Copperhead (2008 film)

Last updated

Copperhead
Copperhead 2008 dvd cover.jpg
DVD cover
Written byRafael Jordan
Directed byTodor Chapkanov
Starring Brad Johnson
Keith Stone
Brad Greenquist
Wendy Carter
Gabriel Womack
Billy Drago
Theme music composer Nathan Furst
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers Phillip J. Roth
Jeffery Beach
CinematographyLorenzo Senatore
EditorJohn Quinn
Running time90 minutes
Production companyUnified Film Organization (UFO)
Original release
Network Sci Fi Channel
ReleaseJune 28, 2008 (2008-06-28)

Copperhead is a 2008 American Western horror film directed by Todor Chapkanov. It stars Brad Johnson, Keith Stone, Brad Greenquist, Wendy Carter, Gabriel Womack, and Billy Drago. [1] The film aired on the Sci Fi Channel on June 28, 2008, and the sister company from Universal Pictures. [2]

Contents

Plot

The film begins with an outlaw named "Wild Bill" riding onto an apparent battlefield. He finds an elderly Mexican, who asks him "what happened" in Spanish "Qué pasa aqui?". He replies, "La Serpienta Del Diablo." Bill then walks to a carriage, a woman falls out, a copperhead slithers out, and Bill shoots it with his gun. He then rides away.

The Next Day, Bill arrives in a town in New Mexico. He walks into the saloon to get a drink, and asks for John Murphy. The bartender named Garrett tells him that Murphy is dead. After he finishes, a cowboy named Jesse demands a poker game with Bill. Jesses' men Will, Roscoe, and "Ponce" hold Bill at gunpoint when Bill tries to tell Jesse that an swarm of highly aggressive snakes are headed straight for the town. Jesse says that if the snakes do not come they will have a gunfight, which they do. Jesse is shot in the chest. Bill is shot in the arm. Jesses' men start shooting at Bill, and Garrett, doctor Josiah, and blacksmith Tannen stop them at gunpoint. Jesse is told to leave, and takes Bill's horse and rides off to Lincoln.

Josiah patches Bill's arm, and they discover the horses, and Henry in the stable have been killed by the snakes. The snakes attack the saloon, and they kill them. They see the swarm coming from over a mountain, and Bill's horse shows up dying, and Bill shoots his horse. Bill tells Sheriff Mercer to give all men every weapon he has in his office. Will, his girlfriend Jane, and saloon girl Darla put school teacher Ms. Murphy, the women and children into the bank safe for safety. Tannen introduces them to his Blacksmith shop, and shows them a Gatling gun, and a flamethrower from the war. They create a pool to corner the snakes. At night the snakes do come, and they start shooting them. Suddenly, a massive swarm shows up, Tannen is killed, and they cover in the saloon. Bill, Will, Roscoe, and "Ponce" go up into Murphy's room. They find blood on his bed, and his gold watch. "Ponce" is killed by snakes by the window. Bill, and Will discovers that Roscoe is responsible for murder of Murphy. They lock him in the room. The snakes emerges from the floor, and Darla is killed. They discover a wall (that isn't very thick enough) that leads to the hotel, and break through. Will, and Garrett go and get the dynamite from the shed in the ally, and kill a snake hiding behind the door. They kill another snake by square dancing on it. The snakes break through the window in the room, they run through the wall to the hotel for safety. Bill gives Will his gun, and Will shoots the dynamite, and destroys the snakes.

In the morning, Bill, Will, Garrett, Jane, Josiah, and Mercer celebrate a drink for Murphy. Josiah realize the snakes are just babies. They encounter Roscoe (who has survived the explosion) holding a pair of guns at them. Suddenly, a giant 40 foot mother copperhead emerges from the ground and eats Roscoe. They run for the Sheriffs' office to take cover from the snake. Mercer tells them to tie the dynamite to Jane, leave her in the street when the snake comes to eat her, kaboom!. Bill punches him and throws him in the cell and locks him in. Bill comes up with a plan to kill the snake. They run for the Blacksmith, Bill finds a length of chain, and Will finds fireplace pokers, they can use to shoot the snake with the Gatling gun. As Mercer inside the cell reaches the keys to free himself, the snake emerges from the ground, and chases Will. Bill throws the chain onto the snakes' neck. Bill finds his boots caught in the chain, and the snake drags him. Garrett starts shooting the fireplace pokers into the snakes' neck, and Jane fires a shotgun at the snakes' side. The snake almost eats Jane, and then destroys the Gatling gun with her head. Bill grabs the shotgun, shoots the snake in the back, then shoots the snake in the mouth, and kills it. Mercer comes out holding a gun and Bill's wanted poster and the snake crushes him.

