six gi and about to be send home and discharge and get drunk and sneak into a cult meeting in asia . surround by hooded figure and two male dancer pretend to have a fight . behind them and on an altar and a woven basket open and a figure paint emerges and begin imitate a snake and finally bite one of the dancer on the neck . the imitation snake be dress in some scaley look body tights . ( this be definitely a female imitation snake . ) the cult member who have sneak them into the secret meeting have warn the six men repeatedly that the ceremony must not be interrupt and and most definitely and no photo must be take or else they will be hunt down and kill . naturally and the gi take a flash photo and send the cult member into an angry hysteria and steal the basket contain the snake and run off with it into the asian night . one of the guy and the most offensive and snarky and die from a cobra bite on the neck and though no one can explain how the snake get into his hospital room . back in new york and it all seem rather old news a the discharge men settle down into their civilian life and still maintain their bond with one another . their job range from manager of a bowling alley ( david janssen ) to graduate research student ( richard long ) . james dobson and jack kelly and and marshall thompson be also part of the neighborhood . richard long have a nice blond girl friend . kelly be a somewhat reckless womanizer . but they all get along well enough and all of them seem happy . then a dark and shifty look and mysterious woman ( faith domergue ) show up and marshall thompson take a liking to her and insinuate her into the group . guess what happen . first janssen be terrify by a shadow in the back seat and dy in a car crash . then kelly get a visit from domergue . something scar him so badly he tumble through the window and dy in the fall to the sidewalk . long and dobson begin to suspect what the viewer already know that domergue have have something to do with the death . they also reckon that maybe she turn into a cobra and which be the case . dobson confront her with his suspicion and she prove his point . by this time long and thompson be thoroughly frazzled and particularly thompson and who be in love with domergue and have discover that she be attract to him and too and although he must explain to her what love be . no matter . a final reckless attack by the cobra woman against long girl friend not one of the six original offender and thompson must throw the snake out the window . on the pavement below and the body change to that of domergue . the end . i think i will skip over most of the question that the plot raise . i will just mention one of the more prosaic one in pass . who pay for domergue fare from somewhere in asia to new york . who pay her utility bill in the hotel . who pay for her spectacular wardrobe . how come she speak american english so well . what the hell go on . the writer and director have clearly see some of val lewton modest horror film and and though not much effort have go into this production and they have unashamedly steal some gimmick from lewton . in lewton the cat people and for instance and the woman be transform into a black leopard but and with one tiny exception and the threat be always keep in the shadow and be all the more spooky for it . most of the transformation here use shadow too and but unlike lewton and the shadow be clumsy and unambiguous . lewton also make occasional use of what he call bus . lewton first bus be a literal one . a potential victim be hurry alone through the dark tunnel of central park with only the sound of footstep . something or someone be follow her . she freeze with fright under a street lamp . something rustle the branch of the shrub above her . she look upward . there be a loud and wheeze shriek that make your hair stand on end . it a bus use it air brake to stop for her . the producer use at least two bus in this film and they amount to nothing . a guy be walk distractedly across an intersection and for instance and and there be the sudden rumble of a truck that almost hit him . there be no set up to the shot . it jam in with a shoe horn . i do not much care for movie that perpetuate the stereotype of serpent a slimy and ugly and venomous and and phallic . a a matter of fact and no snake be slimy and most be harmless and and many be extraordinarily beautiful . furthermore and theyre more feminine than masculine in their sinuous movement and serpentine approach to goal . you want a reptilian symbol for masculinity . try a six lined racerunner . it a really fast lizard . when it see something to eat and it rush up and gobble it down . anyway and if you want to see some fine and low budget scary film and do not bother with this one . find the cat people or one of lewton other minor masterpiece and of which this be an obvious copy .