Terror in the Jungle (1968) User Reviews

Now it's my turn !

[mail-3593 · 2/10 · 1 November 2013]

OK, now it's my turn to weigh in on this disaster. I'm the director who's credited with this fiasco but in my defense I have to explain that there were three directors on this film and we all suffered under a producer with no experience, no taste, no sense and worst of all, NO MONEY. I was fresh out of film school working as an editor when I was introduced to him when he was looking for a director. I convinced him I could handle a feature having already won two awards at film festivals for two shorts I had done. This was the biggest mistake in my life. Once on, for a mere $50 a day, I realized what I had gotten into. He hired a bunch of non-SAG actors who actually PAID HIM to be in his movie. None had any experience in front of a camera and all the characters were his creation. I was stuck in that plane mock-up for two weeks with these desperate souls trying to create something from nothing. The script was only half written when we started and he said he would finish it when we got to the jungle. When we completed the plane interiors, including the now famous "crash" scene, the rough cut was 83 minutes long and we hadn't even reached the jungle part of the story.

I told him we had to make some serious trims, both for time and for performances. He refused to cut anything. He was so in love with the crap we had he actually once said he believed that the actress playing the stewardess would win an Oscar for her scream scene in the fire. I knew I was doomed. We argued over and over about what I felt should be dropped, trimmed and eliminated until I had it. I walked from the production and that wonderful salary.

Undaunted, he went to Peru and used the cameraman as the replacement director. Down there they wrote the second half of the script and shot it as he wrote it. Back in LA they now had a bigger disaster, naturally. The film was way too long, badly shot, badly acted and unwatchable. He and this second director fought, as did I, and he then walked away as well. Now the producer was over a barrel. He had sunk what little money he borrowed and still believed he had a hit on his hands if he could just get it finished. He hired a third guy to come in and fix the problem. This genius hired a bunch of extras, put bad wigs on them and went to Griffith park in LA and shot more crap that was even more laughable than what they got in Peru. After that the producer shopped around for stock footage of native ceremonies and came up with some god-awful crap from a 40's schlock film and cut it in... the final disaster is what's on screen. I've lived in shame my entire career because for some reason I always get the credit for making this turkey. I was one of three victims! The entire debacle was the brain child of the producer and none of us had a chance in hell to make it any better than it was doomed to be from the start.

And that's the truth.

Starts off great, but takes a serious nosedive

[BA_Harrison · 3/10 · 31 May 2016]

As a fan of really trashy films, I absolutely loved the first part of Terror in the Jungle, which introduces a wonderfully eclectic selection of ridiculous stereotypes flying down to Rio but destined to never arrive at their destination. Among those on board the doomed flight: irritating blonde kid Henry Clayton Jr. (Jimmy Angle) and his cuddly toy tiger, an acquitted murderess making off with her dead husband's cash, a buxom aspiring starlet, a trio of pop-stars with very silly hair, a wealthy businessman, a caring stewardess, and a pair of nuns escorting their dead colleague, whose coffin will soon become an important plot device. It's like the beginning of classic disaster spoof Airplane, but without a shred of irony.

As they pass over the Amazon basin, the passengers are in good spirits thanks to the Beatles-esque group entertaining with a rendition of their hit song 'Soft Lips', while the aspiring actress gyrates in the aisle to the groovy tune. However, disaster strikes when the plane inexplicably begins to lose fuel. The passengers are forced to throw any unnecessary baggage out of the door (an exercise that sees one of the nuns accidentally falling to her death) but this course of action doesn't prevent the need for an emergency landing. The plane ditches into the Amazon. Those who survive the crash leap from the wreckage into the river, where they are immediately devoured by crocodiles! Only the irritating kid survives, set afloat in the dead nun's coffin shortly before the plane explodes. So far, so hugely entertaining! Unfortunately, after the plane crashes and burns, so does the film.

