The Anaconda Reboot Trailer Misses The Point Of What Made The Original A Cult Classic

Luis Llosa's "Anaconda" is a cult classic that isn't meant to be taken seriously. It's a pulpy action-horror movie about a giant snake causing mayhem for a film crew played by Owen Wilson, Jennifer Lopez, and Ice Cube (all of whom are excellent, btw) on the Amazon river. "Anaconda" is funny, sure, but it is also an underrated monster movie with some effective snake scares. The ridiculous elements are played with a straight face, which actually makes it funnier. The same can't be said about the reboot, though, as its trailer indicates that this flick misses the point of "Anaconda."

The 2025 "Anaconda" stars Jack Black and Paul Rudd as lifelong friends who grew up loving the original 1997 movie. Now experiencing a mid-life crisis, they head to the Amazon to make a micro-budget remake, only to get on the wrong side of a real anaconda that might be willing to cooperate with their artistic vision. The meta element is actually pretty interesting in theory, but is the joke too obvious?

Cue the buffoonish humor we expect from the average Black and Rudd movie, along with musical samples from Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back" (can you guess which line the trailer uses?), and what you have is just another run-of-the-mill horror-comedy. That's not a bad thing, per se, but "Anaconda" deserves more than that.

It's difficult to strike a perfect balance between horror and comedy, so no one can blame the new "Anaconda" for going for laughs. That said, it is also symptomatic of a trend in modern horror where too many movies with ridiculous premises have to poke fun at their own ironic elements — like they are begging us to laugh at them instead of letting the inherent silliness speak for itself. If you must re-imagine a perfect movie like "Anaconda," then at least try to capture the tonal and stylistic elements that make the original so great.

Mind you, this isn't to say that the "Anaconda" reboot doesn't look enjoyable. The scene where Jack Black's believed-to-be-dead character is used as bait is funny, and any movie starring him and Paul Rudd as besties is guaranteed to be pleasant. Still, watching this trailer makes me wonder what a filmmaker like Xavier Gens could do with this concept. His Netflix-topping shark movie "Under Paris" is a prime example of how to make a pulpy creature feature with just the right amount of seriousness, and it's a lot of fun. "Anaconda" will probably be a big crowd-pleaser, and I wish it all the success in the world, but everyone should also rewatch the original for the ultimate giant snake movie experience.

The new "Anaconda" slithers into theaters on December 25, 2025.