Anaconda (1997)

39% of critics liked it
(46 reviews)
32% of users liked it
(398,881 ratings)

A group of filmmakers looking for a lost native tribe instead find a man-eating monster in this thriller. Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez) is a documentary filmmaker on assignment to make a film about the Shirishama Indians of the Amazon, a mysterious tribe known as "the People of the Mists." As Terri… More A group of filmmakers looking for a lost native tribe instead find a man-eating monster in this thriller. Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez) is a documentary filmmaker on assignment to make a film about the Shirishama Indians of the Amazon, a mysterious tribe known as "the People of the Mists." As Terri and her crew -- cameraman Danny Rich (Ice Cube), sound recordist Gary Dixon (Owen Wilson), anthropologist Steve Cale (Eric Stoltz), production manager Denise Kahlberg (Kari Wuhrer), and host Warren Westridge (Jonathan Hyde) -- head down the river, they discover a man whose boat has sunk and desperately needs rescue. Paul Sarone (Jon Voight), the mysterious stranger that they save from the waters, claims to know something of the Shirishama and says he will take the crew to them. Instead, he guides the group to the hiding place of the fearsome Anaconda, a gigantic snake that swallows a man whole, vomits him up, and eats him again (no small accomplishment, that). The snake is worth a fortune if captured, but can a creature so dangerous be captured at all? ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: Luis Llosa
Written By: Hans Bauer, Jim Cash, Jack Epps
Genres: Action & Adventure, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Apr 11, 1997 Wide
On DVD: Jan 1, 1998
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
Anaconda, directed by Luis Llosa with all of the subtlety of a snake-oil salesman, is in the great tradition of cinematic cheese, as processed as Kraft Singles slices.
Joe Leydon, Variety
A silly and plodding Jaws rip-off about a 40-foot man-eating snake on the prowl in the Brazilian rain forest.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Anaconda is about a snake that eats everybody. That about says it all.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
Anaconda is such a classic combination of feckless dramaturgy and rampant excess that giving way to giggles is the only sane response.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
A trashily entertaining reptilian version of Jaws set in the steaming heart of the Amazon rain forest.
Mike Clark, USA Today
It isn't art, but it'll crush your bones.
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
An above average specimen hungering for tasty morsels.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
In its natural habitat, Anaconda can be appreciated for its campy pleasures, not the least of which is Jon Voight in a delirious, balls-out performance as creepy Paraguayan snake poacher Paul Serone. [Blu-ray]
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Anaconda is campy fun if you're into B-movie creature features. Just don't look at the star list and think that the film is going to transcend the genre.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...never quite lives up to the promise of its admittedly irresistible set-up...
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is
lives better in the memory
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Luis Llosa's Anaconda is great "B" movie trash, complete with bad special effects and cheesy monsters.
Derek Adams, Time Out
One never questions the realism of the remarkable animatronic and computer-generated effects, but it's hard to credit a snake that screams.
John Venable, Supercala.com
If you shut your brain down you'll have some fun.
Harry Hartoonian, Film Threat
At its best, it refuses to take itself seriously and literally winks at us. But more often, it derives laughs unintentionally.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
Done with such a wry sense of humor - thanks, especially, to an over-the-top, hopefully intentional, outrageous performance by Jon Voight, and some nifty snake effects - that you forgive its derivative nature and settle down for some fun.
Dragan Antulov, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Anaconda suffers from one-dimensional characters and cliches.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
Both Ice Cube and Voigt are fun to watch in the film. The other actors are forgettable.
Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer
A morass of cliches, contradictions and clumsy attempts at suspense.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
Voight's performance alone is absurd enough to merit the film a look.

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

Anaconda is a fairly decent horror film and echoes creature films of the 1970's such as Jaws, Piranha and Grizzly. Except this time around it's a giant Anaconda wreaking havoc. The film isn't all that bad, and can be considered a guilty pleasure. I enjoyed the film, and… More
Anaconda is a fairly decent horror film and echoes creature films of the 1970's such as Jaws, Piranha and Grizzly. Except this time around it's a giant Anaconda wreaking havoc. The film isn't all that bad, and can be considered a guilty pleasure. I enjoyed the film, and I've always loved killer creature films. Anaconda may not be that perfect, but it's definitely loads of fun. The cast isn't really that great, and it makes it that much more enjoyable for you to watch the characters get eaten. The film is one cool monster film and though it has numerous flaws, you don't end caring that much about it. Because aside from Jaws, is there any other creature film that is flawless? Nope, there isn't. Anaconda is overall a mindless horror film with an interesting monster. Though the cast isn't that great to begin with, it makes it that much better for when one of the characters die. The film manages to be entertaining, but it's decent at best. The film could have been much better, but for what it is, it's a fun, entertaining ride. Anaconda offers plenty of thrills despite the fact that the film lacks substance to really be something good. As a monster film, the film succeeds mildly to entertain. For what it is, Anaconda is an imperfect monster film, but still one worth watching with friends. The film entertaining, but it's clear that it could've been much better than it is.
Phil H

