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With the Paul Rudd and Jack Black-led Anaconda slithering into theaters just before the end of the 2025 movie schedule, I decided to go back and watch the original 1997 creature feature for the first time since I saw it at a friend’s house back in the fourth grade. This experience, which was a lot more fun than I would have ever imagined, was like a trip down memory lane and led me to rediscover so many of its absurd moments.
From what I’ve gathered from the critical response to Anaconda (the new version), it sounds like the meta reboot is going to have a decent amount of snake, err, Easter eggs throughout. Thinking about that, I really need the upcoming action movie to include a callback to one specific moment. Wink wink!
The new Anaconda movie sounds like a perfect spin on this mid-’90s action flick, and I’m getting on the boat set for the Amazon pronto. Based on the trailer, it feels like this movie, which is about a group of friends making a remake of the 1997 original, and that means there will have to be references galore. Though I could make a long list of musts for the movie, I really need to see a recreation of Jon Voight’s infamous winking scene.
In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a scene near the end of the movie where Voight’s villainous character, Paul Sarone, is eaten by the monstrous snake and then regurgitated in front of Jennifer Lopez. Before falling over and dying, the partially digested and absolutely disgusting poacher winks. Like, what’s going on here?
If we don’t get a jerk character getting eaten and vomited by a snake and then winking before he dies, then I don’t know what we’re doing here.
You Know, I Wouldn’t Be Upset If Jon Voight Showed Up For It
With Ice Cube returning for Anaconda, it shouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for Jon Voight to do the same. If this movie is going to be as wild as it’s been made out to be, then bringing him back in some shape or form (even as Paul Sarone’s winking corpse) needs to happen.
I mean, if the Academy Award-winning actor can do something like this in Megalopolis (seriously, folks, you have to watch this mess of a movie), there’s no reason he shouldn’t put on that gonzo accent, tie up a ponytail and give the camera at least one good wink in Anaconda.
Let Me Tell Ya, Watching The Original Anaconda In 2025 Is An Experience
As one of my colleagues pointed out a few months ago, the original Anaconda is a wild experience that has some truly outrageous moments. From a great balance of cheese and scares to an oddly perfect cast to Jon Voight hamming it up like never before (or since, outside of Megalopolis), this was a fun way to kill a couple of hours on a weeknight.
While it’s true that some of the CGI hasn’t aged well, this is a nearly 30-year-old movie, so I’m willing to live and let live in this regard. Still, the dated visuals add a certain charm to this truly unhinged snake movie.
If you plan on seeing the new Anaconda when it opens on Christmas Day, then I cannot recommend it enough to go back and watch the original. It’s streaming with a Netflix subscription, so you don’t really have an excuse at this point.