"Venom" is horrible enough to inspire some real venom in its unlucky viewers — venom of the critical variety.
It's bad enough that this supernatural horror movie is set in Louisiana, which makes the timing of its release one more slap in the face to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. But to make things worse, it's just a lousy film.
"Venom" is a virtually scare-free serial-killer tale that won't even do us the favor of being laughably bad. As much as audience members will want to laugh it off the screen, it even defies that much enthusiasm.
The plot is basically nonsense about an undead tow-truck driver (Rick Cramer) possessed by "evil souls." He goes on a killing spree in a small Louisiana town, which has the unlikely name of Backwater.
The only thing standing in his way is a bunch of teenagers, including quarreling former lovers Eden (Agnes Bruckner) and Eric (Jonathan Jackson). They've managed to find a safe haven in a home owned by the late grandmother of one teen, Cece (Meagan Good). And as it turns out, the grandmother just happened to be a voodoo priestess who passed on some of her tricks to her granddaughter.
Director Jim Gillespie and producer Kevin Williamson teamed up earlier on the inexplicable hit "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Like that film, this one doesn't seem to realize just how ridiculous it is.
Also, budget constraints are all too obvious. The makeup and other effects aren't even television-quality. And the clearly tacked-on, reshot ending looks even cheaper than the rest of the film.
So you can't really blame the cast for simply going through the motions. Bruckner (2002's "Blue Car") looks as if she's stifling a few yawns in several places, to the amusement of co-star Jackson ("Tuck Everlasting").
And Bijou Phillips can't be killed off fast enough.
"Venom" is rated R for strong scenes of horror violence (stabbings, impalings, snake attacks and some vehicular violence), some graphic gore, frequent use of strong sexual profanity, and use of some vulgar slang terms and gestures. Running time: 85 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com