Is Heitor the Snake Dead in Anaconda?

Directed by Tom Gormican, ‘Anaconda‘ follows the story of a group of friends who decide to reboot the 1997 classic of the same name on their own. The indie project is helmed by Doug, a wedding videographer, who has dreamed of writing and making movies since he was a kid. When his best friend, Griff, who works as a background actor, reveals he has bought the rights to the original film, the duo goes to Brazil, accompanied by their friends, Kenny and Claire, to present their own spin on the tale of the anaconda. However, they cannot make a movie without a snake, which is where Heitor comes in. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Heitor the Snake Meets a Gruesome End

When the four friends set out to make the movie, Kenny finds a snake handler named Santiago. He says he is the best in the business, and he brings his best snake, Heitor, to work on the movie. Santiago reveals that Heitor is not only just a pet snake, but a friend who saved his life and vice versa. He rescued the reptile from the river, which was poisoned with mercury due to gold mining in the region. A lot of other snakes in the river died, and so would have Heitor. But Santiago found it in time and nursed it back to health. The handler reveals that while he was saving Heitor, the snake was returning the favor.

Santiago does not reveal exactly how his beloved snake saved his life, but it is fair to assume that he must have been going through some difficult time, most likely on an emotional level, and Heitor’s arrival in his life helped him through it. Living with a snake meant teaching it to follow orders, and Santiago succeeds in fully training Heitor to the point that, despite its primal nature, the snake knows not to attack anyone unless being commanded to do so. This also makes it a perfect snake actor for Doug and Griff’s movie. However, while Doug is excited to meet Heitor, Griff’s fear of snakes makes him queasy about not only working with one, but being in close proximity to it.

One of the scenes in Doug’s movie features Griff’s character sacrificing himself to save Claire’s character. This means being in such close proximity to Heitor that it looks like the snake is going to eat him. A trained Heitor does its part, appearing menacing while being completely harmless. However, Griff’s phobia of snakes takes over, and when the snake gets too close, which Doug and the others cheer for, he throws the snake off of him. Heitor falls into the water, and he might have had the chance to survive if it had fallen off the other end of the boat. But in the end is the engine’s rotor, and under the moving boat, Heitor is cut into pieces.

Heitor Receives a Heartfelt Tribute

Everything happens so quickly that there is no time for Santiago or anyone else to jump in the water and save Heitor from being cut into several pieces by the rotor blades. Watching his best friend and beloved pet die so horrifically in front of his eyes breaks Santiago’s heart. He refuses to leave his friend like this and gets all of Heitor’s remains from the water. Everyone, except Griff, attends the funeral, where Heitor’s body parts are put together. Santiago pours his heart out about how much the snake meant to him, and he even kisses its severed head. Everyone sympathises with Santiago, except Griff, who claims that Heitor was going to attack him, and what he did was in self-defense.

Santiago can’t bear to have his friend’s murderer witness the funeral, so Griff is shut out. Santiago lights Heitor’s body on fire, while singing a song, in which he is joined by the others. Together, they send Heitor’s spirit to snake heaven. However, this is not the only time the snake is remembered. Against all odds, when the crew manages to finish the film, they give it a limited release, since Griff didn’t actually own the rights to the movie, and Sony gave them a cease and desist. Still, Doug and Griff release it for their friends and family, and in the end, we see a dedication for Santiago and Heitor, which shows that they were both remembered by the crew, and their sacrifices for the movie did not go in vain.

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