Anaconda

Image credit: Fandango

When you want to get out of the house on Boxing Day but can’t stand the idea of being crushed in a Lion King reenactment during the Boxing Day sales, where do you go? The movies. What could be better than going to see a dumb popcorn movie in the wake of the Christmas aftermath? Honestly, a lot of things but regardless, a dumb comedy-horror hit cinemas on Boxing Day so Partner and I braved the stampedes of the shopping mall and went to see Anaconda.

Griff (Paul Rudd) is a struggling actor pining for the old days when he and his childhood friends would make movies together. Thankfully, his friends are also going through similar mid-life crises so when he proposes remaking their favourite horror film, Anaconda, they are immediately on board. With Doug (Jack Black) directing and Griff and Claire (Thandiwe Newton) starring as the leads, the group heads into the jungle full of hope and excitement. But their dream quickly turns into a nightmare when they find themselves being stalked by an enormous anaconda.

While the poster gives off Jumanji vibes, the film is definitely more like Tropic Thunder: a bloody, rough, and brutal comedy flavoured with not-so-subtle social commentary about the state of cinema and the genre’s penchant for metafiction. The twist of the plot is also very similar in that it’s a group of filmmakers who inadvertently land in the middle of the story they are trying to tell.

The film is very much about the funny, filmmakers-living-the-film plot but there are some thinner narratives about friendship, growing-up, and never giving up on your dreams peppered throughout. A reasonably funny script combined with eco-horror and the gross-out humour that can accompany it does not put Anaconda in the realm of comedy genius, but certainly delivers laughs and cringes.

The performances are all solid, there is definitely a fun and friendly vibe or chemistry that flows through the central cast. It really does feel like a bunch of friends and cinephiles making a movie.

Image credit: Decider

While it’s nothing to write home about, Anaconda is a fun and mindless popcorn movie that delivers respite from the year that has been. Filled with action, suspense, a couple of predictable plot twists, and plenty of comedy, it’s a perfectly adequate way to kill some time.

Director: Tom Gormican, 2025

Cast: Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Thandiwe Newton, Steve Zahn, Selton Mello, Ione Skye, Sebastian Sero, Daniela Melchior, Rui Ricardo Diaz, & Ice Cube