Various devices helped, though none were applied consciously. They just kind of happened. As a child, I sustained deep psychological scars after watching a terrifying movie called The Gorgon , in which Medusa turned people to stone when they stared at the writhing snakes on her head. Girlfriend applies pliers to serpent. Girlfriend dials 911.
Cops rush in.
Paquin X-rayed for stray teeth. Cops begin execution. Execution drags on . . . Dead snake squirms for hours . . . . The characters and plot were so relentlessly bizarre that one merely had to step out of the way much of the time, kind of like a toreador letting the bull rush past the red flag.