Taking Up Serpents

Germany, USA2025documentary90'On the Edge

They disregard their own safety and the law. Members of some evangelical communities in Virginia perform a peculiar ritual involving venomous snakes. They believe that this is how they can defeat Satan. The filmmaker delves into this closed community with his camera and captures both the archaic tradition and the brutal life of the post-industrial Appalachian region. This is America at its worst, forgotten by gods and men, immersed in ecstatic religiosity. A film for people with strong nerves and guts.