User Reviews

Tales from the Darkside: A Serpent's Tooth starts as overbearing & overprotective mother Pearl King (Renée Taylor) confides to her friend Myron (Louis Quinn) that her son Richie (Jared Rushton) & daughter Madlene (JoAnn Willette) are ungrateful & don't listen to her which is the cause of much frustration inside Pearl since she knows best. Myron helps her out by giving Pearl a Serpent's Tooth on a necklace which she wears around her neck, it's a very special Serpent's Tooth which gives Pearl the ability to make whatever she says come true & help control her two errant children even more. However Pearl doesn't realise that you should be careful what you wish for because it might just come true...

Episode 8 from season 3 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during November 1986, directed by Frank De Palma one has to say that A Serpent's Tooth is alright but a bit strange & there's quite a bit of comedy in it. The script by Edithe Swensen uses the often used story about some object granting wishes & one or more of the wishes are more literal than the wisher intended & it all comes back to haunt them & it all becomes a nightmare. Unlike most Tales from the Darkside episodes A Serpent's Tooth sometimes feels like farce & more of a comedy than a dark tale of horror or mystery, having said that it is actually quite funny on a number of occasions. For instance the scene when Pearl turns her daughter's boyfriend Barry into a slice of bread & then her daughter Madlene talking to it & eventually saying goodbye to Barry by putting the bread in a Tupperware tub & sticking it in the fridge. The ending isn't great but it's OK I suppose, overall there isn't too much variety in A Serpent's Tooth but it's quite fun & fairly watchable as it passes twenty odd minutes harmlessly enough.

Set entirely within the ground floor of a house A Serpent's Tooth is well made but like all Tales from the Darkside episodes low budget. There's no horror or suspense here & there's nothing creepy or eerie either. Apart from a slightly downbeat ending this is more akin to something you would expect to see from Disney. The acting is OK but nothing special.

A Serpent's Tooth is alright I suppose, it's not really horror themed but it is funny on occasion, it passes twenty minutes & the story is OK if a little predictable.

An insufferably nagging (but doting and loving…) mother, Pearl (Renée Taylor), tries to reinforce her importance (what she says in regards to advice, her persistent desire to be taken seriously, and her reminders to them of how she'd be missing if she wasn't around) to her collegiate son (Brett Marx) and punk pop daughter (JoAnn Willette). Her son, Marc, has traded in dentistry for agriculture (or as she calls it, "studying lettuce") while her daughter, Madlene, is dressed as Madonna in "Desperately Seeking Susan" always going out for another date with a lughead jock boyfriend. Desperate not to be ignored, Pearl goes to her friend, Myron (Louis Quinn) for help. He offers a serpent's tooth as a device to get their attention, as the words from her mouth literally go to work on those that disrespect her. For instance, Marc turns up the volume on his walkman when she talks to him to drown out her voice, with a mention of how his eyes would go blind if he spent so much time in his books coming true. Madlene, wearing a particular brand of heels with her very 80s outfit, is told that they would hurt her ankles by Pearl, and, sure enough, this happens. A bratty kid neighbor loves to stick his tongue out and make this *problem child* impression towards Pearl…when she says if he continues to make that face it will get stuck that way, thanks to the serpent tooth it does. Myron tells Pearl that she should be careful and cautious with the tooth as it has great power…and saying the wrong expression could very well work against Pearl as well. The twist regarding a pillar of salt seems inevitable considering this episode's monkey's paw, in disguise as the serpent's tooth. Made specifically as an episode of irony, all are supposed to have learned a lesson, but the twist at the end (although Pearl seems happy enough despite the circumstances that befall her) allows the kids to get the last laugh. Minor season three episode of the series. I think Taylor was meant to be a figure worthy of some sympathy considering how ignored she is, but she grated on my nerves (the performance more than anything). Her kids aren't any better, but I think you can understand why they might want to turn the volume down on her voice just so they wouldn't have to hear her go on and on. The "load of bread" transformation is an example of the attempted humor that this episode provides. Not exactly a high point of the Darkside show.

Disappointed mother Pearl King (sweetly played by Renee Taylor) feels like her spoiled kids don't appreciate her for all that she does for them. Things change when Pearl acquires a magical serpent's tooth talisman which enables her to make her children show her more gratitude, but naturally it comes at a price. Director Frank De Palma relates the enjoyable story at a quick pace and maintains an engaging lighthearted pace throughout. Edithe Swensen's witty script has a cute central message about being careful what you wish for. Moreover, this show is acted with zest by an enthusiastic cast: Lois Quinn as sympathetic friend Myron, JoAnn Willette as brash punkette daughter Madlene, Brett Marx as jerky son Marc, and Jared Rushton as the bratty Richie. Best of all, Taylor has a ball as a well-meaning mother who lets her newfound power get the best of her. The special effects are primitive, but do the trick just he same. The ironic ending is a doozy. A real hoot.