With all of the interesting characters killed off by the impact, the crocs, or the explosion, the rest of the film is really dull, the action now centred around the kid, whose incessant whimpering really grates on the nerves. Arriving unscathed at the river bank, the young lad wanders through the undergrowth until he is discovered by a tribe of Indians who believe him to be the son of their god INTI, on account of his blonde hair (a fact emphasised by a terrible 'golden aura' special effect). Meanwhile, rescuers searching for survivors of the crash find the boy's life-jacket hanging from a branch and report their findings. The lad's worried father rushes to the site to help with the search, but will he locate his son before one of the tribesmen, who isn't convinced by the child's status as a deity, can convince the other villagers to stop pampering the insufferable brat and sacrifice him instead?

This jungle-bound nonsense is handled with zero style by Andrew Janczak, who took over when original director Tom DeSimone wisely abandoned ship. A pathetic piranha attack, a dismal dance routine (helmed by a third director, Alex Graton), and a mind-bogglingly strange moment where the boy's cuddly toy transforms into a real animal to protect him from the evil Indian who wants him dead, all fail to inject any fun into proceedings. In fact, it's hard to believe that a film that is so entertaining in the first act can wind up being so boring.

8/10 for everything pre-jungle; 0/10 for the rest. That's an average of 4 out of 10, minus one point for that irritating kid.

horror in Peru

[ksf-2 · 4/10 · 25 March 2018]

Bad acting all around. Bad script. Bad music. Bad editing. Bad special effects. Bad Continuity. Little Henry is off to be with Mom, but the airplane doesn't make it. Also on board are a rock band (with their terrible wigs), and a few oddball characters. After accidentally pushing a nun out of the airplane, it crashes. Some searchers find where the boy landed. Then we spend a crazy long time on a couple lovely floor shows by the native savages. Some of the villagers and some of the dancers are quite light skinned, which makes one wonder how they could be so white, while the rest of their tribe is so dark. It's all too hokey for words. and the final 15 minutes just go all over the place. Actually filmed in Peru, if one can believe the credits. We make it to the end, but just barely. It's all so terrible. but it got made. Skip this one.... showing on Epix channel.

The best WORST movie ever!!!

[Maciste_Brother · 1/10 · 29 January 2000]

Terror in the Jungle is a real find. If you saw it, you're one of the few lucky ones. It's hilarious!

The story is about an airplane crashing in the middle of the south American jungle. The crash scene has to be seen to be believed. Everyone dies in the crash or they're subsequently eaten alive by crocodiles. Only a young blonde boy survives. A nearby tribes brings the kid to their village and they (seemingly all males) venerate him because of his golden hair! I kid you NOT! At the end, there's a lot of wrestling between the natives and the man on the search for any survivors of the downed airplane. All the while, the kid sits on a throne and his blond hair is surrounded by a golden halo and he cries nonstop!! It's a hoot!!!

Very obscure and contains very questionable subtexts. A must if you're into obscure, it's-so-bad-it's-good movies.

Bad cinema fans alert!

[aveeris523 · 1/10 · 29 April 2007]

This is indeed a spectacularly bad film, but it is the rare kind of badness that is endlessly, jaw-droppingly entertaining! I want to add to the other comments on this film.

The "rock band" on the plane look like three skinny drunks from casual labor wearing bad wigs.

Watch for the severe continuity problem with the kid's stuffed tiger: it turns into a lion, a leopard and back again; it's filthy or clean depending on the shot.

*SPOILER! The stuffed tiger turns into a real animal to save the kid (and the writers)!

The sight of little Jimmy floating down the Amazon in a coffin, clutching his stuffed tiger and squalling away will stick permanently in your memory.

Listen for one of the most inept sound effects ever: late in the story when the priest is setting out to find Jimmy, the guide demands his monk's robes as payment-the priest drops on one knee in a moment of resigned contemplation and there is the sound of a bell, not the deep "BONNNNG" of a church bell, but the "ding" of a bell from a boxing match!

This is an absolute hoot to watch.

