The Serpent is a 2020 American action film written, directed and produced by Gia Skova,[1] who also stars in the film. It revolves around a CIA special agent who is set up by her own agency. The cast also includes Travis Aaron Wade, Craig Conway, Jason Scott Jenkins, Nigel Vonas and Jason Burril.[2][3]
| The Serpent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Gia Skova |
| Written by | Gia Skova |
| Produced by | Gia Skova |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Lars Lindstrom |
| Music by | Mikel Shae Prather |
Production company | Vallholl Production |
| Distributed by | Vertical Limitis |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Critical response to the film was overwhelmingly negative.
Plot
editLucinda Kavsky is a secret agent who is sent by the CIA to China as part of a biological experiment that could extend human life. However, on arrival she is trapped by the agency, who attempts to kill her. She escapes and uncovers an international plot. Seeking revenge and retribution she takes out each of her enemies.
Cast
edit- Gia Skova as Lucinda Kavsky
- Travis Aaron Wade as Detective Franklin
- Nigel Vonas as Pierce
- Kristhoper Graves as Gerry
- Richard E. Wilson as CIA director Gozby
- Akihiro Kitamura as Dr. Lee
- Alexandra Tebano as Gozby's wife
- Violet Heath as Avy
Production
editThe Serpent was partially filmed on location in Los Angeles.[4] The film is Gia Skova's directorial debut.[5]
Release
editThe Serpent premiered in Dubai on January 4, 2020 at Novo Cinemas IMG but was only distributed in 2021 by Vertical Entertainment in Canada and the United States,[6] where it premiered in June that year.[7]
Reception
editA review at RogerEbert.com criticized the film's extreme lack of continuity and called it "a start-to-finish train wreck, a laughable piece of 'cinema' made by people who really have no business making movies." The review cited as an example a scene purportedly set in New York, but filmed in front of the Los Angeles Theater with the marquee bearing the building's name fully visible to the viewer and concluded, "If The Serpent proves anything, it's that Russian ladies can make lousy action movies too."[4]
Another extremely negative review, at RogerMoore's movie Nation, ironically commented, "Perhaps there’s a drinking game in this? Take a shot every time her character grabs a gun, take two shots every time she fiddles with her hair?" and considered the film contained "the worst car chase in film history".[8]
The website Girls with Guns also criticized the confused script: "The action is no great shakes, except for one sequence where she is helping a doctor remove one of the chips from Avy (Heath) a subject she has rescured, when her phone is tracked to the hospital and an assault launched. The resulting battle is... Well, realism isn’t its strong suit, shall we say?"[9]
A review at Blu-Ray.com commented, "The Serpent gets around to gunplay and showdowns, including a medical clinic siege where Lucinda is tasked with mowing down a special forces unit, going full Rambo in the process. Of course it’s ridiculous, but I don’t think Skova really cares, gifting herself a chance to become a major force of violence and heroism, possibly paying for the privilege herself. Take it seriously, and The Serpent will likely trigger an aneurysm. It’s such an editorial ball of mush with all sorts of lame DTV moves, but it does work, in a way, as a Bad Movie Night Option."[10] The film was described as "nonsensical",[11] "incomprehensible",[12] a reviewer at ParentsPreviews confessing, "Ordinarily, I start reviews with a quick plot synopsis. That is functionally impossible here."[13]
Other independent reviews were also quite negative,[14][15][16] one reviewer going as far as to state that "The dialogues of this film are very meme-worthy because the lines remind me a lot of The Room. The conversations sounded like they were written by Google Translate. This film will be very successful if it is marketed as a comedy because of the parody vibes it has going on. I had seen porn with better acting than this movie but the bad acting is part of its charm."[17]
Sequel and videogame announcement
editSkova announced that there were plans for a sequel and that she had closed an agreement for the development of a videogame based on her film.[18]
References
edit- ^ Prestridge, James (2018-08-24). "Close-up: An Interview with Gia Skova". Close-Up Culture. Archived from the original on 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ "Model Gia Skova writes, directs and stars in new film 'The Serpent'". Blasting News. 2021-09-13. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
- ^ "Gia Skova Commits Espionage in New Action-Packed Trailer for THE SERPENT". We Are Movie Geeks. 2021-06-01. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
- ^ a b Craig D. Lindsey (June 18, 2021). "Reviews: The Serpent". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "Actress-filmmaker Gia Skova's Protagonist Defends Herself Against Government Agents in The Serpent Exclusive Clip". Shockya.com. 2021-06-23. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
- ^ "Gia Skova Writes & Directs & Stars in Action Film 'The Serpent' Trailer | FirstShowing.net". firstshowing.net. 2021-06-01. Archived from the original on 2023-08-27. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Al_Taransky (2021-06-20). ""The Serpent" could be the next "The Room"". popgeeks.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
- ^ Moore, Roger (2021-06-16). "Movie Review: Model/Actress Gia Skova writes, directs and stars in "The Serpent"". Movie Nation. Archived from the original on 2023-07-31. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ McLennan, Jim (2021-01-13). "Review: The Serpent". Girls With Guns. Archived from the original on 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "The Serpent (2020)". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Muir, Nathaniel (2021-06-23). "'The Serpent': Nonsensical CIA movie lacks charm". aiptcomics.com. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ "Movie Review: 'The Serpent' is 'The Room' of Action Movies". Geeks. Archived from the original on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ "The Serpent Movie Review for Parents". parentpreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ Yakominich, Luke (2021-06-25). "The Serpent- Gia Skova's Awful Spy Movie". HorrorBuzz. Archived from the original on 2023-07-31. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ "The Serpent 2021 Movie Review". abcentertainment.co.in. 10 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ J.B. "The Serpent Misfires". Archived from the original on 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ "The Serpent Is an Action Film Not to Be Confused With the Netflix Show of the Same Name". Pop Geeks. Archived from the original on 2024-01-29. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ Davis, Ruth (2022-07-09). ""The Serpent" Video Game and Film Sequel "The Serpent 2" COMING SOON, by Gia Skova". EIN Presswire. Retrieved 2024-04-06.