Calamity of Snakes

Lore & Background

Calamity of Snakes concerns the residents of a newly built apartment building being attacked by thousands of vengeful snakes, which seek retribution for the killing and displacement of multitudes of snakes at the site of the building's construction. Rather than utilizing special effects to depict violence against snakes, the film features genuine footage of snakes being mutilated and killed, including being burned alive. The film was banned in British Columbia, Canada, by the British Columbia Film Classification Branch in 1982. In 2023, Jeffrey Kauffman of Blu-ray.com called the film 'a completely gonzo outing that has a few scattered moments of humor which are probably completely undercut (no pun intended) by the absolutely horrifying footage of snakes being killed in various ways.' In April 2023, Unearthed Films released Calamity of Snakes on Blu-ray and DVD; the release includes a 'cruelty free version' of the film which omits shots that feature snakes being harmed. This version is ten minutes shorter than the theatrical cut.

Reader's Guide

Calamity of Snakes is significant primarily for its controversial use of real animal violence, a practice that led to its censorship in British Columbia, Canada, in 1982. The film's legacy is tied to debates about animal cruelty in cinema and the ethics of using genuine footage of harm to animals for entertainment. Its release on home media in 2023 by Unearthed Films, which included a 'cruelty free version' omitting the snake-killing shots, reflects ongoing sensitivity to such content. The film is also notable as an international co-production between Taiwan and Hong Kong, and for its director Chi Chang (also known as William Cheung Kei). Critical reception, as noted by Jeffrey Kauffman in 2023, acknowledges the film's gonzo nature and the undercutting of any humor by the horrifying real footage. The film remains a reference point for discussions of exploitation cinema and animal welfare in film production.

Did You Know?

• In April 2023, Unearthed Films released a 'cruelty free version' of the film that is ten minutes shorter than the theatrical cut.
• The film is an international co-production of Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Plot & Production Background

Calamity of Snakes, known in Chinese as Ren she da zhan, is a 1982 horror feature that emerged from a collaborative production between Taiwan and Hong Kong. Chi Chang, who also goes by the name William Cheung Kei, helmed the project. The narrative centers on a community of apartment-dwelling residents who find themselves besieged by what appears to be an endless tide of serpents. These creatures are not random invaders but rather vengeful entities driven by a specific grievance: during the construction of the building, thousands of snakes were killed and displaced from their habitat on the very ground where the structure now stands. The film frames this ecological destruction as a catalyst for a horrifying retribution, transforming an ordinary residential setting into a nightmare of writhing, retaliating reptiles. The premise taps into a primal fear of the natural world pushing back against human encroachment, lending the story a quasi-mythological quality that distinguishes it from more conventional horror fare of the era.

Authenticity & the Ethics of On-Screen Harm

One of the most striking and controversial aspects of Calamity of Snakes is its refusal to rely on special effects or animatronics to convey the violence inflicted upon its serpentine antagonists. Instead, the film incorporates actual footage of live snakes being mutilated and killed, including scenes in which they are burned alive. This decision places the movie in a distinctly uncomfortable category of cinema, where the suffering depicted is not simulated but real. The choice fundamentally alters the viewer's relationship to the on-screen action, transforming what might otherwise be a fantastical horror sequence into something that carries the weight of genuine animal cruelty. It is this unflinching commitment to authenticity that has made the film both a curiosity and a point of contention, separating it from other creature-attack pictures of the period and raising enduring questions about the ethical boundaries of filmmaking when the subjects of violence are real, living animals.

Censorship & Critical Response

The film's unflinching depiction of animal suffering did not go unnoticed by regulatory bodies. In 1982, the British Columbia Film Classification Branch in Canada issued a ban on the picture, effectively barring it from public exhibition within the province. This early act of censorship underscored the degree to which the film's content challenged prevailing standards of acceptable material, even in a market that typically accommodated a wide range of horror fare. Decades later, critical attention has been pointed but divided. In 2023, Jeffrey Kauffman of Blu-ray.com described Calamity of Snakes as a completely gonzo outing, acknowledging that it contains scattered moments of humor while noting that these lighter beats are inevitably overshadowed by the genuinely disturbing imagery of snakes being killed in various ways. Kauffman's assessment captures the tonal dissonance that defines the viewing experience: a film that attempts levity while simultaneously presenting some of the most viscerally upsetting animal-harm footage in the genre.

Home Media & the Cruelty-Free Cut

In April 2023, Unearthed Films brought Calamity of Snakes to modern home-video audiences with a dual-format release on both Blu-ray and DVD. The package includes a notable addition: a second, edited version marketed as a cruelty-free cut, which excises all shots depicting snakes being harmed. This alternate version runs approximately ten minutes shorter than the original theatrical release, a significant trim that underscores just how central the animal-harm sequences were to the film's overall structure. The decision to offer both versions speaks to the ongoing tension surrounding the movie: it is simultaneously a horror artifact worth preserving and a piece of media whose most memorable sequences involve real, documented animal suffering. The dual-release approach allows viewers to engage with the film's narrative and atmosphere while providing an option for those who find the authentic cruelty footage too difficult to watch. For a 1982 Taiwan-Hong Kong co-production, the 2023 home-media treatment represents a meaningful act of preservation for a film that has long existed at the intersection of horror cinema and ethical controversy.