Terror in the Jungle

Suspense & Terror beyond  belief? gimme a break, will ya?

Everytime I make my way with a movie set around the jungle, it comes to my mind the many jungle films that so hard to look at without feeling terribly bored. Of course, this one was no exception, though it had some scenes you could moderately highlight.

I don't think the story itself was all that bad, but most of the reviews you can find at IMDB or sites alike,  seem to be criticizing the boy, Henry, for doing nothing but crying and begging for his daddy all the way through(which can be painfuly felt through the film, making you wonder if the kid was exploited during the filming) Well, it's partially true. Through every one of his lines, he's either crying or sounding like he's on the verge of crying. Well, look at what happens to him! And here come the spoilers: First of all, he only appears to be about five or six years old, and then his dad takes him to the airport and gives him to a stewardess to get on a plane to go see his mother in Rio. Henry doesn't really seem to want to go, and even as he's taken toward the plane, he looks back and calls out "daddy daddy".

This poor kid will be in a lot of trouble once he's on the plane.

Yes, I know what you're thinking but, nope, she's not nude in the movie.

Two nuns, plus a death one.

I could use some of your weenie, you know.

Then the plane somehow runs low on fuel and ends up crashing in the Amazon river, killing some of the passengers. The passengers who remained alive were pushed, many against their will, into the Amazon river. Thankfully they had their life jackets on to keep them alive for the alligators that quickly showed up for breakfast. Henry, however, was put into a coffin (after a dead nun was removed, and I'm not sure where she came from) with no lid and sent floating down the Amazon. The remaining passengers were shown jumping from the then burning plane. I suppose it can be assumed they were all eaten by alligators, too.

Seeing the boy in the casket reminded me of Moses in the basket floating down the river, but there he was, all alone. He ends up on land, leaving his life jacket and regular jacket hanging on a tree. He runs through the jungle, yes, yelling "daddy daddy" a few times. Later he's spied by the natives, complete with loin cloths, black hair, and blow guns. The natives capture Henry and take him to their king who decides that since he has "golden hair" (his hair is blond), he is a gift from the gods and a festival should be held. And a festival is held, with lots of music and dancing. Henry does smile. Naturally there is one villager who hates all this and wants to kill Henry.

The jealous villager uses the excuse that the sun has not shown since the boy was found, so he should be sacrificed to their god.

So the villager tries to kill Henry by tying him to a table, which I guess was made of bamboo and grass, and tried to get another villager to kill Henry, but the villager sees Henry's hair glow and says he can't kill him because he's got the magic of the sun. So the jealous villager kills the other villager, then starts preparing to kill Henry. It's interesting to note that the sun was shining during this scene. Their shadows are glaringly obvious. But some other people show up, and start setting things on fire. Then a fight breaks out, and a woman who didn't want to see Henry killed helps him survive...by taking his hand and running full speed through the pasture. Henry's little legs couldn't move fast enough to keep from being dragged like a sack of potatoes. I wonder if that was a stunt double.

Shit happens.

They didn't pay me enough to get naked in this one dude.

I'm a kinky nun.

That's racist man.

Yes, this film has three directors.

Anyway, the jealous villager/murderer chases after them and when trying to shoot Henry with the blowgun, accidentally shoots the woman and kills her. That saddens him, and angers him, but he continues his pursuit of Henry.

Henry runs away from his pursuer, then the killer catches him, but is killed when a leopard shows up. I don't think the stuffed animal really turned into a leopard, but maybe he did, in the story. Anyway, Henry then runs further, and ends up falling in quicksand with a python or some other big and nasty snake slithering around nearby.

Did I spoil it to you guys? sorry, my bad.

Here a movie excerpt: