Spasms

During a hunting trip in Micronesia, Kincaid loses his brother to a massive taipan. The venom also bites him, but he survives and appears to develop a telepathic link with the snake. Haunted by visions of the creature's killings, he begins to seek a cure for the link through psychic research.

Kincaid arranges for a poacher to capture the snake and deliver it to his mansion outside San Diego. He hires Tom Brasilian, an ESP researcher and psychiatrist, promising to underwrite Brasilian's ongoing work in exchange for help severing the link. This marks the formal beginning of the battle to control the creature.

A Satanic cult fixates on the serpent as a demonic symbol and hires ex-CIA agent Warren Crowley to steal it. Crowley bribes a sailor aboard the transport to help secure the snake, but the mole is killed when he peeks inside the container and is bitten, dying overboard.

Brasilian insists the snake stay at a university laboratory until Kincaid’s private lab is ready, and oversees its transport there. Crowley and his minder Deacon Tyrone tail the operation, pursuing the snake's path toward the center of research. The pursuit sets the stage for further confrontations.

Kincaid’s niece Suzanne secretly increases the container’s temperature to a lethal 150 degrees, believing the psychic link is a delusion. Her risky experiment foreshadows the deadly consequences of tampering with the creature. The attempt happens in the lab setup.

That night Crowley and Tyrone break into the lab. Tyrone, realizing the snake is overheated, opens the container, allowing the creature to break loose. The snake kills Tyrone and the lab director before escaping outside.

Brasilian and Suzanne are summoned to the scene by police, while Kincaid senses the snake has broken loose. Authorities are skeptical of the tale and worry about potential manslaughter charges for illicitly importing such a deadly animal. The trio is kept under scrutiny as the danger continues to spread.

Without warning, the serpent strikes a nearby sorority house, killing its inhabitants. Kincaid witnesses the slaughter through his telepathic link, unable to stop the carnage in time. The rampage demonstrates the creature's reach beyond the lab.

Threatened by the cult for failing to secure the snake, Crowley bribes access to Kincaid's residence and travels there by van, convinced the creature will eventually arrive at the house. He plans to capture it at the target location, escalating the chase.

Brasilian uses a brain-pattern monitoring device to tap into Kincaid’s psychic link and track the snake. During a telepathic episode, Kincaid sees the snake arrive at his house and kill Crowley, but the connection is interrupted before he can explain further. Suzanne realizes the vision refers to their own home.

Kincaid arrives at his house to discover the snake has already killed a groundskeeper. He grabs an assault rifle and searches the grounds, but intense visions push him toward the limit and he loses his weapon. The impending confrontation threatens to erupt at any moment.

In the backyard, the psychic energy surrounding the fight triggers explosive phenomena. He attacks the snake with a knife, but the creature overpowers him in a brutal struggle. The final confrontation leaves Kincaid mortally wounded.

Brasilian arrives with Suzanne and retrieves Kincaid's gun, shooting the snake to death. They watch as the creature's remains burn, ending the immediate threat to the neighborhood and marking the tragic end for Kincaid.

Brasilian and Suzanne depart the scene, reflecting on the cost of taming a dangerous psychic link. The mansion quiets as the snake and Kincaid lie in ruin, signaling the heavy price paid for trying to master otherworldly power.