Cinema's Greatest Masterpiece

[zombie-41 · 5/10 · 11 August 2002]

I am the proud owner of a copy of 'Terror in the Jungle' which I bought for £2 second hand at Stevenage indoor-market. What I took home was a thrilling journey through bad film making, a movie which excels at every aspect of trash. If I didn't know better I'd say this movie was a spoof. The over reliance on stock footage, dubious extended scenes of a young boy crying and a frankly racist depiction of South American tribesmen all combine with hilarious wooden acting. My favourite scene is the plane crash when all the passengers jolt upright with 'terrified' expressions on their faces. Classic.

Cheap jungle action, actually far worse than the standard

[EyeAskance · 1 September 2003]

This typically abysmal Crown International Pictures release deals with a little boy who is the sole survivor of an airplane crash, fighting for his life in a savage jungle teeming with hungry beasts and headhunters. The kid cries constantly, so don't be surprised if you find yourself rooting for the alligators. Apparently a shot-on-location epic, it still somehow manages to incorporate a great deal of "Wild Kingdom" type footage on obviously different film-stock.

TERROR IN THE JUNGLE has some incidentally hilarious moments, my personal favorite being an early scene aboard the plane, where a rock band with crappy Beatle wigs entertains the passengers with a song as a sultry starlet dances "A-go-go" in the aisle. This scene was clearly included solely for a poster tagline - "HEAR THE NEW SMASH HIT BY(insert unknown rock band name here)!!". Cast of nobodies presumably went straight back to driving cabs, cutting hair, etc. After the film's wrap-up...the director, however, went on to a career making all-male porn features.

Schlock film lovers will want to track this one down...it's the kind of bad that makes you reevaluate the crowning of something like PLAN NINE as "the worst movie ever"...which it ain't.

2/10.

Terrible in the Jungle

[Rainey-Dawn · 1/10 · 19 January 2016]

A bad film. Very bad film. Boring and terrible. It takes 25 minutes to get to the point - a plane crash that leaves a young boy stranded in the jungle - the only survivor. After the plane crash, we see the young boy in what appears to be a black coffin made for a child instead of an inflatable life-raft - but he was wearing his life-vest - good for him! he is found by a tribe - a tribe that is left over from the ancient Mayan, Aztec, or Incans - IDK which. The kid has blond hair that glows in the sunlight - that is the only reason he was saved from sacrifice.

Yes they are looking for any survivors of the plane crash and that is boring as well. Just as boring when the kid is found.

Bland jungle film - you can easily pass this one up. BTW I acquired this movie in the Pure Terror 50 Movie Pack - this one is not a horror film.

1/10

If there's anything worse

[larcher-2 · 1/10 · 5 December 2002]

If there's anything worse than this movie I don't want to see it. I remember so many amazing things--a nun dropped out of a coffin to make a raft for a little blond boy; the little blond boy himself adored as a god; lots of stock footage of Peru as an ideal vacation spot. Shining Path and Alberto Fujimori should blast away any notion that Peru is a vacation paradise. The whole thing is so awful that Plan 9 or even Robot Monster is an aesthetic treat by comparison. This film should be bombed and strafed and bombed again.

Rarely have I felt this much visceral hate toward a movie.

[soulexpress · 1/10 · 29 August 2017]

This film went through three directors, the first two of whom quit in disgust as the producer had no clue, no taste, and no money. The cast was composed entirely of non-SAG actors, each of whom paid to be in the film. You can imagine their performances.

The plot concerns Henry, a little boy whose father puts him (alone) on a flight to Rio de Janeiro to visit his estranged mother. When the plane inexplicably loses fuel, it crash-lands in the Amazon River, killing half the passengers on impact. The flight crew tosses the other passengers into the river, where they're promptly eaten by crocodiles. The flight crew themselves buy the farm when the plane, for unexplained reasons, catches fire and explodes.

Only little Henry survives; the stewardess had set him adrift in a coffin belonging to a dead nun who was being flown home for burial. Eventually, he's abducted by native Jivaros, who are convinced that Henry is the son of their god, Inti, because his blond hair matches the sun--hence a ridiculous halo effect that turns up not once but twice. One native is unconvinced, though, and wants the boy killed.