Saw this film when it first came out and I enjoyed back then I must admit but watching it now it hasn't held up too well. First off the cast is quite an odd bunch and pretty mismatched even for a motley crew of unique adventurers, Lopez and Ice Cube are totally miscast and out of… More
Saw this film when it first came out and I enjoyed back then I must admit but watching it now it hasn't held up too well. First off the cast is quite an odd bunch and pretty mismatched even for a motley crew of unique adventurers, Lopez and Ice Cube are totally miscast and out of place, Voight looks the part but goes completely overboard with his performance going from good n hammy to a downright laughable cad and loses all his presence. Wilson is also miscast but its odd to see him in basically a role as monster fodder and merely a background character, the only two that fit the film for me are Stoltz and Hyde who are both decent as your typical jungle hunter/explorer types. The film starts off OK and you do get a feel of impending doom with nice eerie murky surface water shots and some decent character building but once the snake has been fully exposed and the eating really kicks off the cracks really show. The cgi now is pretty bad and doesn't match against the live action a tall, its very obvious and takes a HUGE amount of fun from the film, the sets are clearly sets, the action is really daft and it is so so formulaic and cliched. There are some good model heads for the anaconda and one or two in-genius ideas for cam angles and snake shots but this really looks like lame rubber monster hokum these days, its not made any better by the fact they made the anaconda roar and scream.
Richard C

Wow this movie sucks. I guess I was entertained at parts but I was mostly just bored. It almost a so bad it's good kind of movie that you just laugh at. C-
Ken S

A surprisingly star studded cast chew scenery like it's going out of style. Which isn't necessary a bad thing.
Dean !

Sounds like a very cheesey B movie but actually it's a pretty good creature feature. Jon Voight puts in a great performance and the SFX are very good. Overall a cool enjoyable film.
Luke B

It's a stupid B-Movie with enough quality to fly by, and enough camp charm to get away with such cinematic crimes. The cast play it straight, apart from Voight. I'm pretty sure he was drunk during the shooting, coming out with an inexplicable accent and a look reminiscent of… More
It's a stupid B-Movie with enough quality to fly by, and enough camp charm to get away with such cinematic crimes. The cast play it straight, apart from Voight. I'm pretty sure he was drunk during the shooting, coming out with an inexplicable accent and a look reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter. It's ridiculous fun, with hokey CGI and animatronics. Cube and Hyde manage some, at times, adorable dialogue. Voight's presence also unites the rest of the cast, and each character gets their own heroic captain moment. Fun filled and just plain bad. I loved it.
KJ P

Pretty original, and definately exciting!
Jason O

So you can tell the snakes are fake. They still look cool and this is still a good movie. Oh, and Jennifer Lopez's butt.
Anthony L

Highly entertaining but for all the wrong reasons. It's a bit of fun I guess, it was never going to win any awards and never takes itself seriously. It's definatly in 'So bad its good' terrotory!
Coxxie M

dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb STUPID dumb dumb.... love ya Owen
Sophie B

I thought the bulk of the movie was relly good with good tension building scenes and a good cast. However, the beginning was a bit slow and the ending was LAME! It was really awful. I did like the part when we first saw the anaconda's face. That was funny.
Josh L

It's certainly not cinema gold, but it serves its purpose of being a B-movie thats entertaining and cheesy.
Mark H

Ridiculous...and all the better for it
Tsubaki S

No....just no.
Dean M

Amazing! What a shocking thriller of a forty-foot killer snake!
E.J. B

It's not exciting enough to be a good thriller, and not cheesy enough to be a camp classic. It just sort of exists, and it's not fun to watch.
Dan S

Fun.
Lafe F

Creepy sweaty cruise down the jungle river, straight into the dangerous grips of the Anaconda! Good monster movie. The CGI effects were obvious and unfortunately detracted from the overall inventive ways the big snake could eat each of the characters. Good kills though! Jennifer Lopez… More
Creepy sweaty cruise down the jungle river, straight into the dangerous grips of the Anaconda! Good monster movie. The CGI effects were obvious and unfortunately detracted from the overall inventive ways the big snake could eat each of the characters. Good kills though! Jennifer Lopez was the beauty of the film and teamed up with others to fight (or get eaten by) the Giant Anaconda. Jon Voight made a great snake-hunting villain. His eating scene was go good, the snake spit him out and ate him again! Great fun and action which doesn't take itself too seriously. It feels a bit low-budget.
Rachel F

pretty damn creepy
Curtis L

I think Ice cube is good in it, but really....