Writer: Anne Jamaludin

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Watch this if you liked: “Species”, “Python”

Legends are made to tell of the unknown and the Indian myth of snake goddess, Nagin who if ever been desecrated or violated in any way possible, would appear as a human to exact revenge to those who have wronged her. Not many directors can pull of an adaptation of such a legend, but Jennifer Lynch (daughter of three-time Oscar-nominated director David Lynch) did prove she put an upright effort with her third feature.

As much as "Hisss" wanted to represent itself as one of Asia's finest horror thriller ever produced, it came across as a decent passing of mild gore instead. This marks as Lynch's first movie after 17 years of hiatus in movie directing to which explains the possibility that her skills might have been a little bit 'out of the league' all the while. However, it still has some appeal left for horror fans to savor in this slithering tale of the cobra deity.

Overall, the movie's saviour is the lead star, Mallika Sherawat who does not have any lines except for her hissings and screaming. Nonetheless, she did a praiseworthy job on her silent portrayal of the vengeful yet compassionate Nagin. Being the main draw of the movie is certainly not a simple task as the actress went through a lot of hardships just to be in her snake costume. She certainly deserves four out of five for her personal performance in the movie (and for the many times she sheds skins or clothes, whichever you may prefer).

Amongst the supporting characters, Irrfan Khan did an okay portrayal as the chief police inspector who was assigned to investigate the mysterious occurrences caused by Nagin's rampage search for her kidnapped mate. As a renowned Bollywood actor, Khan certainly lacks the x-factor for his characterisation considering that he is an award-winning actor. Besides that, do keep a lookout for some entertaining scenes involving the inspector's senile mother-in-law who would definitely make the movie pleasing to say the least.

The cinematography comes off weak, while digital works were amateurish. It also contains quite a number of scenes showing glimpses of the lead actress' slick skin and alluring body parts. However, the movie did not survive some butchering from the censorship board, thus effecting the already tolerable score selection of the movie. As a matter of fact, the only highlight of it all would be Nagin's transformation sequence.

Give this movie a go if you're a fan of Mallika Sherawat. Like a cotton candy on the side, it's not as fulfilling compared to a full proper parfait but it is sweet enough to sate a desire for some saccharine goodness in your life. Audiences might want to hold back on the snacks as there are some disturbing and disgusting scenes.

Cinema Online, 26 October 2010