Cult of the Cobra (1955)

Cult of the Cobra: Directed by Francis D. Lyon. With Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Marshall Thompson, Kathleen Hughes. American G.I.s who trespass on a Hindu ceremony are hunted down by a beautiful woman who has the power to transform herself into a cobra.

“Whatu0026#39;s the first behavior rule when youu0026#39;re visiting a faraway continent – particularly Asia, Africa or South America – that culturally speaking differs a lot from your own? Duh, donu0026#39;t interfere with local religious movements and/or voodoo cults, because they WILL come after you and they WILL find you, even when you consider yourself to be safe back home again. u0026quot;Cult of the Cobrau0026quot; is a charming and fairly entertaining 50u0026#39;s occult thriller, but itu0026#39;s certainly nothing special or unique. In fact, the plot is quite derivative of the Jacques Tourneur/Val Lewton classic u0026quot;Cat Peopleu0026quot; (undeniably one of the greatest horror milestones ever made), since both stories revolve gorgeous women living with the ability – or is it curse? – to transform into a deadly animal. Six American members of the same Air Force unit spend a few touristy days in an Asian country (my best guess would be either India or Malaysia) and bluntly pay a snake charmer big money to secretly attend a gathering of the infamous Lamian cult, of which the members supposedly change themselves in snakes and back. Naturally they get caught, when the dumbest boy of them all takes a photograph, and only narrowly escape. Unaware theyu0026#39;ve been placed under a curse, the six friends start being killed off one by one when back in the United State. Moreover, the mysterious accidents began simultaneously with Tom acquaintance with an introvert exotic beauty living across the hall. u0026quot;Cult of the Cobrau0026quot; benefits the most from Faith Domergueu0026#39;s performance as the oddly seductive Lisa (sheu0026#39;s a lot better here than she was in u0026quot;This Island Earthu0026quot; or u0026quot;It Came from beneath the Seau0026quot;) and a couple of imaginative camera gimmicks, like for example snake POV shots and nice use of shadow effects. Unfortunately, there are also several overlong and tedious scenes and not a single one of the male protagonists deserves any of your sympathy. Especially Tom is a pretty loathsome guy, since his behavior is obtrusive and aggressive towards women and jealous towards his own friends.”