Villain(s)  Voodoo priest, zombies

Actor(s):  Boris Karloff, Julissa, Carlos East, Rafael Bertrand

Brief Description  Snake People (1968)—also widely known as Isle of the Snake People, Cult of the Dead, and La Muerte Viviente—is a low-budget Mexican-American horror film starring horror legend Boris Karloff in one of his final onscreen performances. Directed by Juan Ibáñez and co-directed/written by B-movie auteur Jack Hill, the movie blends elements of voodoo, zombies, cannibalism, and psychedelic 1960s exploitation cinema. Because Karloff was 81 years old, suffering from severe emphysema, and confined to a wheelchair, he was too frail to travel to Mexico. His scenes were shot entirely on a soundstage in Los Angeles, while the rest of the production was filmed in Mexico with a local cast. The footage was later spliced together, resulting in a famously disjointed and bizarre cult classic.

Plot:
The story takes place on Korbai, a remote, fog-shrouded Pacific island where the native population secretly operates a powerful voodoo death cult. The mainland government dispatches a strict, zero-nonsense police officer, Captain Pierre Labesch (Rafael Bertrand), to clean up the island's corrupt, rum-soaked police force and eliminate local superstitions. Labesch clashes with Carl van Molder (Boris Karloff), a wealthy, respected local landowner and scientist who studies the island's ecology. Van Molder warns the aggressive captain not to interfere with the natives or their deep-rooted religious rituals. Van Molder’s beautiful niece, Annabella (Julissa), arrives on the island. She is a fierce anti-alcohol crusader attempting to secure funding for the International Anti-Saloon League.

Despite her strict morals, she falls in love with Lieutenant Andrew Wilhelm (Carlos East), a handsome local policeman who happens to love rum. Unbeknownst to the law, a sinister snake dancer named Kalea (Yolanda Montes) and a corrupt priest use voodoo to kidnap local native girls, transforming them into mindless, flesh-eating zombies. When policemen get too close to the unholy jungle ceremonies, the zombie women attack and devour them. Annabella is eventually kidnapped by the cult to serve as a human sacrifice intended to resurrect Baron Samedi, the lord of the undead. Captain Labesch and Lieutenant Wilhelm must infiltrate the dangerous jungle cult to rescue her. In the chaotic finale, they unmask the cult's all-powerful leader, Damballah, and uncover a shocking betrayal tied directly to the Van Molder estate.