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King Cobra
DVD cover
Directed by	David Hillenbrand Scott Hillenbrand
Produced by	David Hillenbrand Scott Hillenbrand
Written by	David Hillenbrand Scott Hillenbrand Guy Stodel
Starring	Pat Morita Scott Hillenbrand Hoyt Axton Joseph Ruskin Courtney Gains
Music by	David Hillenbrand
Cinematography	Philip D. Schwartz
Editing by	Guy W. Cearley
Studio	Trimark Pictures
Distributed by	Trimark Pictures BMG Video
Release date(s)	April 27, 1999 (1999-04-27)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

King Cobra is a 1999 Trimark Pictures direct to video horror/sci-fi film about an escaped genetically engineered snake. The film was written and directed by David Hillenbrand and Scott Hillenbrand, and featured special effects by The Chiodo Brothers.

Development

When David Hillenbrand and Scott Hillenbrand developed the concept for King Cobra, the film Anaconda was not yet "in the pipeline". They wished to take an approach in the genre in a similar vein as Jaws or Alien. Production problems allowed Anaconda to beat their film to release.^[1]

Plot

A lab run by Dr. Irwin Burns (Joseph Ruskin) to research aggressive behavior has an accident resulting in the escape of an aggressive snake which has traits of both the African King Cobra and the Eastern Diamond Rattlesnake. Loose in the coutryside, it grows to 30 feet in length. When the snake outgrows his woodland prey, it begins hunting the residents of the small town of Filmore. Doc Kragen (Scott Hillenbrand) autopsies a recently found body and determines that the death was caused by a huge snake. He and Police Chief Jo Biddle (Casey Fallo) go to the Mayor (Hoyt Axton) and demand he cancel an upcoming town beer festival. The Mayor refuses, but after more deaths, the town eventually brings in expert snake hunter Nick Hashimoto (Pat Morita).

Cast

• Pat Morita as Nick Hashimoto
• Scott Hillenbrand as Dr. Brad Kagen (as Scott Brandon)
• Hoyt Axton as Mayor Ed Biddle
• Joseph Ruskin as Dr. Irwin Burns
• Courtney Gains as Dr. Joseph McConnell
• Eric Lawson as Sheriff Ben Lowry
• Erik Estrada as Bernie Alvarez
• Nick Jameson as Jurgen Werner
• Megan Blake as Grace Stills
• Casey Fallo as Jo Biddle (as Kasey Fallo)
• Arell Blanton as Jesse
• Jerry Kernion as Conrad
• Michael Leopard as Buck
• Cedric Duplechain as Deputy Bud Fuller
• Paul Morgan Fredrix as Dr. Pat Kagen

Reception

In 2001, G. Noel Gross of DVD Talk wrote that the snake effects of King Cobra were "better than the CGI-addled Python that followed" and made note of a "hilarious cameo" appearance by Erik Estrada.^[2] Derek Armstrong of Allmovie panned the film, calling it poorly conceived and absurd, with the special effects of the snake "so cheap-looking that it can only be seen in flashes".^[3] DVD Verdict also panned the film, writing that what was promoted as "30 Feet Of Pure Terror!", was "more like 93 minutes of pure boredom". While noting that Trimark gave the film nice treatment on its DVD release, they concluded that it was "an incredibly worthless film".^[4]

References

1. ^ Crow, Thomas. "King Cobra Rules by Thomas Crow". Adapted from Thomas Crow’s article in Fangoria. Lifeworks Entertainment. http://www.lifeworks-entertainment.com/press_fangoria.html. Retrieved 5 January 2010.  
2. ^ Gross, G. Noel (October 9, 2001). "King Cobra: SE". DVD Talk. http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/3133/king-cobra-se/. Retrieved January 3, 2010.  
3. ^ Armstrong, Derek. "review: King Cobra". Allmovie. http://www.allmovie.com/work/king-cobra-179986/review. Retrieved January 3, 2010.  
4. ^ "DVD review: King Cobra". DVD Verdict. http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/kingcobra.php. Retrieved January 3, 2010.  

External links

• King Cobra at the Internet Movie Database
• King Cobra at Allmovie