Rattlesnake

Zak Hilditch's Rattlesnake is not too dissimilar to your average Stephen King exploit, compared to the likes of In the Tall Grass or Pet Semetary. A simplistic plot built on vague mysticism with haunting subject matter crafted in suspense and tension. All that is needed to form the lifeblood of a successful or a disastrous feature, depending on how its executed.

Rattlesnake falls somewhere in the middle of both adequate and underwhelming. The positive — ironically enough — acts as the films most apparent negative: the plot. Simplistic and clear, yes, but the feature’s emotional thematic weight isn't here for the audience to root for or engage with; therefore, the immersion and engagement is incredibly lacking to care about these characters. Ultimately, without any thematic weight the plot goes from being simplistic to paper-thin. In part due to the writing of the screenplay by writer and director Zak Hilditch, of which is bland and uninspiring at every turn.

Development, depth and arcs are nowhere to be found, and the lead performance of Carmen Ejogo struggles to conjure up a significant portion of interest due to the lacking material, even if she is undoubtedly the best aspect of production by a country mile. Ejogo showcases a decent physically tactile performance with terrific emotional fatigue, but the trajectory of said character is wasted in false repetitive story beats and a film that fails to pull on the moving heartstrings of the characters involved.

Rattlesnake is released exclusively on NETFLIX October 25, 2019.