Best part of the movie is the Mojave Desert scenery. Mojave is timeless... and may she always remain that way. Ten stars for the Mojave. Two stars for the movie.

VENOM is a monster movie done on an indie budget. It's a cheap and schlocky affair, one that fails to engage in any way with the senses and as such is quite the bore to watch. The story is about a mother and daughter who find themselves stranded in the desert and forced to walk to safety; the only problem is that they're pursued by a vengeful snake. Yes, the plot really is that ridiculous, and the threat limited to a few harmless snake shots and some cheesy coloured POV scenes. There are gangster and crime elements thrown in that also fail to gel.

Rock singer Helen (Jessica Morris) and her daughter Lily (Oliviah Crawford) get stranded in the desert with homing snakes, criminals, and a bad script writer. In the subplot, the bad guys crash in a helicopter that burn with pink CG flames. One man gets shot in the back, but the wound first appears on his front shoulder. Later the wound moves to his upper arm. Likewise Helen has a tourniquet on her elbow that disappears for a while. The explanation is that Helen has the smell of the dead snake she ran over on her which is why the snakes are after her, the snake she didn't touch but removed with a stick. Lily was the stereotypical girl wise beyond her years.

It is a great film to look for mistakes. It was far from interesting or entertaining. A desperation rental at Redbox.

Parental Guide: F-bombs. No sex or nudity.