(6/10)
Silly pseudo-entry into the cannibal genre is more like a (very) poor man’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with
everything but the kitchen sink thrown in – cannibal natives, gratuitous nudity, vicious diamond
thieves, plane crashes, dinosaur bones, etc. Because of the one brief gory encounter with the
cannibals, this one became lumped in with much gorier movies (some British distributor even insanely
re-titled it “Cannibal Ferox 2”). Overall, it’s a goofy action movie with much less violence (and much
more nudity) than you would expect.
Michael Sopkiw (of “2019: After the Fall of New York”) plays an anthropology professor (you lost me
already!) who, along with a bevy of other misfits, ends up on a doomed private plane that crash-lands on
Dinosaur Island. The island is cursed, inhabited by savages and off-limits to visitors (as is par for the
course in movies like this). After the crash, the motley crew make their way through the jungle, trying in
vain to avoid the savages, alligators, quicksand, natives, etc.
This is a really stupid movie – the characters are annoying, the acting is abysmal, and several times you’
ll find yourself smacking yourself in the head over what you’re seeing. Writer/Director Michele Massimo
Tarantini helmed the wacky women’s prison opus “Women in Fury” the same year and is here reunited
with leading lady Suzane Carvalho who still looks great but still can’t act (and unfortunately has a lot
more dialogue here). Unlike in that film, Massimo doesn’t seem to know where he’s going with this
movie – we go from light-hearted comedy to graphic violence to crass sexploitation to more light-
hearted comedy and before long it makes the viewer seasick.
What keeps the movie entertaining – after the plane finally takes off (the first act of this movie is just
awful) - is its episodic nature. As soon as one idea is exhausted, the movie shifts gears and goes in a
completely different direction, almost like a Saturday afternoon serial. Sure, that’s from a lack of focus,
but it does help when so many of the plot devices don’t work and/or run their course quickly.
Some of the action is well-executed, Carvalho and another gorgeous actress spend much of the film
undressed after being captured by the natives, and the film is overall good-natured, but there’s not
much else to recommend.
The DVD from Media Blasters/Shriek Show is kind of cool –it has a ton of extras, which is surprising for a
movie most people have never heard of before. There are deleted scenes, commentaries, and
interviews with director Massimo and actor Sopkiw. Sopkiw comes off a bit schmucky and literally
spends more time talking about “2019: After the Fall of New York,” though that’s probably more to do
with the interviewer’s questions. I guess that makes sense – I’ve heard of “2019,” “Dinosaur Valley” I’ve
never heard of until the disc was in my hand. Massimo’s interview is subtitled and he seems pretty
positive about the experience.
A so-so movie, made better by the usual star-treatment from Media Blasters. It is also available as part
of a three-disc set called ‘Jungle Horrors’ which also features “Jungle Holocaust” and the excellent
“Eaten Alive!” which is how I came to see it. That package is highly recommended. Even if this one
doesn’t really fit with the other two, it’s a nice change of pace.
Silly pseudo-entry into the cannibal genre is more like a (very) poor man’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with
everything but the kitchen sink thrown in – cannibal natives, gratuitous nudity, vicious diamond
thieves, plane crashes, dinosaur bones, etc. Because of the one brief gory encounter with the
cannibals, this one became lumped in with much gorier movies (some British distributor even insanely
re-titled it “Cannibal Ferox 2”). Overall, it’s a goofy action movie with much less violence (and much
more nudity) than you would expect.
Michael Sopkiw (of “2019: After the Fall of New York”) plays an anthropology professor (you lost me
already!) who, along with a bevy of other misfits, ends up on a doomed private plane that crash-lands on
Dinosaur Island. The island is cursed, inhabited by savages and off-limits to visitors (as is par for the
course in movies like this). After the crash, the motley crew make their way through the jungle, trying in
vain to avoid the savages, alligators, quicksand, natives, etc.
This is a really stupid movie – the characters are annoying, the acting is abysmal, and several times you’
ll find yourself smacking yourself in the head over what you’re seeing. Writer/Director Michele Massimo
Tarantini helmed the wacky women’s prison opus “Women in Fury” the same year and is here reunited
with leading lady Suzane Carvalho who still looks great but still can’t act (and unfortunately has a lot
more dialogue here). Unlike in that film, Massimo doesn’t seem to know where he’s going with this
movie – we go from light-hearted comedy to graphic violence to crass sexploitation to more light-
hearted comedy and before long it makes the viewer seasick.
What keeps the movie entertaining – after the plane finally takes off (the first act of this movie is just
awful) - is its episodic nature. As soon as one idea is exhausted, the movie shifts gears and goes in a
completely different direction, almost like a Saturday afternoon serial. Sure, that’s from a lack of focus,
but it does help when so many of the plot devices don’t work and/or run their course quickly.
Some of the action is well-executed, Carvalho and another gorgeous actress spend much of the film
undressed after being captured by the natives, and the film is overall good-natured, but there’s not
much else to recommend.
The DVD from Media Blasters/Shriek Show is kind of cool –it has a ton of extras, which is surprising for a
movie most people have never heard of before. There are deleted scenes, commentaries, and
interviews with director Massimo and actor Sopkiw. Sopkiw comes off a bit schmucky and literally
spends more time talking about “2019: After the Fall of New York,” though that’s probably more to do
with the interviewer’s questions. I guess that makes sense – I’ve heard of “2019,” “Dinosaur Valley” I’ve
never heard of until the disc was in my hand. Massimo’s interview is subtitled and he seems pretty
positive about the experience.
A so-so movie, made better by the usual star-treatment from Media Blasters. It is also available as part
of a three-disc set called ‘Jungle Horrors’ which also features “Jungle Holocaust” and the excellent
“Eaten Alive!” which is how I came to see it. That package is highly recommended. Even if this one
doesn’t really fit with the other two, it’s a nice change of pace.
 |
Rating;
| by Jim Haggerty |