Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Entertainment: +1 1/2

Content: -2 1/2

Deep in the mysterious jungles of Borneo grows a rare flowering vine, the blood orchid. An American pharmaceutical company believes that enzymes produced by these blossoms could double the life expectancy of humans. Expecting to make billions of dollars on a blood-orchid drug, the company sends a team of scientists including the company founder (Morris Chestnut) to collect orchids for research. The scientists arrive in Borneo in the middle of the rainy season with the local rivers at dangerous levels for travel, but this is the only way to the orchids. The pharmaceutical team hires a sly captain (Johnny Messner) and his old riverboat for passage into the jungle. After three days of travel, the unstable waters cause the riverboat to take a one-way trip over a 100-foot waterfall. The scientists lose most of their equipment and face a long trip back to civilization, but they discover gigantic anacondas that delay their journey.

The horror thriller Anacondas makes a powerful statement concerning the destructive power of greed. A man forsakes all of his friends to pursue wealth, and he loses everything in the end. The movie seems to be saying that greed is more dangerous than man-eating snakes. There is lots of unrealistic violence that makes viewers almost laugh when characters are killed. A man jokes about being attacked and then a snake sneaks up and eats him. Another scene shows a paralyzed man scream as a snake comes for him. The characters often insult and degrade one another. One woman suggests that another woman is having sex with her boss to get a promotion, and a woman looks down on another team member because he is poor. Action violence and scary images primarily in the form of intense snake attacks and insidious language permeate this one, so avoid Anacondas.

Preview Reviewer: Blaine Butcher
Distributor: Screen Gems

Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.

Crude Language: Many (27) times mild (hell 12, damn 4); moderate (b-tt 2, b-stard 1); strong (-ss 3, b-tch 3, SOB 2)

Obscene Language: Many (23+) times moderate (cr-p 2, scr-w 2, s-ck 5); strong (f-word 1 but background song has many f-words, s-word 11, finger gesture 2)

Profanity: Many (27) times moderate (MG 2, OL 1, G 15, G-sake 2); strong (J 3, C 2, JC 2)

Violence: Many times mild (riverboat goes over waterfall, boat explodes on river bank); moderate (crocodile attacks swimming woman, man wrestles crocodile, snake eats animals, snake eats five humans, people fight with snakes, man shoots unarmed man in the arm, man shoots at unarmed woman, poisonous spider bites man); strong (snake eats paralyzed man, snake eats man leaving a pool of blood)

Sex: None

Nudity: None

Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: Several times mild (sleeping with the head cheerleader, woman suggests that couple is having a sexual relationship, man asks woman if they can get together, man tries to kiss woman, someone refers to snakes having an orgy)

Drugs: Several times mild (beer drinking); moderate (man gets drunk while driving a boat)

Other: Appropriate use of God in prayer, man implies that he killed his wife, natives make idols of snakes, woman verbally abuses others, man takes money to do dangerous deeds, corpse seen sticking out of dead snake, man regurgitated by snake)

Running Time: 93 minutes
Intended Audience: Teens and adults

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