In Passion of the Christ, Satan used a Snake, why?

During the opening scene of The Passion of the Christ, why did the Satan figure use a snake? Was he trying to scare Jesus?

We must remember that while the movie, The Passion of the Christ, was excellent it was still just a movie. However, I appreciated the symbolism of the snake because Mel Gibson was bringing to light the very first prophecy found in Scripture - Genesis 3:15.

After Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and God was detailing the punishments for their disobedience. In the midst of the punishments, God offered a promise - that through the seed of the woman would come someone (the Messiah) who while having his heel bruised by the snake, would crush the serpent's head.

And so when Mel Gibson had Jim Cavaziel, who portrayed Jesus, step down on the serpent's head shortly before his arrest, he was illustrating a prophecy that would become reality in a few short hours. Now just who was the baby in Satan's arms is a whole other question . . .