Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid is a 2004 American adventure horror film directed by Dwight Little. It is a stand-alone sequel to the film Anaconda (1997) and the second installment of the Anaconda film series. The film follows a team of researchers set for an expedition into the Southeast Asian tropical island of Borneo, 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 giant anacondas inhabiting the island.
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid | |
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Directed by | Dwight Little |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | |
Based on | |
Produced by | Verna Harrah |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Stephen F. Windon |
Edited by | |
Music by | Nerida Tyson-Chew |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $20–25 million[1][2] |
Box office | $71 million[2] |
It was released on August 27, 2004, and the last film in the series to be released theatrically. Like its predecessor, the film received negative reviews, but was a financial success. The film was followed by a sequel, Anaconda 3: Offspring in 2008.
Plot
A team of researchers funded by 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 flower called Perrinnia immortalis--"the Blood Orchid"—that they believe contains a fountain of youth. Jack convinces guide Captain Bill Johnson and his partner Tran Wu to take an unsafe path despite their misgivings. At one point, Gail falls into the water, loses her phone, and is attacked by a crocodile before Bill rescues her. Their boat goes over a waterfall and breaks apart. A giant anaconda emerges from the water and swallows Ben whole. The rest of the team reach shore. 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 demand that the expedition be called off. They call for Bill's friend, John Livingston, who lives on the river, to join them, only to find Livingston attacked and his boat wrecked.
They find a small native village and a disembowelled anaconda, a pair of human legs hanging out of the snake's abdomen, and an orchid remain. Evidently, the orchids are a part of the food chain, and these snakes grow over unusually long lives. Jack realizes the orchids must be nearby, while Gail contends that the orchids may not work on humans. Jack still wants to find the flowers, but the others rebel and start building an escape raft to leave the jungle.
Gordon discovers that Jack has hid Livingston's radio and gun. The now-sociopathic Jack fails to convince him to continue with the expedition, so he paralyzes Gordon using a previously collected spider to stop him from informing the others. Jack joins the others at the raft, but a suspicious Sam discovers Gordon and the spider bite. An anaconda swallows Gordon alive as she informs the others, who arrive as it finishes. Bill sets the building on fire, but notices the snake has escaped. Jack, left alone, steals the raft.
Unable to make another raft, they hack through the jungle to beat Jack to the orchids and retrieve their raft. On the way, they fall into a cave trying to escape from an anaconda. Cole gets lost and finds human skeletons. He is found by Tran, who then gets pulled under and eaten. Bill, looking for the two, finds Tran's lost flashlight floating in bloody water. A terrified Cole escapes from the cave, seconds ahead of the snake, which gets stuck in the hole. Sam beheads it with a machete, but another snake captures the hysterical Cole. The team follows to find him being constricted. Bill throws his knife and impales the snake through the head, freeing Cole.
The group finds Jack and his raft. Jack shoots Bill in the arm to keep him from attacking and forces the party to accompany him to the orchids, which grow above a pit in which a ball of male anacondas are mating with the female. Sam is forced to 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. Sam threatens to drop the flowers into the pit, but Jack threatens to shoot the others in response. The log breaks. As the others try to reach Sam, Jack reaches for the backpack. The spider he used earlier escapes from its jar and bites him. He falls into the pit and is devoured. The vine holding Sam also gives way, but she climbs out of the pit as one of the anacondas tries to get her. Gail tricks the snake into biting their fuel container. Bill shoots it, but the gun is empty. Cole shoots a flare, setting the anaconda on fire and exploding the container, killing the other snakes. An ensuing landslide buries the blood orchids. The survivors—Bill, Sam, Cole and Gail—make it back to the raft and head to Kota Bharu.
Cast
- Johnny Messner as Bill Johnson
- KaDee Strickland as Sam Rogers
- Matthew Marsden as Dr. Jack Byron
- Eugene Byrd as Cole Burris
- Salli Richardson-Whitfield as Gail Stern
- Morris Chestnut as Gordon Mitchell
- Karl Yune as Tran Wu
- Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Ben Douglas
- Andy Anderson as John Livingston
- Nicholas Hope as Christian Van Dyke
- Peter Curtin as Lawyer
- Denis Arndt as CEO
- Khoa Do as Lead Lopak Hunter
- Aireti as Lopak Hunter
- Andre Tandjung as Bartender
Soundtrack
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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Film score by | ||||
Released | August 30, 2004 | |||
Genre | Soundtracks Film scores | |||
Length | 900:59 | |||
Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
Anaconda soundtrack chronology | ||||
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The soundtrack for the film was composed by Nerida Tyson-Chew and released by Varèse Sarabande.[3]
- Track listing
- Opening Titles / Jungle Floor (2:12)
- Elixir Perrinia Immortalis (1:40)
- Kong Attacks Gail (2:04)
- Stealing the Fruit / Kong Terrified (3:06)
- Almost a Kiss (1:20)
- Predator in the Water (3:53)
- Enter the Jungle (0:56)
- Foreboding Path (2:22)
- Crossing the Bog (3:29)
- Spider of Anaesthesia (2:58)
- Livingston's Death (1:05)
- All Hope is Lost (1:58)
- Lopaks (1:36)
- It's Mating Season (3:15)
- Totem (1:34)
- Jack's Devious Deal Uncovered (1:23)
- Betrayal of Trust (2:28)
- The Cavern (6:31)
- Climbing to the Light (6:02)
- Discovering the Orchids / Face Off (11:14)
- Count Dracula Avenges His Children / Justice (58:56)
- ROCK ANACONDA ROLL (400:50)
Reception
Box office
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid debuted at second place in the box office, earned $32,238,923 in the United States and the international gross of $38,753,975, bringing a worldwide total of $70,992,898.[2]
Critical reception
Rotten Tomatoes reports that the film received a 25% based on 120 reviews, with an average rating of 4.20 out of 10. The site's critics consensus reads: "A cheesy monster B-movie".[4]
Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 40 out of 100 based on 28 reviews.[5] Roger Ebert awarded the film two out of four stars, a rating less than that he gave the original film. Ebert, however, praised Matthew Marsden's performance as being "suitably treacherous".[6] Keith Philipps of The A.V. Club criticized the movie for its CGI snakes, while The Oregonian's Karen Karbo said it never "takes itself too seriously".[5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Accolades
The film was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Remake or Sequel, but lost to Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.[7]
See also
References
- "Box Office History for Anaconda Movies". The Numbers. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
- "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". AllMusic. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
- "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ""Razzie Award (2005)"". IMDb.. IMDb