Anaconda Steelbook Blu Ray Review (Mill Creek Entertainment)

Anaconda is a 1997 horror film directed by Luis Llosa (Sniper, Fire on the Amazon, The Specialist, Hour of the Assassin, and Crime Zone). It was followed by 2004’s Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, 2008’s Anaconda 3: Offspring, 2009’s Anacondas: Trail of Blood, and 2015’s Lake Placid vs. Anaconda. A remake is currently being developed. It was written by Hans Bauer (Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Komodo, The Flock, and Highwaymen), Jim Cash (Turner & Hooch, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Dick Tracy, and Top Gun), and Jack Epps Jr. (Pigs vs. Freaks, The Secret of My Success, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, and Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid). Gillian Anderson, Julianna Margulies, & Jean Reno were all original casting choices when it was in development. The budget was $45 million and it grossed $136.8 million worldwide at the box office!!!!

A poacher (played by: Danny Trejo from Heat, Machete 1/2, From Dusk Till Dawn franchise, Predators, Death Race franchise, Sons of Anarchy, The Replacement Killers, and The Devil’s Rejects/3 From Hell) hides from an unknown creature in his boat. While it breaks through the boat and attempts to catch the poacher, he makes sure that doesn’t happen. Meanwhile, while shooting a documentary about a long-lost indigenous tribe known as the Shirishamas on the Amazon River, director Terri Flores (played by: Jennifer Lopez from The Cell, Enough, Selena, Money Train, Out of Sight, and U Turn) with members of her crew including cameraman Danny Rich (played by: Ice Cube from Friday franchise, Barbershop franchise, Ghosts of Mars, Boyz N the Hood, Trespass, Three Kings, and Higher Learning), production manager Denise Kalberg (played by: Kari Wuhrer from Thinner, Phoenix, Higher Learning, The Prophecy: Uprising/Forsaken, The Hitcher II, Sharknado 2, and Hellrasier: Deader), sound engineer Gary Dixon (played by: Owen Wilson from Starsky & Hutch, Loki, I-Spy, Wedding Crashers, Father Figures, Zoolander franchise, The Haunting, and Meet the Parents/Fockers), visionary Warren Westridge (played by: Jonathan Hyde from The Strain, Titanic, Jumanji, Crimson Peak, and The Mummy), anthropologist Professor Steven Cale (played by: Eric Stoltz from The Fly II, Pulp Fiction, Some Kind of Wonderful, The Butterfly Effect, The Prophecy, Killing Zoe, and The New Kids), and boat skipper Mateo (played by: Vincent Castellanos from Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive, and The Crow: City of Angels) come across stranded Paraguayan snake hunter Paul Serone (played by: Jon Voight from Heat, Ray Donovan, Midnight Cowboy, Deliverance, 24, National Treasure franchise, Varsity Blues, Mission Impossible, and Runaway Train). They help him out because he knows how to find the tribe they are searching for. Most of the crew are uncomfortable around Serone and Cale clashes with him several times in regards to Shirishama lore. Serone saves one of their lives and ends up earning more trust from the documentary film crew. Serone takes over as commander and captain of the boat. They are then forced to help him achieve his true goal: hunting down and capturing a giant record-breaking green anaconda he had been tracking. The crew starts taking sides between the two factions. No one cam be trusted now. The giant reptile hunts them down one by one. Can they work together long enough to survive this vicious monster????

Anaconda is a true horror movie for me, I am terrified of snakes! So this one actually gives me the creeps. At the time it was made, the visual fx were considered top notch but now they are very outdated but you can still appreciate them for what they are considering what they had to work with on this back in the day. The script was decent and they knew what kind of feature they were making when they wrote it. It really takes advantage of the locations here. Jennifer Lopez is great eye candy and she’s a solid lead in this.

Jon Voight is beyond over the top here as the villain. It’s definitely not even close to being one of his best performances but it’s honestly one of my favorite roles from him. He’s a scumbag in Anaconda and he uses everyone for his own advantages. It has lots of familiar faces with this talented supporting cast which includes Danny Trejo, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz, Kari Wuhrer, Owen Wilson, and Jonathan Hyde. Yes, this movie is a little silly at times and makes fun of itself but it’s very entertaining. It’s a fun horror flick from the killer animal sub-genre. It hasn’t aged that great but it still has some good replay value to it. It’s a perfect film to have friends over for. You can turn this into a drinking game or just riff on it as it plays. Anaconda never took itself serious but it keeps your attention the whole time. Turn off your brain and just enjoy it for what it is!!!!

Let’s talk about how the high definition presentation from Mill Creek! Anaconda has been released on home video and blu ray several times now, it’s the same older master that was used on the previous Mill Creek releases. This 1080p (2.40:1) transfer is still a step down from the older Sony disc but it’s still decent and it’s definitely an upgrade when compared to the DVD. All the locations really shine here. The older visual fx are kinda exposed here and they haven’t aged well since it’s original release. The English: Dolby Digital 2.0 track is solid but it’s another step down when compared to the Sony blu ray release from years ago. The dialogue is very clean, all the chaos with the snakes has a nice boost to them, and the music is elevated.

It actually has a brand new exclusive almost 17 minute interview “There’s a Devil inside Everyone” with the director Luis Llosa on the disc. He chats about the subgenre, the cast, the fx, budget, building the main Anaconda, stories about the production, and a few other things. The original Sony didn’t have any so it’s actually an upgrade in that department if you are comparing those home video releases. The older Sony disc is technically better when it comes to overall quality but it’s much more expensive compared to this newer Mill Creek release so personally I don’t think it’s worth it for this movie unless you are a real huge fan of it. The Mill Creek one is worth getting over the original studio one. This current exclusive Walmart steelbook is honestly good enough when it comes to adding to your collection and the price is very solid on it. It has some really cool packaging and the steelbook definitely stands out from some of it’s other previous past releases. It’s available at Walmart only until the end of the March then it will be everywhere at other spots soon after, CHECK IT OUT!!!!