The Pinkertons arrive looking for Bill, and Garrett tells them a secret that Bill is Murphy. Bill tells the Pinkertons that there's some women and children lock in the bank safe inside. As the Pinkertons go inside to get the women and children out, Bill, Will, Garrett, Jane, and Josiah steal their horses. Bill rides off west, and the others ride off to Lincoln. The Pinkertons start shooting at their escapers and Ms. Murphy finds her fathers' gold watch. She turns and sees Bill on his horse in the sunset.

Cast

Reception

Dread Central said, "Nothing groundbreaking. Just a slight deviation from the same old, same old." [3] Slant Magazine rated it one star, saying, "The fact that this instantly musty museum piece leads, after an agonizing hour and 45 minutes, to a simple-minded sermon on loving thy neighbor merely adds insult to injury." [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunfighter</span> Gun violence in the American Old West

Gunfighters, also called gunslingers or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslinger" is more or less used to denote someone who is quick on the draw with a handgun, but this can also refer to those armed with rifles and shotguns. The gunfighter is also one of the most popular characters in the Western genre and has appeared in associated films, television shows, video games, and literature.

<i>Young Guns</i> (film) 1988 film by Christopher Cain

Young Guns is a 1988 American Western action film directed and produced by Christopher Cain and written by John Fusco. The film dramatizes the adventures of Billy the Kid during the Lincoln County War, which took place in New Mexico in 1877–78. It stars Emilio Estevez as Billy, and Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney and Casey Siemaszko as the other Lincoln County Regulators. The supporting cast features Terence Stamp, Terry O'Quinn, Brian Keith, and Jack Palance.

<i>Young Guns II</i> 1990 film by Geoff Murphy

Young Guns II is a 1990 American Western action film and a sequel to Young Guns (1988). It stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Christian Slater, and features William Petersen as Pat Garrett. It was written by John Fusco and directed by Geoff Murphy.

<i>Posse</i> (1993 film) 1993 film

Posse is a 1993 American Western film directed by and starring Mario Van Peebles. Featuring a large ensemble cast, the film tells the story of a posse of African-American soldiers and one ostracized white soldier, who are all betrayed by a corrupt colonel. The story starts with the group escaping with a cache of gold, and continues with their leader Jesse Lee taking revenge on the men who killed his preacher father. The story is presented as a flashback told by an unnamed old man. The title of the film refers to a group of people who are summoned to help law enforcement officers. This film was the first film to be released by Gramercy Pictures.

<i>Jesse James</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by Henry King

Jesse James is a 1939 American Western film directed by Henry King and starring Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly and Randolph Scott. Written by Nunnally Johnson, the film is loosely based on the life of Jesse James, the outlaw from whom the film derives its name. The supporting cast includes Henry Hull, John Carradine, Brian Donlevy, Jane Darwell and Lon Chaney, Jr.

<i>The Dawn Rider</i> 1935 film

The Dawn Rider is a 1935 American Western film starring John Wayne and directed by Robert N. Bradbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Logan</span> American outlaw and gunman (1867–1904)

Harvey Alexander Logan, also known as Kid Curry, was an American outlaw and gunman who rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's infamous Wild Bunch gang during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite being less well-known than his fellow gang members, he has since been referred to as "the wildest of the Wild Bunch", having reputedly killed at least nine law enforcement officers in five shootings and another two men in other instances. He was involved in numerous shootouts with police and civilians and participated in several bank and train robberies with various gangs during his outlaw days.

<i>American Outlaws</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Les Mayfield

American Outlaws is a 2001 American Western action film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Colin Farrell, Scott Caan, and Ali Larter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doc Scurlock</span> American Old West figure (1849–1929)

Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock was an American Old West figure, cowboy, and gunfighter. A founding member of the Regulators during the Lincoln County War in New Mexico, Scurlock rode alongside such men as Billy the Kid.