Another tribe invades their village, kills most of its people, and burns their huts down. (Again, the film provides no reason for this.) But Henry escapes, as does the bad guy. Just as he is about to kill Henry, the boy's stuffed leopard transforms into a real one and rips the bad guy apart with its teeth. (I'm not making this up!) His dying words are, "Inti, forgive me for hating your son."

I could write a book on what's wrong with this film, but instead will touch on its most repugnant features:

• We spend the first 25 minutes getting to know the passengers on the plane, only to see them all killed off at virtually the same time. That leaves Henry to carry the film. To put it nicely, he's not up to the task.

• Henry spends nearly the whole film either crying or calling for his daddy. That's understandable as he's going through a trauma, but goddammit if his non-stop simpering doesn't grate on the nerves!

• The portrayal of Peruvians here is, to put it mildly, condescending. Seeing this movie, one might think the people of Peru do nothing all day but engage in elaborate rituals.

• The jungle men wear cheesy loincloths and Moe Howard-type wigs. The women wear dresses that resemble something out of a Tarzan-themed senior prom. The one exception is the village elder, who I swear has khaki shorts on.

• We're treated to not one, but three, separate close-ups of fatal stabbings. The effect is not handled competently.

• Once the leopard kills the bad guy, we get a full body shot of the animal. It's visibly chained to a tree.

Boredom In The Jungle

[anxietyresister · 1/10 · 13 October 2005]

If the following sounds tempting, then by all means rush down to your local Blockbuster and rent this movie post-haste:

1. Awful 60's hairstyles, from pathetic perms to dodgy ducktails.

2. The worst child actor in the world ever, who does nothing but cry and say DADDY in the most annoying voice imaginable.

3. Lots of stock footage of alligators and monkeys that doesn't mesh with the film. At all.

4. Stereotypical Indians who use blowpipes and talk gobbledegook. Oh, and it goes without saying they whoop around a campfire.

5. Hilariously fake plane crash mechanics where the cast actually throw themselves into the corners of the cardboard set.

6. The exterior shots of 5, which look suspiciously like a toy jet on a string being led around a studio lit with blue light.

7. Terrible special effects which make the ones used in the first Star Trek series look cutting edge by comparison. ( Special mention: The little boy's blond hair glowing. Oh dear..)

8. Laughable editing and continuity, where background items move between scenes, the soundtrack changes completely without any warning etc.

9. Not got enough money to hire a professional dancer? Get any lady from off the street to prance about like an idiot! No-one will notice the difference! Er..

10. A 'thrilling' climax involving quicksand, snakes (more stuff from the archives) and a ton of fake blood. Don't forget to put in a stupid 'tribal' sounding song either!

The more sensible among you however, will wait for it's inevitable appearance on MST3K when this classic TV show is resurrected and then you can watch it in the spirit it was intended. Any other kind of enjoyment to be derived from this crap is unthinkable.. not to mention unworkable. So don't even try it. 0/10

Bonkers groovy jungle madness

[Bezenby · 8/10 · 31 December 2012]

I got a real kick out of this one. Young Henry is being sent alone by plane to Rio to meet his mum, but on the way the plane crashes and Henry gets sent down the Amazon river in a nun's coffin (!), only to get captured by natives and declared the son of God! It's up to Henry's dad and some priests to try and track Henry down before the Henry somehow causes some sort of civil war.

Not only is Terror in the Jungle cheesy and daft, it also contains moments of gore and outright surrealism. From the blood soaked plane crash and subsequent alligator attack, to the 'halo' of the boy and a truly brain-damaging part involving a toy leopard. It even manages to throw in a couple of songs into the bargain. What else could you want from a movie? What about that Beat combo with the bad wigs? Or the stop-motion stabbings? Or just about anything that happens in the last fifteen minutes?

Great stuff.

The airplane scene!

