I first heard of Welcome to the Jungle when it was merely being test screened by dimension and our own Jack Reher was the first person to review the movie. Thus, the reason why the site is quoted on both the front and back covers of the DVD. Why I don’t think the film is one of the most frightening movies ever made; I do think that it is a good film which takes the likes of The Blair Witch Project and The Last Broadcast in terms of style and combines them with the likes of Cannibal Holocaust and Umberto Lenzi’s Eaten Alive.
Welcome to the Jungle follows four young adults who decide to document their hunt for Michael Rockefeller of the famous wealthy family. The film takes it’s story from that of the real story of Michael Rockefeller’s disappearance in 1961 when his canoe was overturned in New Guinea. It’s said that Rockefeller swam to shore and was never seen again. In this film however while the group was in a bar a local pilot told them that while he was flying up river he saw an old man on the banks of the river known to be in cannibal territory. With this in mind the crew sets out to document their adventure in hopes of finding this old man in the jungle. However what their about to walk into might just cost them their lives.
The overall script and idea behind the film are really just a mixture of filmmaking styles and stories that we’ve all seen and heard before. Like I mentioned above it’s Blair witch meet Cannibal Holocaust. However, the script for this film is actually written pretty well. Despite it’s slow start which pretty much develops our characters as a bunch of twenty something partiers with a sense of adventure in them. Things really get moving towards the second act in the film where the crew is finally in the jungle. The script is built so that the film gradually gives you a feel of suspense as the plot moves along.
The acting in the film is not half bad, though at times you get this feeling that it’s just another one of those movies where the actors are hamming it up at the beginning and them get overly scared and frightened a bit too much when all the bad stuff starts to happen. Besides the group of four young people, there is a small supporting cast that pretty much doesn’t see more than two minutes of screen time, sure we also have the cannibals in the film, all of whom gave the best performances. Overall the acting is simply alright, and believable enough to get you though the film.
Although this film was pretty much shot on location; the production value for this film is it’s strong point. The way in which the jungle and river banks were dressed with human skulls in a artistic tribal fashion to ward off any unwanted visitors. The use of make-up effects and body parts were used perfectly in this film. Not to mention the way in which the effects were shot as well. Although the film was limited in it’s use of over the top gore; I felt it was the perfect decision that Director Jonathan Hensleigh made when it came to revealing the dead bodies and gore in this film. Each shot is done in such a way that a foot or a head is shown for maybe about half a second in the pitch dark night in the jungle, that it gives you the fear of being right there with the actors. It’s very effective in making the viewer feel uncomfortable.
Overall, Why I don’t think that this film is the most frightening movie in the last decade. I did find it to be a film that does have some very effective and suspenseful moments. If you are a fan of documentary guerilla style filmmaking and have a knack for films like The Blair Witch Project and a toned down version of Cannibal Holocaust then you’ll probably really enjoy this film. It’s not a film for everyone especially if your looking for something with a lot of action in it. This film doesn’t rely on action based sequences but rather gives you more of a personal experience of the characters in this film and what happens to them when they go into cannibal infested jungles. The film relies more on suspense than it does shock, although if you have never seen the likes of films like Cannibal Holocaust you might find this film to be shocking.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
