The 1972 film, Night of the Cobra Woman, tells the story of Lena (Marlene Clark).
During World War II, Lena was a nurse assigned to the Philippines. When she and a friend were attacked in the jungle by a Japanese soldier, Lena’s friend was raped while Lena was bitten by a cobra named Movini. As the result of being raised by a snake cult, Movini’s super-powered venom conferred eternal youth, beauty, and sexual energy. It also gave Lena the power to turn into a snake. After subduing the Japanese soldier and turning him into her slave, Lena made a life for herself in the jungle. Worshipped by the locals, Lena became known for never aging.
Years later, a young UNICEF worker named Joanna (Joy Bang) is working at a laboratory in the Philippines. Having heard about Lena’s special snake venom, Joanna heads out to Lena’s compound to ask her how the venom works. However, Joanna is chased off by Lena’s mute man-servant (Vic Diaz). Later, Joanna’s boyfriend, Duff (Roger Garrett), decides to head out to the compound himself and see what’s going on.
When Duff doesn’t return, Joanna heads out to the compound a second time. This time, she brings along Duff’s pet eagle. Joanna is confronted by Lena, who claims that Duff has been bitten by a cobra and has been recovering at the compound. After Movini hisses at Joanna, Joanna released the eagle. The eagle promptly kills Movini.
Now, this sets up a bit of a problem. Lena needed Movini because it was Movini’s venom that was keeping her young and preventing her from turning into a snake and then not being able to change back. Now that Movini is dead, Lena has to head into Manila and find men to seduce so that she can live off of their life force. Helping her out is Duff, who has apparently been brainwashed by Lena and will now do anything to help her, including setting her up with an American serviceman (who is played by an actor named, I kid you not, Slash Marks.) Duff himself starts to rapidly age and turn into a snake. Can Joanna save him and, more importantly, why would she want to? Seriously, Duff left her for another woman. Joanna doesn’t owe him anything!
Night of the Cobra Woman is a thoroughly incoherent movie, one that feels as if it was made up on the spot while filming was taking place. Duff’s decision to go to Lena’s compound on his own never makes sense, nor does it really make much sense that Joanna doesn’t seem to be that upset by the fact that he basically just abandoned her to live with the Cobra Woman. That said, Night of the Cobra Woman does have a cult following because it’s one of the eight films that Joy Bang made during her career. Bang (and that was her real name, as her husband was named Paul Bang) specialized in playing flighty hippies and, as a result, she’s not exactly believable as an expert in snake venom. But the fact that she is so miscast adds to the film’s charm. She has pretty much the same freaked-out reaction to seeing a cobra that I would have, making her a character to whom I could at least relate.
Anyway, Night of the Cobra Woman is not that good but Joy Bang completists will definitely want to check it out.
Through the Shattered Lens 