Sssssss Blu-ray Review

3.5 Stars A hissing good time.

Strother Martin shines as mad scientist Dr. Carl Stoner, wanting to save the human race by helping them “evolve” into cobrasĀ inĀ Sssssss, the last of the drive-in double bills from Universal in 1973.

Sssssss (1973)
Released: 01 Jul 1973
Rated: PG
Runtime: 99 min
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Cast: Strother Martin, Dirk Benedict, Heather Menzies-Urich, Richard B. Shull
Writer(s): Hal Dresner (screenplay), Daniel C. Striepeke (story)
Plot: A college student becomes lab assistant to a scientist who is working on a serum that can transform humans into snakes.
IMDB rating: 5.3
MetaScore: N/A

Disc Information
Studio: Scream Factory
Distributed By: Shout! Factory
Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: English SDH
Rating: PG
Run Time: 1 Hr. 39 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
Case Type: Blu-ray keepcase
Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 04/26/2016
MSRP: $27.99

The Production: 3.5/5

Dr. Carl Stoner (Strother Martin) feels man is on the verge of extinction, and the only way to for man to survive is to evolve. Being a herpetologist, and with the depletion of fossil fuels (this is the early 1970s), Stoner believes only the cold-blooded areĀ likely to survive. When his latest experiment fails, he sells the results to Kogen (Tim O’Conner), the owner of a travelling carnival to use in his sideshow. In need of an assistant and additional funding, Stoner visits the department head at the local college, Dr. Daniels (Richard B. Schull), who thinks Stoner to be a crackpot and practically has Stoner on his hands and knees begging for assistance. Daniels assigns one of his students, David Blake (Dirk Benedict), to Stoner. Ā David is incredibly naive and accepts the assignment, which he quickly finds out includes so-called inoculations to snake venom and living in the doctor’s home with his nerdy daughter Kristina (Heather Menzies). What David doesn’t know is that those inoculations are transforming his body, causing him to shed the outer layer of his skin at first, and eventually transforming him into a cobra.

Yes,Ā Ssssssss is a relatively silly movie, and it knows it, never taking itself too seriously. Credit has to go to the director, Bernard L. Kowalski, whose resume includes the Roger Corman producedĀ Night of the Blood Beast andĀ Attack of the Killer Leeches, and to one of the best character actors of all time, Strother Martin, who brings a believability and sympathy to his portrayal of Stoner. We know his beliefs and intentions are wrong, but we also know that he firmly believes he is doing the right thing. Dirk Benedict brings enough goofiness and naivete to David to make him believable. Heather Menzies plays Kristina as a free spirit of sorts, believing in her father’s work in extracting venom for medicinal purposes but completely unaware of his true intentions. Richard B. Schull brings a real sleaziness to Dr. Daniels that will have the audience cheering his eventual fate. Fans ofĀ Mystery Science Theater 3000 may recognize Reb Brown (fromĀ Space Mutiny) as the school bully and jock Steve Randall.Ā Sssssss has a place in history: it was the last of the drive-in double features from Universal, it was the first film produced by Richard Zanuck and David Brown (who would go on to produceĀ The Sting andĀ Jaws, to name a few), and was the movie playing at the drive-in in Steven Spielberg’s first theatrical feature,Ā The Sugarland Express.

Video: 4/5

3D Rating: NA

Universal has provided Shout! Factory with a very nice 1080p transfer, compressed using the AVC codec, and retaining the film’s intended 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Colors are consistent and never oversaturated, with realistic flesh tones (well, except when David begins to turn green before his final transformation). Contrast is also very good, with deep blacks that provide excellent shadow detail. And overall, detail is quite good, allowing the viewer to see the scales on many of the snakes, but also revealing the badly applied mattes used during the skinny dipping scene to avoid an R rating. There is some occasional softness to the image, some of it evident during optical transitions and obvious frame blow-ups, but nothing to be overly concerned about.

Audio: 4/5

The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono soundtrack does its job with increased fidelity and dynamic range. Dialogue is clear and understandable for the most part (Strother Martin does mumble a few lines of dialogue), and the score by Patrick Williams is present but never overpowering. The track is free of any noticeable hiss, pops, or crackles.

Special Features: 3/5

My Reptilian Past with Dirk Benedict (1080p; 17:39): This is a veryĀ entertaining interview in which Benedict discusses his audition for the film with Richard Zanuck, the naivete of his character, and has some amusing stories about working with the director and Strother Martin.

The Herpetologist’s Daughter with Heather Menzies (1080p; 15:09): The actress discusses how she was cast in the film, working with Strother Martin, and comparing her experiences onĀ Sssssss andĀ Piranha.

Photo Gallery (1080p; 3:40): A collection of production stills, lobby cards, and movie posters.

Radio Spots (1:29):Ā Don’t say it, hissss it! Four archival radio spots for the film.

Theatrical Trailers (1080p; 4:10): Two trailers are provided, the domestic trailer in a cropped and faded 1.33:1 and a much better looking international trailer in 1.85:1 (in German?) calling the filmĀ Snake Cobra!

Reversible Cover Insert: Choose between a standard cover or the film’s re-issue artwork (adding the fact that it was produced by the same team that madeĀ Jaws).

Overall: 3.5/5

Sssssss is a fun little horror gem from the 1970s, finally available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory’s Scream Factory imprint. I would have liked a few more extras on the disc, but these new interview segments are good enough to satisfy most fans of the film.

Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning shortĀ The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favoriteĀ The Adventures of Terrific ManĀ two years later. Other films includeĀ Myth or Fact: The Talbert TerrorĀ andĀ Warren's RevengeĀ (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcastĀ Streaming News & ViewsĀ on YouTube and is a frequent guest on theĀ Home Theater UnitedĀ podcast.

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Everett S.

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We had this @ the Grand theatre in Baltimore, City back then. I can't recall the 2nd feature,or if we even ran one. We never ran double features. The Irivington were I saw many films as a kid, would cover up the double feature posters and show one film on Sun.,Mon.,and tues.,then uncover the 2nd movie and show it on Weds.,Thursday,and Friday. I guess they didn't need to run double features. Highest ticket prices were 1.50 and child .50. I remember standing many times watching the films when the SRO sign was up.
 

John Sparks

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Well, if you have a very, very large physical media collection, would this BD be worth a double dip from the stand alone SD issued from MGM years past?
 

Todd Erwin

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Well, if you have a very, very large physical media collection, would this BD be worth a double dip from the stand alone SD issued from MGM years past?
Not having owned the barebones Universal DVD, I would say that the interviews are worth the double-dip alone.
 

Todd Erwin

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Sssssss played on a double bill with The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, which I believe has never received a home video release.

We had this @ the Grand theatre in Baltimore, City back then. I can't recall the 2nd feature,or if we even ran one. We never ran double features. The Irivington were I saw many films as a kid, would cover up the double feature posters and show one film on Sun.,Mon.,and tues.,then uncover the 2nd movie and show it on Weds.,Thursday,and Friday. I guess they didn't need to run double features. Highest ticket prices were 1.50 and child .50. I remember standing many times watching the films when the SRO sign was up.
 

John Sparks

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Not having owned the barebones Universal DVD, I would say that the interviews are worth the double-dip alone.

To me, "NO" interview is worth a double dip. It's only about the movie. Maybe that's one of the reasons (which I don't care for) that some of these take so long to put out, trying to get commentaries made and interviews set up.
 
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