Slithering Straight Into Self-Parody: Anaconda 2025

Ben Sorensen
5 days ago
3 min read

For a film named after a prehistoric tube of muscle that hugs boats for fun, Anaconda (2025) is surprisingly self-aware. This isn’t “the serious new prestige reboot that validates a brand”. It’s the opposite: a knowingly daft, action-comedy that treats the very idea of remaking Anaconda as the punchline — and then keeps finding new ways to twist that knife until it’s basically a party trick.

The setup is gloriously, appropriately stupid: a bunch of now middle aged friends (Who peaked when VHS was king) head into the jungle to shoot their own version of the cult “classic”… and then reality starts biting back.

The vibe: piss-take with teeth

This is not a remake but a piss take and its great. The film’s best gag is its commitment to being both a loving roast and a functioning creature-adventure. When it’s leaning into comedy, it’s properly funny — not just “one-liners stapled to a trailer”, but situational chaos, ego collisions, and the particular humiliation of adults realising they’re not the main character anymore.

And when it switches into action mode, it doesn’t suddenly pretend to be important. It keeps the tone buoyant, like it knows the correct emotional response to a giant snake is panic, yelling, and absolutely no personal growth until later.

The cast chemistry is the engine

Putting Jack Black and Paul Rudd at the centre is borderline unfair — it’s like casting two human charisma cheat codes and then acting surprised the room heats up. Steve Zahn is reliably brilliant at playing the guy who makes bad situations worse by trying to “help”, and Thandiwe Newton brings that vital grounding energy: the person in the group who can hear the sound of the plot arriving and immediately starts packing.

The film also understands a key truth: in a comedy like this, the funniest thing isn’t the snake — it’s people. Specifically, people with cameras, big feelings, and absolutely no survival skills.

Cameos + credits: trust the film, stay seated

The movie weaponises cameos in a way that feels earned rather than desperate — less “please clap” and more “oh no, they actually did that.” And yes: watch the credits. Not as homework. You'll thank me later.

The subtext

There’s a cheeky undercurrent here about midlife nostalgia and the entertainment industry’s compulsive recycling of familiar logos — except Anaconda doesn’t smugly lecture you about it. It just shrugs and says: fine, if we’re doing this, let’s at least have fun and make it weird.

Anaconda (2025) is a lean, holiday-friendly romp that knows exactly what it is: a jungle lark that’s more interested in laughs, momentum, and surprise than in pretending it’s reinventing cinema. If you want a straight-faced snake horror, look elsewhere. If you want a clever, frequently hilarious send-up that still delivers the thrills — this one slithers.

Anaconda is in Australian cinemas on December 26, 2025.

WANT MORE MOVIE REVIEWS?