Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Dwight Little
Produced by Verna Harrah
Screenplay by
Story by
Starring
Music by Nerida Tyson-Chew
Cinematography Stephen F. Windon
Edited by
Distributed by Screen Gems
Release dates
  • August 27, 2004 (2004-08-27)
Running time
 97 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $20 million[1]
Box office $71 million[1]

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (also known as Anaconda 2 or Anacondas) is a 2004 adventure horror film directed by Dwight Little and the sequel to the 1997 film Anaconda. The film is the second installment of the Anaconda film series and the last film in the series to be released theatrically. The film follows a team of researchers set for an expedition into the Southeast Asian tropical island of Borneo, which comprises territories belonging to three countries, to search for a sacred flower, for which they believe will bring humans to a longer and healthier life, but soon become stalked and hunted by the deadly anacondas inhabiting the island. The origin of the giant anaconda from the original film is also explained.

Plot

A team of researchers funded by a New York pharmaceutical firm Wexel Hall, including Dr. Jack Byron, Gordon Mitchell, Sam Rogers, Gail Stern, Cole Burris, and Dr. Ben Douglas leave for a jungle in Borneo to search for a "blood orchid", a flower they believe can be used as a type of fountain of youth. Though their guide Captain Bill Johnson and his partner Tran has misgivings about which path to take, Jack convinces him to take an unsafe path. The team goes over a waterfall and has to wade through the river. A giant anaconda emerges from the water and swallows Ben whole, but the rest of the team escapes the river. Bill assures them that it was the largest snake he has ever seen and that it should take weeks for it to grow hungry again. However, most of the team demands that the expedition be called off. They travel to Bill's friend, John Livingston, who lives on the river to see if Johnson can borrow his boat but they find Livingston dead and his boat crashed.

They find themselves in a small native village consisting of thatched huts and a disemboweled anaconda with a pair of human legs hanging out of the snake's abdomen. The team realizes that the snakes are unusually large in size because their lives have been extended through the orchids, which are a part of the local food chain. Jack says that since they must be close to the orchids, they should press on. However, the others contend that there is no evidence that the orchids will have the same effect on humans. Wanting to leave, they start building an escape raft.

Gordon discovers Livington's radio and gun and realizes he could have called for help long ago. Jack is unable to convince him to allow the expedition to continue, so he paralyzes him using a poisonous spider. As Jack joins the others at the raft, Sam discovers Mitchell and the spider bite. An anaconda drops down from the rafters and swallows Gordon alive soon after she leaves the building. The others arrive just as it finishes, so Bill sets the building on fire in hopes of killing the anaconda but notices that it already made its escape. Jack uses the commotion to steal the raft.

With no more material to make another raft, they bushwack through the jungle to beat Jack to the orchids and retrieve their raft. On the way they fall into a cave trying to escape an anaconda. Cole gets lost and panics after finding a skeleton. He runs into Bill's partner, Tran, and as they return to the others, Tran gets pulled under and Cole tries to find him but all he sees is Tran's lost flashlight floating. Tran is eaten by an anaconda underwater. Bill tries to find Cole and Tran but also notices Tran's lost flashlight floating but with his blood surrounded by it. The terrified Cole escapes the caves behind the group seconds ahead of the snake. It follows him through the hole and gets stuck. Sam uses a machete to behead the snake, but another snake captures Cole. The team follows and find him being constricted but still alive. Bill throws his knife and impales the snake through the head, killing it and freeing Cole.

The group finds the raft just as Jack finds the blood orchids, hanging precariously above a pit in which a ball of male anacondas are mating with the queen. Byron shoots Johnson in the arm and forces the party to accompany him to the orchids. He has Sam cross the pit via a thin log to fill a backpack with orchids. As she returns, the log cracks. Jack orders her to throw him the backpack, but Sam threatens to drop the flowers into the pit unless he drops the gun. The log breaks, and she falls, landing halfway down the pit. As the others help her climb out, Jack attempts to retrieve the backpack. The spider he used to paralyze Gordon escapes its jar and bites him. Jack falls into the pit and is devoured as Sam and the others escape.

The female anaconda notices them, but Gail tricks it into biting their fuel container. Bill tries to shoot the snake, but the gun is empty. Cole shoots it with a flare, causing a chain reaction that kills the snakes and destroys the blood orchids. Bill, Sam, Cole, and Gail make it back to the raft and leave.

Cast

Reception

The review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received 26% positive reviews based on 117 reviews.[2] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 40 out of 100 based on 28 reviews.[3] Roger Ebert awarded the film two out of four stars, a rating less than that he gave the original film. Ebert, however, praised the acting of Matthew Marsden as being "suitably treacherous".[4]

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Remake or Sequel, but lost the trophy to Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2015-05-31.
  2. ↑ "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  3. ↑ "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  4. ↑ "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid". Chicago Sun-Times.
  5. ↑ "Razzie Award (2005)". imdb

External links

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