It is reported, from both press and previous commentary sources, that Tobe Hooper was originally the director of this crime thriller/slithery horror chiller, but nine days into the production he was fired (reasons have never been made clear).
With the cast already in place and production time limited, a last minute replacement for the direction of the film took the form of television series filmmaker Piers Haggard, who had only recently made to the move to feature films — The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu the previous year (1980).
Directing “on the fly” (so to speak), Haggard dumped all of Hooper’s footage and started fresh. How the Hooper film would have played out — compared to what Haggard delivered — remains a topic of discussion among genre fans to this day.
It’s a fool proof plan, except there’s mix-up on a pet snake delivery — changing the storyline from a kidnapping caper to a horror tale — and in no time the snake (in the upscale London townhouse), which is a deadly Black Mamba, attacks and kills the sexy Susan George (good lord, what were they thinking in killing her off in the first act???).
To make matters worse, the snake toxicologist (Sarah Miles) for which the Black Mamba was intended, discovers the mix-up and informs the police. An office stops by to inform the residents that there was a little mix-up and is promptly shot dead. The chauffer, the kidnapper, the hotel owner and kid are now trapped with a killer on the loose and the police surrounding the place … tick tock, tick tock, who will be the next victim!!
Bonus goodies include two commentary options — the vintage Pier Haggard commentary (detailing the production) and a newly-prepared commentary with film historians Troy Howarth, Nathaniel Thompson and Eugenio Ercolani.
Blue Underground has also prepared four new featurettes — “Fangs for the Memories,” “A Slithery Story,” “Mamba Memories” and “Pick Your Poison.”
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