Alabama Snake (2020)

In October, 1991, Darlene Summerford called for an ambulance. She claimed her husband attempted to kill her by forcing a rattlesnake to bite her arm. Glenn Summerford, the accused, just so happened to be the pastor at a rural Pentecostal church that used rattlesnakes in their services. In his defense, he countered that Darlene attempted suicide by snake.

Alabama Snake, a 2020 HBO documentary, attempts to construct a narrative of what happened on that night in Scottsboro, Alabama. Using reenactments, interviews with the principal witnesses, and courtroom testimony, the story unfolds in a series of five chapters — each telling one facet of the story. The hook is how this twisted “he said/she said” story unfolds. The events that led up to that night — as well as the resulting fallout — are equally bizarre.

As the film begins, we’re introduced to Thomas G. Burton, who identifies himself as a retired professor at the Eastern Tennessee State University and a founder of its Archives of Appalachia. The archive’s mission is to collect folklore from the southern Appalachian region of the United States. Burton also wrote The Serpent and the Spirit, a 2004 book about the Summerford case upon which Alabama Snake is based. Burton’s audio interviews with the accused pastor feature prominently in the movie. Clearly, Burton — credited as the film’s writer — knows the subject quite well.

However, the way director Theo Love presents the material doesn’t do it justice. While the cinematography stands high above most true crime fare, it feels more appropriate for a horror movie. (Some of the reenactments actually include jump scares.) While I appreciate the filmmakers using techniques to differentiate Alabama Snake from other true crime documentaries, their efforts only serve to cheapen the subject matter. The sensationalized reenactments and accounts of demon sightings do little more than pad the runtime.

Based on what’s included in the film, there exists a plethora of media coverage about this case. I’d have loved to see more of the Sally Jessy Raphael interview with Darlene Summerford or Burton’s short film about Pentecostal snake-handlers. Snippets of both appear but only briefly. Anything would have been superior to the faux horror movie trappings we’re offered instead.

There’s a fascinatingly weird story here. The unconventional methods used to tell it merely soften its impact. Once again, it appears the old adage “the book is better than the movie” is probably true. I’ll have to track down a copy of Burton’s book to find out. Maybe you should too.