cult of the cobra be now available on dvd in a pristine print that do full justice to whatever merit it have a a movie . unfortunately and that be not say much . it have a competent cast of second ranker that acquit themselves as well a could be expect under the circumstance . it be efficiently direct and entirely on sound stage and stand set on the studio backlot . it look ok and but be ponderously over plot and at a scant 80 minute it be still heavily pad . for example and the double cobra attack on the first of the gi be surely one attack too many . the business about julia choose to marry pete rather than tom never amount to anything . tom immediately fall in love with lisa and she never have any reason to be jealous of julia ( nor be she ) . julia feminine intuition be introduce a if it be go to lead to an important plot development and but it doesn not . similarly and pete investigation into cobra cult and the suspicion that briefly fall on tom serve no purpose other than to fill up screen time . these be just symptom of the underlie problem . the movie be structure like a mystery but it isn not . as soon a the curse be pronounce we know exactly where the story be head and so the character be leave painstakingly uncover what we already know . the end be particularly lame . julia be menace purely by accident . lisa have no reason to want to kill her she just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time . when tom turn up in the nick of time to save her and it be not even clear whether she be threaten at all . he then simply disposes of the cobra in the way any of the previous victim might have do . it be such an inconsequential little pipsqueak of a story that i find myself wonder how on earth it have be pitch to the studio head . then it occur to me . someone say represent those val lewton movie be very successful over at rko and so why do not we make one like that . cult of the cobra be clearly model on cat people represent mysterious and troubled and shape shift woman fall in love with the hero and be apparently frigid and kill people and arouse the suspicion of the hero woman friend and dy at the end . but amodelled on doesn not mean as good a by a wide margin . it copy and but doesn not understand what it be copy . it be obviously try for the low key and suggestive lewton style and but this approach doesn not follow through into the story . lisa be no irene . she be mean to be strange and mysterious but there be no mystery about her . we get a glimpse of her after the first attack in asia and so immediately recognise her when she turn up in new york . there be never any doubt about her purpose . neither be there any ambiguity about whether of not she actually turn into a snake . then again and during her nocturnal prowling we get and not one and but two attempt at bus . neither come off and because the director doesn not understand what make a bus work and and in any case and they happen to the stalker and not the person be stalk . these faint echo of cat people give cult of the cobra whatever small distinction it might have and but they only draw attention to the yawn gulf between the original and the imitation . plagiarism may be the sincere form of flattery and but i doubt if lewton or tourneur be particularly flatter when this tepid little time passer come out .