denise Kalberg, sound engineer Gary Dixon, narrator Warren Westridge, and anthropologist Professor Steven Cale. Navigating the treacherous waters is the boat's skipper, Mateo.
The journey takes an unexpected turn when they encounter Paul Serone, a Paraguayan snake hunter stranded on a riverbank. Serone, a man of cold eyes and unsettling charisma, claims to possess intimate knowledge of the Shirishama's location. Despite the immediate discomfort felt by most of the crew—and several heated clashes between Professor Cale and Serone over the accuracy of Shirishama lore—they agree to take him aboard, believing his guidance is the key to their success.
A Life-Shattering Accident
Disaster strikes during a routine attempt to free the boat’s propeller from a submerged rope. While diving in his scuba gear, Professor Cale is blindsided by a wasp that had crawled inside his regulator. The insect stings him deep in the throat, causing an immediate and violent allergic reaction that swells his airway shut. As Cale slips into unconsciousness, Serone takes decisive action, performing a crude emergency cricothyrotomy to keep the professor breathing. While the act seemingly saves Cale’s life, it serves as the catalyst for Serone to seize control of the vessel.
With the expedition's leader incapacitated, Serone reveals his true, obsession-driven objective. He has no interest in the Shirishama; he is tracking a record-breaking giant green anaconda. He forces the terrified crew to assist him in his hunt, promising that if they help him capture the beast alive, he will lead them out of the jungle. The atmosphere on the boat shifts from one of discovery to one of forced labor and mounting dread.
The First Victim and the Secret Alliance
The horror becomes tangible when the crew discovers the wreckage of the poacher’s boat. While investigating the site, Danny and Serone find an old newspaper featuring a photograph that reveals a dark truth: Mateo, Serone, and the dead poacher were once partners in a lucrative animal-trafficking ring. The revelation comes too late for Mateo. While separated from the group, the skipper is ambushed by a 25-foot male warrior anaconda. The serpent coils around him with lightning speed, snapping his neck before dragging him into the depths.
The crew is left reeling by Mateo’s disappearance, though Serone remains unmoved, focused solely on the prize. He manipulate Gary, Denise's boyfriend, into siding with him by playing on his fear and desire to survive. That night, the predator strikes again. The anaconda invades the boat, its massive weight groaning against the timber. In the chaos, Serone attempts to net the snake, but the creature turns its fury on Gary. It coils around the sound engineer, crushing his ribs and organs in a sickening display of power. Despite Terri’s attempt to shoot the beast, Serone sabotages her aim, and the crew watches in paralyzed horror as the anaconda devours Gary whole. A broken Denise is left to mourn as the outline of Gary’s body is visible through the snake's distended skin beneath the water's surface.
Mutiny at the Waterfall
The survivors finally find the courage to overpower Serone, binding him as punishment for his betrayals. However, their progress is halted when the boat becomes wedged at a massive waterfall. Terri, Danny, and Westridge are forced into the water to winch the boat loose, leaving Denise alone with the captive Serone. Consumed by grief and a thirst for vengeance, Denise attempts to kill the hunter. Serone, however, proves more dangerous than anticipated; even while bound, he uses his powerful legs to strangle Denise to death before callousnessly dumping her corpse into the river.
The anaconda returns during the winch operation, forcing a desperate scramble for survival. Westridge bravely distracts the predator, allowing Terri and Danny to reach the safety of the boat. He attempts to escape by climbing the waterfall, but the serpent pursues him into the trees. The sheer weight of the snake causes a massive branch to snap, sending both Westridge and the creature plummeting. Westridge is killed in the fall, and the impact jolts Professor Cale back to a state of semi-consciousness. As the snake coils around Danny in the water, Terri manages to fire a fatal shot into its head, ending the male anaconda's reign of terror.
The Hunter Becomes the Bait
The victory is short-lived. An enraged Serone attacks Terri, only to be incapacitated by Cale, who manages to stab him with a tranquilizer dart before slipping back into unconsciousness. Danny seizes the opportunity to knock the hunter into the river, seemingly ridding them of his presence. However, Serone survives, and he eventually catches up to Terri and Danny near an abandoned riverside facility.
Driven by a descent into madness, Serone captures the pair and douses them in animal blood, using them as living bait to lure a second, even more formidable predator: a 40-foot female anaconda. The queen of the river emerges, its size dwarfing the previous snake. It coils around Terri and Danny, beginning the slow process of suffocation. Serone attempts to trap the female in a net, but the creature’s power is too great. It breaks free and turns its hunger toward Serone. In a moment of poetic justice, the hunter is coiled and crushed before being swallowed whole by the very beast he sought to tame.
The Final Confrontation and the Smoke Shack
Terri and Danny manage to cut their bonds and flee as the anaconda begins to digest Serone. While searching for an escape route, Terri stumbles upon a horrifying nest filled with newborn anacondas. The mother snake soon finds her, and in a grotesque display, it regurgitates the partially digested, yet still twitching, body of Serone. The predator chases Terri up a high smokestack, its massive body coiling upward with terrifying speed.
Danny intervenes, using a pickaxe to pin the snake’s tail to the floorboards. He ignites a massive fire beneath the smoke shack, causing an explosion that engulfs the building in flames. The burning anaconda is blasted out of the structure and plunges into the river. As the exhausted pair recovers on a nearby dock, the scorched serpent resurfaces for one final attack. Without hesitation, Danny swings a splitting maul, burying the axe head deep into the snake's skull and finally ending the nightmare.
The Discovery of the Shirishama
In the aftermath of the carnage, Terri and Danny return to the boat and reunite with a recovering Professor Cale. As they drift further down the Amazon, the river finally grants them the goal they originally sought. They encounter the Shirishama tribe, the very people they believed were lost to time. Realizing that Serone’s navigation had actually been correct despite his malice, the crew begins to film their documentary, capturing the beauty of the indigenous culture as they leave the horrors of the anaconda behind them.
Top Cast
- Jennifer Lopez as Terri Flores
- Ice Cube as Danny Rich
- Jon Voight as Paul Serone
- Eric Stoltz as Dr. Steven Cale
- Jonathan Hyde as Warren Westridge
- Owen Wilson as Gary Dixon
- Kari Wuhrer as Denise Kalberg
- Vincent Castellanos as Mateo
- Danny Trejo as Poacher
