King Cobra Details

In this cheap and derivative horror, scientists genetically create a giant snake in order to test a formula that will increase aggression without causing harmful side effects. It goes without saying that the snake escapes from the lab, re-appearing in a small town just before its annual beer festival is about to begin. The collection of very familiar characters — the mayor who won't cancel the festival, the concerned scientist, the maverick animal hunter — may not have immediately doomed the film, but the scenes involving the snake do. The animatronic creation is so unconvincing that it's hardly surprising the snake does most of its business off-screen or in quick, blurry movements.

This might have been called Fangs so closely does it stick to the narrative format of Jaws, with a monster on the loose, a mayor who ignores warnings, and an expert who is brought in for a battle to the death; it is competently done.