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Described in quotes on the sleeve as "Possibly the
most terrifying film of the last decade", Welcome to the Jungle is
a fairly derivative trip into the green hell of Papua New Guinea,
enlivened by some snappy dialogue and a few moments of genuine chilling
horror. So, not the most terrifying after all then, but still a
competent thrill ride that manages to pull off the post-modern cinematic
trick of ripping off not only Cannibal Holocaust but
The Blair Witch
Project as well. As Blair Witch itself steals a few ideas from Ruggero
Deodato's sick minded flesh eating yarn in the first place, surely this
leaves Welcome to the Jungle in some kind of temporal loop. At the very
least, it leaves audiences with a film that provides effective scares
while possessing little in terms of personality.
The movie follows four young people as they dive unprepared into the
sweltering heat of the jungle in search of Michael Rockefeller, the rich
heir to a fortune who disappeared into the trees in the early 60s, never
to be seen again. Most think he ended his days as dinner for some
primitive tribe, but sightings of him have kept conspiracy theorists
itching for decades. Now, for our four semi-likable heroes, it's time to
cast doubt aside and plunge headlong into the foreboding rainforest, in
the vain hope that they can find the by now aged millionaire and make
some money in the process. If they don't get eaten first that is...
Because our plucky band of Lonely Planet guide cliches are making a
documentary, it means that the filmmakers can get away with that staple
of the indie horror...Shaky handheld camera. In this case it works,
adding tension to the night scenes and a sense of real panic when the
natives become restless. It also gives the whole thing an informality
during the opening scenes when the four travelers are getting to know
each other. Although some of the chat is a little lame, for the most
part it's engaging, surprisingly witty banter for a cheapjack horror
flick.
But as the four become two very distinct couples, trouble in paradise
looms. Taking a page (make that a whole chapter...) from Blair
Witch,
the film dedicates as much screen time to the fractious relationship
between the warring factions within the group as it does to their
imminent demise at the hands of ash covered, loin cloth sporting spear
chuckers. Couple number one, Bijou and Mikey, turn into drunken party
animals with zero respect for the inhabitants of the jungle. Partying
all night and stealing skulls from burial grounds to sell on eBay by
day, these annoying idiots are cannibal snacks waiting to be hunted.
When they separate from the others, heading downstream on a bamboo raft,
it's only a matter of time before their bolshy attitude and lack of
smarts leads them to a sticky end. Bijou ends her days as a gory set
piece that plays on the impaled lady gag in Cannibal
Holocaust. For
anyone who's seen that particular slice of horror, let me reassure you
that in Welcome to the Jungle the spike is shoved into a far more
politically correct part of the anatomy. Mikey meanwhile ends up staked
to the ground being eaten limb by limb.
The other two friends are Mandi and Colby, two annoying,
punctuality-obsessed busy bodies who deserve to have their guts eaten by
walking, grunting tribal stereotypes. So overbearingly smug and
officious that they made me feel nauseous whenever they opened their
mouths, this hideous pair garnered cheers in DVDisgo-towers when they
finally got theirs in the final scene... A scene that contains such a
lame twist while at the same time echoing the final shot
from Blair Witch, that it almost destroyed some of the good work earlier
in the picture.
Welcome to the Jungle is an average horror yarn that rips off its
influences competently while offering little in the way of fresh meat
for the seasoned gut munch fan. The film goes on and off the boil
throughout, with moments of simmering tension dragged down by dull
moments in need of spicing up. The acting, while be no means terrible,
is at times a little flavourless. It's a decent stab at cannibal genre
conventions, with good gore effects and a few moments to make your skin
crawl but in general it seems a little undercooked....*
*apologies for this last paragraph of food puns, it wont happen again.
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Flix.com
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find Welcome to the Jungle at adultvideouniverse.com