[Squinty · 7/10 · 18 September 1998]

Not such a good movie, but a nun falling out of an airplane, a kid in a swamp shouting, "Daddy! Daddy!" for a loooong time, and "Soft Lips" (one of the greatest songs I have ever heard) make it all worthwhile.

What a great movie -- it really sucks!

[carl-36 · 1/10 · 18 August 1999]

The movie that would be included if Mystery Science Theater 3000 had a home game version! The source material for tacky comments in this movie are endless. I found the video of Terror in the Jungle at a garage sale. What a find!

I agree with the rest...

[Rustyguy · 23 August 2006]

Making a jungle movie POORLY isn't easy...first, you have to make sure that the nightclub style ceremonial dance scenes are choreographed with just the right amount of schlock...you have to make sure all of the costumes have been lifted from the 1968 Miss America (or maybe Miss Ecuador) swimsuit competition...and you definitely MUST insure that all the actors have never performed beyond the high school level...

I'M TOTALLY AMAZED THAT THIS MOVIE ISN'T UNIVERSALLY CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST BEAUTIFULLY MADE BAD MOVIE OF ALL TIME. I laughed more during this movie than any other...EVER!!!!!

The problem is that, since it is so unknown, it's hard to find. Yet it's definitely worth the effort if you like this sort of thing,

Promises so much but fails to deliver!

[Red-Barracuda · 4/10 · 7 March 2022]

This one begins with the introduction of various characters, as they converge at an airport for a flight to Rio - a woman who has killed her husband, an aspiring actress, a rich businessman, a rock band, nuns and a child travelling solo to be with his estranged mother. So, right away I am thinking 'Yes! This is going to be a stereotypes on an aeroplane movie!' I love a stereotypes on a plane movie, especially as you know that all the melodrama is going to be put to the test when the damn plane crashes and/or a sweating lunatic is spotted up the back clutching a briefcase. So, here I was all excited when the bloody plane crashes into the middle of the jungle and everyone either dies on impact or is eaten by crocodiles...and we are only 20 MINUTES in! From then on in we are left with the sole survivor and if it isn't that insufferable little twerp, the child travelling to see his mother! After that a bunch of people try to find him, while some South American Indians are up to no good and there is a chunk of stock footage of animals to pad things out. The question is though, why go to the bother of introducing all those potentially interesting characters, when they are going to all be dead in quarter of an hour and we're left with the sprog? Disappointing! And to think, this dumb movie almost hit the jackpot, as just two years later Airport was released and ushered in the era of the mega-bucks making disaster movie. While, this film did not usher in the 'annoying child in a jungle' movie era, funnily enough.

Quite possibly one of the worst movies ever made.

[andyp-7 · 2/10 · 14 July 1999]

An unbelievable plot, laughable characters, and obvious errors (in one scene where several grass huts are supposed to be burning, a gas torch can be seen repeatedly trying to ignite one of the huts), this film is a real dog.

What am I watching?

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 4 October 2019]

If it isn't the Mamie Eisenhower wigs on the middle aged rock group, a Ginger Grant like chorus girl, a flying nun, a female ex-con with a hidden stash of cash, or a nose dripping kid on his way to see his mother in South America, it's no-talent look/act-alikes of Mary Wickes, Sandra Gould and Henry Gibson. They are all on a doomed plane heading to their doom, facing the dangers of nature and being turned into cannibal stew. What this is doing on a collection of films referred to as "Pure Terror" is an even bigger mystery than how this got made.

There's not only the nun who flies out the door while they are ridding the plane of extra weight, but one in a cheap coffin as well. It's ghastly but hysterically funny at the same time, and when they land on a more dangerous version of Gilligan's Island, you half expect to see variations of Sabu and Maria Montez in addition to the gators, big bugs, little monkeys and other stuff. I shouldn't be laughing at the visual of the little boy floating in the nun's coffin, but I couldn't help it.

Unfortunately, we never find out what happened with the other survivors. The second half of the film deals completely with the boys abduction by cannibals who make him a symbol of their God because of his blond hair, causing one of the tribe members to plot to kill him, and killing other members of the tribe in his efforts to do so. It is at this point daughter turns into a stereotypical jungle film, although there's I want more violence and blood then in the ones that were made by John Hall and Johnny Weissmueller in the 1940's and 50's. The constant whine of the scared kid becomes headache enducing. This is the type of film where you say "But wait! There's more!" just when you think you've seen everything.

If you only watch the first 30 minutes and the last 10 it is somewhat enjoyable

[mttmom · 2/10 · 1 January 2022]

Watched this one because it is supposed to be one of the worst films ever made and it lived up to the hype. Poking fun at the airplane parts was highly amusing, but after that it was just boring and unwatchable. I did make it through the entire thing and there is a bit of fun just before the end, but overall it was a dud.

A fun game was trying to find the drums heard, but not seen on the plane 😆

"How far are we from the Amazon River?"

[classicsoncall · 2/10 · 10 April 2020]

You don't need me to tell you how bad this movie is, one of the original directors has a well documented review of the picture right here on IMDb. It's the only one you need bother reading, as I will defer my own to his expertise. However if you do continue reading, I can only echo what so many other viewers have offered about this flick. It takes what would otherwise have been a major tragedy and turns it into a hilarious laugh riot. It starts on the plane heading to South America which suddenly and unexplainably begins losing fuel, and pandemonium ensues when a member of a wigged out rock band verbalizes aloud that they're all going to crash. You won't believe your eyes when a nun winds up falling out of the plane when a door is opened to shed extraneous weight, but the crash landing in the Amazon is even more unbelievable when passenger after passenger become crocodile food when they ditch the plane!

The only survivor it seems, is a young boy of about six or seven, who makes his way down river via a coffin that became available when a dead nun being transported on the plane is lost with all the other folks. I'm wondering now as I write this what happened to the airline crew who obviously would have seen the swarming crocodiles having lunch, but I guess one's not really supposed to think about that. Found by rival jungle tribes, the boy is venerated for his golden hair, which glows with an unusual aura confirming that he must be the son of the native god Inti - "The boy has the magic of the sun".

I'd like to say this got better as it went along but things really get silly when one of the irritated natives becomes intent on killing the youngster because it's felt he's a threat to the reigning king. When he finally gets the chance, the boy's stuffed animal tiger turns into a live leopard, which is odd in and of itself, but becomes even more so when you realize leopards aren't native to South America, and it should have turned into a jaguar. I won't complain though, because geographical integrity was never a strong point of the Jungle Jim and Tarzan flicks of the Fifties, so why worry about it here.

You know, this film probably deserves a '1' rating, but once again I'll defer to director/reviewer 'mall-3593', who gives it a '2', more than likely because he was so intimately involved with the project. What the heck, if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me.

Didn't Take Itself Seriously

[mtipton-77328 · 10/10 · 15 February 2019]

I got this movie in a box set of 200 Cult Cinema movies I found on Amazon. A lot of them I already had on other box sets, but Terror In The Jungle is only found on this one as far as I know, and it was well worth the purchase price just to get this awesome movie. You have to love a movie where a British like rock band performs on the plane and it sounds like a concert, and some voluptuous aspiring actress gets up and does "The Jerk" in the middle of the aisle to the approval of her fellow passengers, including the morose little boy being sent on the flight alone to his mother. It is about the only time this annoyingly weepy kid ever smiles. One of the female passengers, a late middle aged woman seems to be very pleased, reminding me of the older woman on the 1980 movie "Airplane", talking about "soft pouting breasts". The flight crew discovers that the plane is mysteriously losing fuel, so they tell the passengers they need to toss items out the door to lighten the load. One woman offers her pet bird, which is hilarious. There is this one pushy intellectual woman that grabs a money filled briefcase from a woman who just got acquitted for her husband saying "I'll take that from you honey", but instead the case busts open and money goes flying all through the passenger cabin, and the fleeing murderess has a side splitting emotional breakdown. An elderly nun gets sucked out the door. This is dark humor at its' best. The kid is the only one to survive the crash, and he spends most of his time on camera whining and crying to the point you almost wished he hadn't made it either. This is a great movie to sit back with your favorite adult beverage and have a blast watching.

