Creature features have been a staple of cinema for decades, and during that time we’ve seen just as many all-time classics as we have absolute stinkers. By no means are these movies obligated to be scary, but when one of them comes along that hits that sweet spot between jump scares, self-awareness, and pure cheese, it’s a beast of a good time.
A glorious case in point is 1997’s Anaconda which put its hefty $45 million budget into old-school practical effects and perhaps the single most stacked ensemble you’re ever going to see gathered together in a schlocky B-movie about a giant snake eating people one-by-one.
Jon Voight deserves to be praised for what might be one of the hammiest performances ever committed to celluloid, while the rest of the roster boasts Danny Trejo, Ice Cube, Jennifer Lopez, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson, and voice acting legend Frank Welker as the titular serpent.
Critics were never going to love it, but Anaconda pulled in a surprisingly robust $136 million at the box office and became an instant cult classic, a status that few films deserve more. Almost 25 years on, and it’s back in a huge way, having quietly slithered onto the Netflix most-watched list, as per FlixPatrol.