Copperhead Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		2.5

Copperhead Blu-ray Movie Review

Copperhead – The Snake Movie is a regional horror creature feature involving snakes – and plenty of them. Produced by Leland Payton and Crystal Payton, Copperhead – The Snake Movie is a little seen horror film that went under-the- radar with most audiences. The film stars Jack Renner, Gretta Ratliff, James Booth, and Daniel Schell. Copperhead – The Snake Movie also co-stars David Fritts and Cheryl Nickerson. In other words, Copperhead – The Snake Movie has no big name stars and the film is being sold on its horror premise above any name connections you might have never heard of before.

It’s a family affair and the events that transpire involve the entire family. Howard Randall (Jack Renner) is the father and he takes on a commanding personality over the rest of his family members. Howard has a way about himself and he is obsessed with snakes – and shooting snakes.

Donna Randall (Gretta Ratliff) is Howard’s spouse – a significant other to Howard’s eccentricities. Curtis Randall (James Booth) is Howard’s odd-as-a-duckling son. There’s also the would-be successful son-in-law, Mark Comer (Daniel Schell), inspired by greed.

The entire family finds themselves in a strange circumstance when deadly snakes – copperheads – begin to reign. What makes these snakes so venomous and deadly compared to other snakes of their kind? Drama unfolds as events reach turbulence and a valuable gold necklace of Inca origin enters the equation.

The performances aren’t the work of classically trained actors and the performances feel more akin to improvised performances than roles that were carefully rehearsed in advance. Regardless of the prep time undertaken, the performances feel raw and unfiltered. The cast seems to have some fun but the performances feel a bit uneven and unfocused. There is a sense of community with the cast (as if the cast members were just determined to have some fun making a movie).

The music by Gerald Kemner and James Mobberley adds to the regional quality of the feature-film. The music showcases a selection of styles. Gerald Kemner adds piano themes and James Mobberley adds some electronic music to the production. The score isn’t the best out there but it’s also perfectly fine given the regional quality of the filmmaking. The music fits the bill for the low-budget nature of the film.

Edited by Kevin Hudnell (City Confidential, Murder Book), Copperhead – The Snake Movie is a slow and uneven film with a sense of pace being an issue from the first scene. The editing isn’t tight or focused. There is a sense that the pace could have been improved with some extra trimming to the film. The pacing doesn’t succeed at making the story flow with the best precision.

The cinematography by Kevin Hudnell is run-of-the-mill and low-budget. The cinematography doesn’t have much room to shine with such a low budget and the low production values of the film shows as something especially relevant to the filmmaking. The cinematography doesn’t really add any dread, horror, or terror the genre or style of filmmaking.

Written and directed by Leland Payton, Copperhead – The Snake Movie is an average regional horror film. Surprisingly, Copperhead – The Snake Movie has some good moments on occasion amidst the laidback atmosphere of the filmmaking and production. It’s not an especially well-paced movie. It certainly has uneven qualities. Yet if Payton’s ultimate goal was to have fun making a low-budget production, at least there’s some success. Regional horror shot-on-video fans might consider it worth renting. The film isn’t a long-lost masterpiece of regional horror awaiting to be discovered by a new audience of cineastes – it’s exactly how it sounds from the title. The film isn’t going to blow anyone away but it won’t put audiences to sleep (unless a venomous snake somehow bites you during the viewing).

Copperhead Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Terror Vision, Copperhead – The Snake Movie is presented in 1080i MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition as an upscale of the shot-on-video feature presentation. The release is a shot on video (SOV) horror. A production that was previously difficult to find on home video. This is a full frame presentation of the shot-on-video footage.

As a result of the low-quality shot on video nature of the production, the cinematography, and aesthetic looks about the same as a video tape would look. The quality isn’t going to be any better in the future because of the low-quality production methods used to produce the film. Terror Vision has done an admirable job preserving these video presentation qualities of the shot-on-video film. Bit-rates don’t make as big of a difference with low-fi filmmaking like this one but the encode quality by Terror Vision is acceptable all things considered.

Copperhead Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in English uncompressed PCM 1.0 mono. The audio doesn't sound any better or worse than one might expect. The audio sounds serviceable and fine for a shot-on-video movie with a low budget. The audio dynamics are average. The sound is somewhat muted and average at best. A presentation well preserved by Terror Vision given the modest sound design to begin with for this production. Fidelity can't sound as good as modern feature-film productions because of the low-fi nature of the production itself and there isn't much that can be done about it. Audiophiles can moan about it all day long and it still won't make the film sound any better than it does. The hiss of the snake isn't going to shake the LFE too much.

Copperhead Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Perhaps the best "extra" is the cool collectible slipcover on the release. The package comes with a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The artwork on the slipcover is incredibly cool and has great heft. The release looks great in hand. The inside sleeve art is different from the slipcover artwork, too. The inner sleeve artwork adds a nice touch to the package design as well. Terror Vision does a great job with regards to packaging.

The release includes two cuts of the feature-film: Copperhead – The Snake Movie – Original Version (SD, 1:35:46) and Copperhead – The Snake Movie – Cruelty Free Edit (SD, 1:31:17). The cruelty free edit is something that will appeal to fans of edited films and fans of animal-free cruelty (when animals are actually harmed during production in one shape or form). Audiences seeking the most authentic and uncensored version may wish to opt for the original version.

New Interview with Writer/Director Leland Payton (HD, 12:30)

New Interview with Producer Crystal Payton (HD, 12:45)

New Interview with Actor Ross Payton (HD, 9:45)

Feature Length Audio Commentary with Leland Payton, Crystal Payton, and Ross Payton

Video Commentary with Leland Payton and Crystal Payton (HD, 28:23)

Feature Length Commentary with The Mixed Six

Isolated Score

Storyboards, Script, and Press Materials (HD, 9:49)

Bonus Lost Film: Motorhome From Hell (HD, 1:44:38)

Motorhome From Hell Audio Commentary 1

Motorhome From Hell Audio Commentary 2

Motorhome From Hell Trailer (HD, 1:24)

Motorhome From Hell Press Materials (HD, 3:35)

Motorhome From Hell KY3 TV Promo (SD, 3:08)

Copperhead Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Copperhead – The Snake Movie is a region horror oddity that might appeal to fans of bad shot on video horror films. The film has some strange charms but it also is a bit over-the-top and silly (with average performances and weak production elements). The film is silly and the pace is uneven but some audiences might enjoy it as an offbeat horror oddity. The Blu-ray from Terror Vision provides the shot-on-video feature with an abundance of supplemental features. This release might an example of where extras fans (who enjoy delving into countless supplements) might prefer this to the main feature. Worth a look for fans of low-budget oddities.  The Blu-ray release also comes with a nicely designed o-card slip that is arguably nicer than the film itself.