Director – Daryl Hook (Mr. MeatHook’s Shitty Video Reviews, Sharkoween)
Starring – Mel Heflin (Darbie’s Scream House, Pigshit), Clint Beaver (Onlyfangs, Orgy of the Dead 2), and Henrique Couto (Smart House, Found Footage: The Series)
Release Date – 2025
Rating – 3.5/5
Most indie productions are passion projects from dedicated genre fans. No one goes into a no budget film with dreams of getting rich or becoming famous. These filmmakers love the genre and have a vision. That’s why I love reviewing no budget horror flicks. Sure, they are far from perfect but I love seeing the wild ideas and, in some cases, how far a filmmaker can grow between films.
Sometime back I befriended Daryl Hook after several friends of mine shared a few posts of his about his horror comedy Ssssstoner Snake. I fucking love stoner comedies and horror so I quickly added him. I shared the trailer on the site and followed the film for sometime but never had the chance to see the film until recently when Daryl messaged me to review it. I want to thank him for sending this one over!
**Spoiler alert** The film follows an extraterrestrial snake that finds itself on Earth where it crosses paths with a stoner. He shares his joint with the snake before he is brutally murdered by it. This sends the snake on the hunt to get fucked up and murder every human he crosses paths with. **Spoiler Alert**
Director Daryl Hook had mentioned several times on Facebook that some may consider Ssssstoner Snake to be one of the worst movies ever made. While it is bad in several aspect, it’s still a fun movie experience. I love the being bad on purpose style of filmmaking that was made popular by filmmaker Chris Seaver and the films of Dire Wit Films. Ssssstoner Snake truly embraces the no budget schlock and delivers something that fans of no budget madness can truly appreciate. The acting in this one is very uneven. We have characters that are over the top and theatrical while other characters are more grounded and natural.
The acting required for each does clash in several scenes which is a bit awkward to watch. As a fan, I wish the movie would have embraced the characters with crazy wigs and costumes that delivered the overdramatic performances. It’s a great way to cover up inexperience while delivering on some laughs. The more serious performances feel out of place at times and the forced dialogue makes a few of the scenes fall short on the humor that it’s going for.
The story for this one is a loving tribute to bad cinema. We have a snake from space with a knack for murder and a nose for good weed. We then have a horror trope loving guy tossed in the middle of the intergalactic reptile mayhem. It’s a lot of fun in an intentionally bad way. With that being said, the film is a bit too long. Some scenes are not necessary and could be trimmed down some to make it a bit more enjoyable. It’s not bad as it is but the pacing can be improved upon with some snips here and there.
Finally, the film is clearly a no budget affair so don’t expect to see memorable blood and gore. We get a snake plushie killing people with what resources the crew had available at the time. This only adds to the charm the film has but some of you with a taste for blood may be disappointed in it’s lack of memorable deaths and gore. Overall, Ssssstoner Snake may not be winning any awards or making year end lists but it will be infamous among no budget genre fans. I refuse to use the term “so bad it’s good” because it honestly doesn’t make sense. This is not a bad movie. In fact, it’s pretty clever for what it is. It’s funny and has endless potential. I highly recommend it especially if you dig movies like Filthy McNasty and anything riffed by MST3K.
