Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004)

Movie Info

There are anaconda in that there water!

A research team finds themselves in a race against time.  A rare orchid called the Blood Orchid has a short life but could be a modern Fountain of Youth.  Travelling to Borneo, the team discovers it is the rainy season and no one except Bill Johnson (Johnny Messner) will take them up the river.  When they encounter a giant anaconda, the group learns that the anacondas mating season must be coinciding with the Blood Orchid’s bloom, and a boat crash puts the whole mission in jeopardy…and the group must take sides if they choose to go on or just hope to survive!

Directed by Dwight H. Little, Anacondas:  The Hunt for the Blood Orchid the big screen follow-up to the highly panned sleeper hit Anaconda from 1997.  Like its predecessor, Anaconda:  The Hunt for the Blood Orchid was given poor reviews and was not as successful in theaters.  It was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Remake or Sequel (losing to Scooby-Doo 2:  Monsters Unleashed).

I can’t be dying because you can’t be here…no really

I liked Anaconda.  It was a horrible movie, but it was fun…especially with a group.  Anaconda’s success led to a myriad of “giant animal killer movies” on channels like SyFy and instead of pumping out a quick and dirty sequel, Anaconda waited seven years…and instead of improving on effects and story, it fell apart even more.

Anaconda:  The Hunt for the Blood Orchid has a major flaw…anacondas don’t live in Borneo.  I figured that the story was going back ot the Amazon but then the film starts out with natives hunting a tiger (which also no longer live in Borneo along with most of the wildlife in the film).  All of the bad research was crammed into a story that had little drive or excitement.

Another thing that saved Anaconda was the up and coming cast.  Anacondas did not fare as well in this respect.  None of the cast stands out and even a cameo by someone like Ice Cube or Eric Stoltz might have helped the movie.  The cast is dull and as lifeless as the special effect snakes.

I hate meeces to pieces!

Anaconda looked bad in 1997 when it was released.  Even though it was seven years later, Anacondas:  The Hunt for the Blood Orchid looks possibly worse.  The fake looking snakes look even faker, and more action leads to more evidence that the effects aren’t up to par.

Anacondas:  The Hunt for the Blood Orchid is only tied to Anaconda through a mention by one of the characters that he knew a guy in the Amazon that killed by an anaconda.  If the movie had tried to be some sort of sequel to Anaconda, it might have done better.  Anacondas:  Hunt for the Blood Orchid just doesn’t cut it.  It was followed by a made-for-TV movie Anaconda 3:  Offspring for SyFy in 2008.

Related Links:

Anaconda (1997)