A Cult Classic by the Marshal’s Film Award Laureate Returns to Cinemas
“The Curse of the Snake Valley” was seen by over 25 million viewers. In May, Marek Piestrak’s film will return to cinemas in a new version featuring commentary by a well-known rapper.
Marek Piestrak is one of the first recipients of the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship Film Award. He received it in 2002 at the Bydgoszcz “Przeźrocza” Festival “for genre classics” – the film “Wilczyca” (“She-Wolf”), considered the best Polish horror, made in 1982 and starring Krzysztof Jasiński and Iwona Bielska.
Five years later, Piestrak directed the Polish-Soviet science fiction horror “The Curse of the Snake Valley”, featuring major stars of Polish cinema at the time: Roman Wilhelmi, Krzysztof Kolberger, Ewa Sałacka, Henryk Bista, and Leon Niemczyk. Initially, the film was criticized for its clumsy, low-budget special effects. Over time, however, it gained cult status as a film “so bad it’s good.” In cinemas—mainly in the Soviet Union—it attracted over 25 million viewers eager for adventure films in a Hollywood style.
The story revolves around the discovery of a secret extraterrestrial civilization hidden inside a casket concealed in the titular Snake Valley. Filming took place, among other locations, in the jungle on the border of Vietnam and Laos. The screenplay was based on the serialized short story “The Hobby of Dr. Traven,” published in the weekly magazine Przekrój, written by Robert Stratton—a pseudonym of Wiesław Górnicki, an advisor to General Wojciech Jaruzelski and the author of his speech announcing martial law on December 13, 1981.
In mid-May, fans of Polish genre cinema and Marek Piestrak’s work are in for a real treat: after nearly 40 years, “The Curse of the Snake Valley” will return to the big screen. Audiences will see the cult classic in a refreshed version featuring original narration by rapper Łona (Adam Zieliński). “It’s the most exuberant example of adventure cinema from the countries of the former Eastern Bloc,” says the popular musician.
Department of Promotion
Dariusz Czołgowski
April 24, 2024