So, two massive animatronic puppets were made instead. Anaconda didn't count on the necessary technology and budget to render a realistic digital model of the titular animal for each and every one of its appearances. Related: The Lake Placid & Anaconda Crossover Movie Is As Crazy As It SoundsĮven scarier than the movie itself is the cast and crew's real-life fight with the snake. To their surprise, an even bigger snake appears, but they're ready to fight for their lives. In typical giant-animal horror movie fashion, two giant anacondas start hunting down the crew one by one until Terri, Serone, cameraman Danny Rich (Ice Cube), and anthropologist Steven Cale (Eric Stoltz) end up being the last survivors. The film enjoyed a significant amount of success at the box office, gained fame as a cult classic, and spawned four Anaconda sequels-including a crossover with the crocodile-centered franchise Lake Placid-despite it not reaching a fraction of the critical acclaim that put Spielberg's Jaws in the cinema hall of fame.Īnaconda follows a documentary film crew led by director Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez), who meets snake hunter Paul Serone (Jon Voight) while searching for an indigenous tribe along the Amazon River. Following the success of Steven Spielberg's Jaws and the subsequent rise of the Piranha franchise, Anaconda tried to become the next big horror movie based on an elusive apex predator. The animatronic puppet used in Anaconda endangered the cast and crew and almost killed Jennifer Lopez.