The wealthy and elderly southern gentleman, Jason Crocket (Milland), is not a friend of the environment. Confined to a wheelchair he is a cantankerous old goat, constantly harping at his servants and groundskeepers to do away with the critters that inhabit the surrounding wilderness whenever they are careless enough to crawl, slither, or jump onto his property. When his pampered, unlikable family and friends descend on his estate in a rural bayou setting for his birthday celebration they are in for a brush with nature they won't soon forget. Pickett Smith (Elliot) is an environmental photographer who finds and records the signs of pollution in the woods and water surrounding the estate. He is the near victim of a boating accident and is brought back to the estate by Karen (Van Ark) and her drunken brother to make sure he is okay. Weird things start to happen beginning with the phone lines going dead and people not returning to the house.
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As the native creatures inflict a nasty end to one guest after another the means of death are varied and creative. One male guest goes out with a gun but shoots himself in the leg. In a state of extreme distress he is crippled and cannot walk when numerous spiders descend on him. Soon he is encased in tarantulas and their silk webs before being disposed of. Later that day an unfortunate houseguest is done in by snakes, a man gets it from the alligators in the water, and another is gassed with chemicals in the greenhouse thanks to clumsy Gila Monsters. Each death is campy and drawn out but filled with “Don't-Go-In-There” tension and apprehensiveness. Only the supposedly decent folks are able to walk (run) away from the swampy carnage. Crocket dies from fright when he sees legions of large bullfrogs swarming the property.
The review of this Movie prepared by David Fletcher
