The Hungry Snake Woman is an Indonesian film from director Sisworo Gautama Putra (Mondo Macabro has also released his The Warrior/Jaka Sembung features). Released in 1986, it is technically a sequel to Putra’s 1982 film Nyi Blorong (The Snake Queen) and 1983’s Perkawinan Nyi Blorong (The Snake Queen’s Wedding). It’s also yet another film in Putra’s canon to star Indonesian actress Suzzanna, here playing a dual role as both the Snake Queen herself and an unlucky woman named Suzi who happens to look just like the Snake Queen. While there is most likely some internal logic at play in The Hungry Snake Woman that follows up from the previous films, it’s not really all that important to the proceedings to know much about the context – in fact, Putra’s film is quite light on reasoning anyway, and so it’s better if the viewer quietly accepts the magical reality of the film’s plot. Keeping that in mind, the film becomes a hallucinatory outing full of weird vibes and fun low-budget action set pieces.
What little story there is revolves around Carlita (Nina Anwar) and her escape from her abusive boyfriend Burhan (Advent Bangun) who, at the outset of the film, attempts to rape Carlita and then wonders why she might not be so interested in marrying him. Burhan’s pursued by the village and eventually stumbles upon the Snake Queen’s lair, where he is promised riches if he does her bidding by sucking the blood and eating the breasts of women. Here begins the film’s strange foray into various territories – Burhan dresses as a vampire for some reason and the film adopts a horror/slasher aesthetic for a bit before Burhan is tempted by the Snake Queen’s nemesis, a literal half woman/half snake, to kill her so he can have all the riches his heart desires. Eventually, this leads to him starting a criminal enterprise and kidnapping Carlita and her family, along with the aforementioned Suzi who happens to look identical to the Snake Queen.
Even writing that all out, it’s hard to truly summarize the wild and wacky elements at play in The Hungry Snake Woman. The film so often morphs between ideas and themes that it’s hard to accurately pinpoint the exact stylings of Putra’s direction. Quite often the film’s a pretty sordid affair, with tons of semi-clothed nudity and a number of fantastical scenes of erotica played out for no real discernible reason. Take, for example, the Snake Woman’s dance spell cast on Carlita that forces her to writhe and contort in a see-through leotard; or later, the lengthy threesome scene between Johan, the Snake Queen, and a lucky ice cube. The Hungry Snake Woman often lacks direction, and yet it’s still undeniably enjoyable because of its curious decisions.
Later on, Putra again switches things up as the film charges into the action/martial arts genre that reminiscent of his Warrior trilogy. The stakes are low, mostly because the budget is minimal and all the effects are noticeably cheap (even the Snake Queen’s lair has a gaudy gold-tinted tin foil look to it). But these aren’t nitpicks, they’re actually things to love about this zany film that leaves nothing off the table. While the thematic resonance of the movie is low, it’s likely that The Hungry Snake Woman will remain memorable to viewers long after it’s finished thanks to the sheer amount of what-the-fuckery happening here. If the other Nyi Blorong films are anywhere near this exhilirating, sign me up!
Blu-ray
Mondo Macabro has released The Hungry Snake Woman on Blu-ray with a new 2K transfer from the original camera negative. For the most part, this new restoration looks very good. Grain scale is mostly consistent and presents with a medium body. Most close-up shots reveal a good level of detail including facial and clothing textures; there are a few occasional soft-focus shots but I believe this to be inherent in the negative. There is a minor amount of damage and wear but overall the negative looks to be in good shape, and the only real flaws consist of a few color timing issues and fluctuations toward the beginning of the movie. Black levels are kept to a minimum and even during darker sequences, they tend to feel artificially lit rather than expectedly shadowed. Grain can also be quite heavy during these occasional moments. The Hungry Snake Woman looks very good in HD thanks to Mondo Macabro’s transfer and it’s unlikely viewers will be able to see the film in any better quality.
Audio is presented with options for both DTS-HD 2.0 mono English or Indonesian tracks. Both have their positives and drawbacks. I did find the Indonesian track to offer a bit more expansion with the soundtrack, though there is some distortion happening throughout. With the English, it does sound a bit thinner but features less of that distortion from the Indonesian option, and it also loses certain references from the Indonesian translations. English subtitles are included but they are specifically for the Indonesian translations.
This Blu-ray does not feature any supplemental features, which is somewhat disappointing considering there is certainly an opportunity to contextualize some of the Indonesian cultures and traditional beliefs, including the presence of Nyi Blorong throughout Indonesian folklore.
Extra Features
- Region free
- NEW 2k restoration from film negative
- Choice of English dub or Indonesian audio with optional English subtitles
Verdict
The Hungry Snake Woman is greatly entertaining and should please any lovers of gonzo cinema; this Mondo Macabro restoration looks very good despite some negative-related issues and features both Indonesian and English audio, but lacks any extras.
