Ular (Snake, Malay; 2013)
Director: Jason Chong
Director: Jason Chong
This is a knock-off of the many Hollywood and Bollywood horror flicks. Even the film poster bears an almost near-replica resemblance to Hollywood's blockbuster 'Anaconda (2008)'. Besides that, it is a worthy effort, nevertheless. The CGI effect looks believable. It creates uneasiness; not laughs. The storyline seems credible enough. How different can a disaster movie be? As per usual, it starts with a potpourri of characters landing at a resort island, gleaming from ear to ear, hoping to have a whale of a weekend. Whale, they did not have, but snakes aplenty. The owners of the resort took great pains to keep the news of killer snakes away for the public. To ensure the safety of the guests, the owner did install an electric fence to keep the snakes at bay. As to how Murphy's laws dictate, anything and everything may go wrong when it is destined to go wrong. Thanks to a few mischievous frolicking holiday-makers, the fences fell into disrepair. So, the snakes, who were the pioneer occupants of the island, go on a frenzy to reclaim their island.
The people who rose to the occasion to try to save the day are a disgraced journalist (Lisa Surihani) and her photojournalist colleague ex-boyfriend (Yusri of KRU).
Man's fascination with snakes transcends all borders. Every civilisation, from the Sumerians to the Greeks, have had their brush with our reptilian friend. From the Caduceus to imply successful commerce and skilful negotiation to the twirling serpent on the rod of Asclepius to denote healing and medicine, we have seen Ouroboros which signify rejuvenation, cyclical nature of life and immortality.
We have towns named after serpents (Nagapattinam), and we have people with snakes-honouring names (Nagaratnam, Nagma). They are amongst the many who have been worshipping snakes for aeons. From North America all the way to the Champas in Vietnam, they have built a symbiotic relationship with the ophidians in sharing the planet.
They are others who vilify our reptilian friends. Snakes, often associated with evil and negativity are often blamed for Man's misery on Earth. After all, it was the evil serpent's enticement that lured Adam and Eve to savour the fruit of knowledge and subsequent expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
If you are one of those who take David Icke's conspiracy theories as gospel truths, then you would realise that many world leaders and entrepreneurs who live amongst us are reptilians in human's clothing!
And to top it all, I recently heard on a Youtube presentation by Praveen Mohan, the explorer of ancient Hindu temple about the rock cutting technology and the ancient alien visitation by a race referred to by the locals in Hire Benakal in Karnataka as Moryars. The Moryars are said to be small built highly intelligent serpent-like creatures who imparted their architectural skills to humanity. Humans, awed by their wisdom, started showing their reverence by placing them on a pedestal to honour them.
Man's fascination with snakes transcends all borders. Every civilisation, from the Sumerians to the Greeks, have had their brush with our reptilian friend. From the Caduceus to imply successful commerce and skilful negotiation to the twirling serpent on the rod of Asclepius to denote healing and medicine, we have seen Ouroboros which signify rejuvenation, cyclical nature of life and immortality.
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Ouroborous |
They are others who vilify our reptilian friends. Snakes, often associated with evil and negativity are often blamed for Man's misery on Earth. After all, it was the evil serpent's enticement that lured Adam and Eve to savour the fruit of knowledge and subsequent expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
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Snake Plissken Escape from New York (1981) |
And to top it all, I recently heard on a Youtube presentation by Praveen Mohan, the explorer of ancient Hindu temple about the rock cutting technology and the ancient alien visitation by a race referred to by the locals in Hire Benakal in Karnataka as Moryars. The Moryars are said to be small built highly intelligent serpent-like creatures who imparted their architectural skills to humanity. Humans, awed by their wisdom, started showing their reverence by placing them on a pedestal to honour them.

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