Cult of the Cobra (1955)

In the 1930s and 1940s Universal Studios main claim to fame was their monster movie franchise – beginning in 1931 with Dracula and ending the House of Dracula in 1945. The franchise eventually worn itself thin and eventually became the subject of parody with Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (which, to be fair, is a terrific movie). The 1950s, however, saw a massive revival in monster movies and Universal followed suit - leading to the creation of their last great monster, The Gill Man. From 1953 to 1960, Universal would release over a dozen sci-fi/horror movies and each movie is fairly distinctive from the other one (even the Gill Man series: The Creature From the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, and The Creature Walks Among Us have a different take on the title character). In 1955 Universal released the Val Lewton inspired Cult of the Cobra.  Lewton produced a series of horror movie at RKO in the 1940s and was far more subtle in his approach to filmmaking than the monster makers at Universal.  Cult of the Cobra borrows heavily from Lewton’s 1942 thriller, Cat People. While in Asia six American Air Force officers sneak into a bizarre cult ceremony and are discovered by the high priest (when one of them attempts to take a picture with a flash bulb), and have a curse put on them. The curse comes in the form of a seductive brunette by the name of Lisa, who can transform into a cobra.  Lisa picks off the men one by one, but soon finds her beliefs compromised when she falls in love with Tom Markel (Marshall Thompson), one of her would be victims.

The most interesting aspect of Cult of the Cobra is how it constantly shifts our sympathies: Lisa goes from being the villain to a tragic heroine – a woman who has been raised to fulfill one purpose but experiences a crisis in her faith. As the movie progress, her killing becomes less about fulfilling the curse and more about self-preservation.  Tom’s roommate (and one-time romantic rival) Paul begins to suspect that Lisa is connected to the murders and, inevitably, figures out her secret. This doesn’t bode too well for Tom, who has already been burned in love. It is established early on that Paul and Tom were both vying for the affections of the comely Julia, who realized that her heart belonged to Paul.  Tom receives the ultimate kick in the nuts when Julia tells him that she is going to marry Paul. This naturally ticks Tom off, but he takes the news better than your average Joe.

 

 However, things seem to take a turn for the better when Tom meets the attractive, and mysterious, Lisa, who happens to be his next-door neighbor. However, every time it seems their relationship is about to get serious, Lisa becomes extremely cold. She claims she loves Tom, but she can’t be with him.  Tom is a very clingy and jealous – he decks his friend Carl in the face after he witnesses Carl hitting on Lisa at a party.  Marshall Thompson is very good. He imbues a lot of anger into his performance and is completely sympathetic, even though Tom isn't a particularly likable character. 

It is hinted that even though Tom has become romantically involved with Lisa, he still hasn’t gotten over Julia, and views Paul as an antagonistic figure.  He initially scoffs when Julia breaks the bad news to him and even questions Paul’s manhood. It absolutely sickens Tom that Julia will be that breadwinner in that relationship – she has a solid career as a stage actress, while Paul works as a lab assistant.  When Paul airs his suspicions to Tom that Lisa might be responsible for the murders of their friends, Tom is absolutely livid over these accusations. It is bad enough that Paul stole away Julia but now he is accusing Lisa of being a murderer. 

The movie does a complete 180 on the audience.  It sets up Paul as being the protagonist. He is the one that begins to suspect Lisa is responsible for the deaths of his friends and takes his suspicions to the police. He is the biggest threat to Lisa. So, naturally we expect a huge confrontation between the two characters at the movie’s climax. Yet, Paul is completely sidelined at the end, while it is Tom that ends up saving the day.  He ends up killing the woman he loves to save the woman that dumped him. In a traditional narrative, Tom would get the girl, but at the end he is completely alone.  It is a truly downbeat ending. 

The biggest flaw, unfortunately, is Faith Domergue as Lisa. When she is in full femme fatale mode, she is alright, but when the script requires more nuisances in her performance that is when she falls flat. It doesn’t help that there is zero chemistry between her and Thompson, which is essential if we are to believe that it is her love for Tom that ultimately proves to be her undoing. Domergue was a fairly limited actress, and the movie probably would have worked better if she played a full-fledged seductress.  

It doesn’t help that Kathleen Hughes (as Lisa) has more screen presence than Domergue and turns Lisa into a sympathetic character. It is clear that Julia genuinely cares about Tom, and doesn’t want to hurt him, but she must go with her heart, which belongs to Paul. She might be more financially secure with Tom, but she is happier with Paul.  The juvenile leads tend to be a stumbling block in many horror movies, but both Richard Long and Kathleen Hughes (and the screenwriter) deserve credit for bringing an air of credibility to what are usually underwritten characters. The nice thing about Paul is that he often behaves in an intelligent manner – when he finally suspects Lisa, he immediately shares his suspicion with the police. They don’t buy the supernatural element of his story, but they are forced to admit that all the other evidence he presents actually adds up.

 The filmmakers get a lot of mileage out of the silly premise by merely suggesting the presence of the cobra, as opposed to showing outright – it is either seen in the shadows, or the movie will switch to a distorted, low angle shot from the cobra’s point of view.  It isn’t until the very end that we see onscreen transformation – Tom has pushed the cobra out of a window, and it transforms into the corpse of Lisa. Yet, even this is done in a long shot, as opposed the close ups we were often given in the Lon Chaney Wolf Man movies. Cult of the Cobra is by no means a classic, but it is a fairly interesting piece of 1950s horror. 

Credits
Cast: Faith Domergue (Lisa Moya), Richard Long (Paul Able), Marshall Thompson (Tom Markel), Kathleen Hughes (Julia Thompson), William Reynolds (Pete Norton), Jack Kelly (Carl Turner), David Janssen (Rico Nardi), James Dobson (Cpl. Nick Hommel), Leonard Strong (Daru), Myrna Hansen (Marian), Walter Coy (Police Inspector).
Director: Francis D. Lyon
Screenplay: Jerry Davis, Cecil Maiden, Richard Collins