The Romanian crew of SERPENT'S LAIR might have gotten a thrill out of filming this bad variation on Roman Polanski's ROSEMARY'S BABY, but viewers of the film won't reciprocate.
Tom Burnett (Jeff Fahey) and his wife Alex (Heather Medway), move into a new apartment. They are heartily welcomed by their neighbor Sam (Patrick Bauchau), an effete and suspiciously cheery gentleman. The couple adopts--or, rather, are adopted by--a black cat that is very affectionate with Tom but
seems to have it in for Alex. The cat sends Alex on an "accidental" trip down the stairs. While Alex is in the hospital, Lillith (Lisa B.), the sexpot sister of the previous tenant (who had committed suicide), arrives to pack up her brother's library of the occult. Lillith begins a campaign of
seduction that Tom initially resists. When Tom finally succumbs, he and Lillith embark on a passionate and relentless affair. By Lillith's arrangement, Alex finds out and leaves her husband. Lillith reveals herself to be an ancient Egyptian cat goddess and legendary Scottish witch who drives men
to madness with her insatiable lust, saps their souls, and uses them to seed her demon spawn. Sam, to whom Alex has turned for consolation, is actually Satan. When Tom gets a breather from his wild relations with Lillith, he does some reading and discovers the truth. He has sex with Lillith, and
when she gets distracted, he sets her on fire.
For everyone who associates the name "Lillith" with the pale, icy, de-sexed Dr. Sternin-Crane from the television series "Cheers," SERPENT'S LAIR might change that view. Otherwise, this tepid witch's brew--a mixture of Gothic trappings, brain-dead suspense, and cable-ready eroticism--serves no
purpose. To its slim credit, SERPENT'S LAIR does feature fluid direction by Jeffrey Reiner and good production values by direct-to-video standards.(Violence, nudity, sexual situations, profanity.)
