Let me start by saying I had not heard anything about this film before watching it. I found it in the cheap, previewed bin at my local Blockbuster for only $3.99 and just bought it because the cover looked cool and it had a cool story. I like the old Jungle/Cannibal movies such as CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, CANNIBAL FEROX, etc, so I thought I would give this one a try. For that price, it's the same as renting it, so why not. I have bought a lot of these straight to DVD films, and while some (or most, actually) are not that great, you do find an unknown, underrated film sometimes. Well, I have found one for sure with WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. This is honestly one of the most intense, scary films I have seen in a while. It takes a while to get to the really good stuff, but once it does, it doesn't let up. There are some superb special gore effects in the film. The plot is simple:Two couples head to New Guinea in search of Michael Rockefeller, the son of the Vice President of the United States who disappeared there back in 1961. Recently, a friend of one one of the couples talked to a helicopter pilot that had spotted an old, white man along the banks of a river with some tribesmen. He looked to be in his late 60's or 70's and was rumored to be Michael Rockefeller whom everyone had considered dead years ago. The couples figure if they can find Mr. Rockefeller and record him on video, they could make big bucks selling the footage to the tabloids back in the U.S. Their trip is not nearly as easy as they thought it would be, dealing with locals not too happy to have them snooping around their territory. The two couples also have to deal with the fallout between themselves, to the point where they eventually split up into two separate parties. That is where the good stuff begins. As they travel down river on rafts, they see the local tribesmen in the bushes staring at them and following them along the banks, with bows and arrows pointed at them the whole time. This is a very suspenseful part of the film and extremely scary to me. That is a really creepy feeling to be somewhere like that where you know nothing about the surroundings and the people that inhabit the area are more like wild animals than humans. Very scary. I won't tell you what happens, but I will tell you the filmmakers don't pull any punches and don't give it a nice happy ending like so many other films have. The film was made in 2007 and released on an UNRATED DVD by DIMENSION EXTREME, which has been putting out some great DVD's lately. If you get a chance, check this movie out. It is one of the most underrated horror films of all time in my opinion. I don't know how this movie didn't get more publicity when it first came out.
Click HERE to watch the trailer for WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
I remember thinking this was pretty good - though I remember feeling like the film didn't follow through on it's great opening. One thing I do completely agree with you about is the scene where the tribespeople are standing watching them from the sides of the river - absolutely terrifying. I was really impressed with that moment.
ReplyDelete