Odd Little Jungle Movie

[timothymayer · 7/10 · 17 July 2009]

It's not the little blond kid who spends the entire movie whining. Nor is it the Peruvian Indian tribe who got their garb from the Sears discount rack. No, it's not even the plane full of passengers who create the most annoying group of people in history. It's the synthesis of all parts of this movie which takes it to new levels of bizarre. Here is one of those films from the past which makes you ask: "What the hell did they have in mind?" Jungle movie. Then why the extended scenes with the irritating little kid? Family entertainment. Would someone then explain all the graphic knife stab scenes? Adventure film. Where's the hero? This had to be somebody's vanity production. I just can't figure out who. Can't be the director Tom Simone, he went into the gay niche adult film minor leagues after this, his debut. What really makes this oddity such a question mark is it's few scenes of brilliance. Such as the little whiny kid floating away from a plane crash in a coffin. And a jaguar transformation scene toward the end which comes out of left field. Not to mention another scene involving quicksand which would have Children Services breaking down the producers door if filmed today. Strange little film which begs for a remake.

An unsung crap camp classic

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 19 April 2012]

Irritating little boy Henry Clayton Jr. (an absolutely terrible and off-putting performance by Jimmy Angle Jr.) survives a plane crash in the untamed Amazon jungle. However, the lad is discovered by a tribe of vicious savages who plan on sacrificing him. Meanwhile, Henry's father ventures into the jungle in search of the missing brat. Will Henry's pop find him before it's too late? Man, does this hilariously horrendous hoot possess all the right wrong stuff to qualify as a real four-star stinkeroonie: flat (non)direction by Tom DeSimone, loads of grainy "National Geographic"-style stock footage of various wild animals, hokey (markedly less than) special effects (you can clearly see the strings on the rinky-dink toy plane model!), tacky moments of crudely done violence, an intolerably whiny main character who spends the bulk of his screen time crying for his Daddy and carrying around a stuffed toy tiger, hopelessly wooden acting from a lame no-name cast, a tribe of savages played by unconvincing white guys with deep tans, a wacky assortment of plane passengers that include two nuns (yep, they both die!), a nasty accused murderess, a chipper and comely aspiring actress, and a cheesy sub-Beatles rock group, a cornball score, and an astonishingly absurd climax in which the boy's toy tiger becomes real in order to save the tyke's life from one especially brutal and bloodthirsty native (!). A total schlocky riot.

If You Had Been Through This at 5 Years Old, Wouldn't You Cry?

[community-4 · 7/10 · 5 May 2011]

Anytime there's a movie with a bunch of men running around the jungle in their loincloths, I panic a little because they're so hard to look at without feeling squeamish. This one was no exception. When music was played, it was harsh and overpowering.

I don't think the story itself was all that bad, but most of the reviews here seem to be criticizing the boy, Henry, for doing nothing but crying and begging for his daddy all the way through. 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".

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.

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.

I think Henry was entitled to cry.

Filmed In The Jungles Of Peru...

[azathothpwiggins · 21 July 2021]

TERROR IN THE JUNGLE is about a boy named Henry (Jimmy Angle) who is a recent graduate of The Academy Of Hideously Bad Acting. On a plane trip to Brazil, catastrophe strikes! The plane, filled with alumni from Henry's school, including a 45 year old "rock" band sporting various fright wigs, goes down in the jungles of Peru.

Thankfully, hungry crocodiles eat everyone but Henry, who makes his way via coffin (!), to a tribe of sun-worshipping natives. All, while Henry's dad tries to locate him.

This might sound like a surefire schlock classic, and in many ways it is. However, it also suffers from a supreme dullness so complete, as to cause fits of uncontrollable shaking and death!

An early entry from Crown International Pictures, it makes their later tripe seem magnificent by comparison!...