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ERA
Did you know
38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
The Serpent and the Rainbow
"Don't Bury Me...I'm Not Dead!"
1988 1h 38m EN
😐
6.4
MID
★6.4TMDB · 575
HorrorThriller
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
A Harvard anthropologist is sent to Haiti to retrieve a strange powder that is said to have the power to bring human beings back from the dead. In his quest to find the miracle drug, the cynical scientist enters the rarely seen netherworld of walking zombies, blood rites and ancient curses. Based on the true life experiences of Wade Davis and filmed on location in Haiti, it's a frightening excursion into black magic and the supernatural.
“Don't Bury Me...I'm Not Dead!”
Cast
Bill Pullman
Dennis Alan
Cathy Tyson
Marielle Duchamp
Zakes Mokae
Dargent Peytraud
Paul Winfield
Lucien Celine
Brent Jennings
Louis Mozart
Conrad Roberts
Christophe
Badja Djola
Gaston
Theresa Merritt
Simone
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Wes Craven
- Writers
- Adam Rodman, Richard Maxwell
- Languages
- French, English, Spanish
- Countries
- United States of America, Haiti, Dominican Republic
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
WORLD
Did you know
Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, English, Spanish.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
WORLD
Did you know
International production across 3 countries: United States of America, Haiti, Dominican Republic.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Wes Craven, shot by John Lindley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Brad Fiedel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Glenn Farr shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Bill Pullman and Cathy Tyson and Zakes Mokae carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "Don't Bury Me...I'm Not Dead!".
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Wes Craven directs. John Lindley behind the camera. Brad Fiedel scores. Glenn Farr cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Haiti, Dominican Republic. Dialogue in French, English, Spanish.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 138 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
- 2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, English, Spanish.
- 3International production across 3 countries: United States of America, Haiti, Dominican Republic.
- 4Directed by Wes Craven, shot by John Lindley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Original score by Brad Fiedel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 6Editor Glenn Farr shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 7Bill Pullman and Cathy Tyson and Zakes Mokae carry the top of the cast.
- 8Marketing tagline: "Don't Bury Me...I'm Not Dead!".
- 9IMDB entry: tt0096071 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 10Classified under 23 themes, including "based on novel or book", "nightmare", "boston, massachusetts", "poison".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- John Lindley
- Original score
- Brad Fiedel
- Editing
- Glenn Farr
- Production design
- David Nichols
- Costume design
- Peter Mitchell
- Makeup / hair
- Jim McPherson
- VFX supervisor
- Gary Gutierrez
- Sound
- Jay Boekelheide
- Stunt coordinator
- Anthony Cecere
- Runtime
- 98 min · 1h 38m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $11,000,000
- Box office
- $19,595,031
- Return
- 178% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- R
Also by
Wes Craven
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Production companies
Who made it
Universal Pictures
US
Key crew
- EditorGlenn Farr
- Executive ProducerKeith Barish
- Executive ProducerRob Cohen
- ProducerDavid Ladd
- ProducerDoug Claybourne
- Special Effects Makeup ArtistJim McPherson
- Special Effects Makeup ArtistDavid LeRoy Anderson
- Special Effects Makeup ArtistJames Kagel
- Special Effects Makeup ArtistMichael Shawn McCracken
- Special Effects Makeup ArtistLance Anderson
- Special Effects Makeup ArtistJeffrey S. Farley
- Production ExecutiveCurtis Burch
- Key Hair StylistRobert Hallowell II
- Unit Production ManagerMichael Bennett
- First Assistant DirectorRobert Engelman
- Production ManagerJaime Pina Gautier
- Production ManagerJuanita Diane Feeney
- Special Effects CoordinatorPeter Chesney
- Key Makeup ArtistMichelle Bühler
- Stunt CoordinatorAnthony Cecere
- Costume DesignPeter Mitchell
- CastingDianne Crittenden
- BookWade Davis
- Art DirectionDavid Brisbin
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- based on novel or book
- nightmare
- boston, massachusetts
- poison
- superstition
- cemetery
- voodoo
- revolution
- beheading
- spider
- hallucination
- surrealism
- haiti
- buried alive
- amazon rainforest
- jungle
- chained
- anthropologist
- graveyard
- zombification
- rite
- death certificate
- airliner
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1988-02-05R
Also known as
International titles
- Ormen och regnbågenSE
- La serpiente y el arco irisES
- VoodooGR
- La Serpiente y el Arco IrisSV
- Käärme ja sateenkaariFI
- Ormen och regnbågenFI
- Змей и радугаRU
- ゾンビ伝説JP
- Wes Craven's The Serpent and the RainbowUS