<i>No Name on the Bullet</i> 1959 film by Jack Arnold

No Name on the Bullet is a 1959 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Audie Murphy, Charles Drake, and Joan Evans. It is one of a handful of pictures in that genre directed by Arnold, better known for his science-fiction movies of the era. Although it is one of Universal Pictures' modestly budgeted vehicles for World War II hero Audie Murphy, the top-billed actor is unusually, but very effectively, cast as the villain, a cold-blooded gun-for-hire.

<i>Five Days to Midnight</i> 2004 American TV series or program

Five Days to Midnight is a five-part television miniseries which ran on the Sci Fi Channel in June 2004. It stars Timothy Hutton as J.T. Neumeyer, a physicist who discovers a briefcase containing postdated documents and evidence which indicates he will die five days into the future.

<i>Wild Bill</i> (1995 film) 1995 Western film by Walter Hill

Wild Bill is a 1995 American biographical Western film about the last days of legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickok. The film was written and directed by Walter Hill, and based on the 1978 stage play Fathers and Sons by Thomas Babe and the 1986 novel Deadwood by Pete Dexter. It stars Jeff Bridges, Ellen Barkin, John Hurt, and Diane Lane, and was released by United Artists on December 1, 1995. It was a box-office bomb, grossing $2.1 million on a budget of $30 million, and received mixed reviews from critics.

<i>Posse from Hell</i> 1961 film by Herbert Coleman

Posse from Hell is a 1961 American Western film directed by Herbert Coleman and starring Audie Murphy and John Saxon.

"Deadwood" is the first episode of the first season of the HBO original series of the same name. The episode was written by David Milch and directed by Walter Hill. It first aired on March 21, 2004.

<i>Rio Grande Patrol</i> 1950 film by Lesley Selander

Rio Grande Patrol is a 1950 Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Tim Holt and Tom Tyler.

<i>Bad Men of Missouri</i> 1941 film by Ray Enright

Bad Men of Missouri is a 1941 American western film directed by Ray Enright and written by Charles Grayson. The film stars Dennis Morgan, Jane Wyman, Wayne Morris and Arthur Kennedy. The film was released by Warner Bros. on July 26, 1941.

<i>Fort Defiance</i> (film) 1951 film by John Rawlins

Fort Defiance is a 1951 American Western film directed by John Rawlins and written by Louis Lantz. The film stars Dane Clark, Ben Johnson, Peter Graves, Tracey Roberts, George Cleveland and Ralph Sanford. The film was released on October 9, 1951, by United Artists.

<i>Dead 7</i> 2016 American TV series or program

Dead 7 is a 2016 post-apocalyptic zombie horror western film written by Nick Carter, directed by Danny Roew and produced by The Asylum. It aired on SyFy on April 1, 2016 in the United States.

<i>Plunderers of Painted Flats</i> 1959 movie

Plunderers of Painted Flats is a 1959 American Western film, shot in Naturama, and was directed by Albert C. Gannaway and written by John Greene and Phil Shuken. The film stars Corinne Calvet, John Carroll, Skip Homeier, George Macready, Edmund Lowe and Bea Benaderet. The film was released on January 23, 1959, by Republic Pictures and was the last film that they had produced and released.

<i>The Kid</i> (2019 film) 2019 film

The Kid is a 2019 American Western film directed by Vincent D'Onofrio, from a screenplay by Andrew Lanham. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Dane DeHaan, Jake Schur, Leila George, Chris Pratt, Adam Baldwin, and Vincent D'Onofrio.

References

  1. ↑ Paul Green (February 25, 2016). Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television and Games, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 64. ISBN   978-1-4766-2402-0.
  2. ↑ Johnny D. Boggs (September 20, 2013). Billy the Kid on Film, 1911-2012. McFarland. p. 241. ISBN   978-0-7864-6555-2.
  3. ↑ "Copperhead (2008)". Dread Central. June 30, 2008. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  4. ↑ Fujishima, Kenji (June 25, 2013). "Review: Copperhead". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.