Week 2 (June 28 – July 4) – Dawna Lee Heising: Our beautiful QWEEN
45 years after Rattlers creeped its way into drive-ins, the lethal snakes are back to terrorize the California desert. If you haven’t caught the Harry Novak-produced 1976 cult classic, don’t sweat it—this sequel is practically a primer. Director Dustin Ferguson relies heavily on archival footage from the original, creating a jarring, grindhouse-style contrast between the weathered 35mm flashbacks and the modern-day digital production.
Writers Josh Price and Lee Turner do the heavy lifting to bridge the decades, weaving the classic narrative into this new installment. While the film leans heavily on the past—perhaps a bit too much at the expense of a fully fleshed-out original plot—and stumbles into a hurried climax, it remains a testament to Ferguson’s relentless output.
Ferguson has a regular cast that he turns to in film after film and many of them show up here, like Mel Novak as Commissioner Lewis, Brinke Stevens (yes, that Brinke Stevens!) as Rebecca, the always fabulous Dawna Lee Heising as Lindsay, Jennifer Nangle (Malvolia herself!) as Sally, Shawn C. Phillips, Julie Anne Prescott, Peter Stickles and more.
If anything, I wish that the film relied less on the original film and that the ending didn’t feel so rushed. But that’s fine — Ferguson seems to be learning with each film and I’m always interested in seeing anything that he makes when it crosses my path.
You can get this on demand from SoCal Cinema Studios or grab the DVD from Kunaki.
