So some of you, like me, are way into long-lost,
shot-on-video oddities that spring forth from the minds of lunatics. You know
who you are and you know what I’m talking about and if you don’t, you probably
don’t need to read any further, because the movie we’re about to discuss,
Jungle Trap, isn’t for you.
James Bryan is something of a legend when it comes to SOV
horror and havoc. I’ve seen the likes of Lady Street Fighter,
Hell Riders, and Don’t Go in the Woods,
but he’s helmed tons more, many with fantastic titles like Beach
Blanket Bango and Sex Aliens. For the uninitiated,
that should give you a clue where this man’s proclivities lie.
Originally shot in 1990, Jungle Trap was
essentially lost—actually, it wasn’t lost so much lost as it languished,
incomplete, in Bryan’s shed ever since—until those purveyors of fine trash at Bleeding Skull came across the pieces. Immediately springing into action, they
Kickstarted funds, assembled the film, put together a synth-heavy score, and
voila, 26 years later, Jungle Trap is ready for public
consumption. And by public consumption, I mean it’s ready for a bunch wingnuts
and weirdos to seek it out and get their minds broke a little bit.
The plot revolves around an expedition that travels to an
abandoned hotel in the middle of the South American jungle, a hotel haunted by the
vengeful spirits of a slaughtered native tribe. Along the way there are many
decapitations, angry ghost warriors, and a super drunk bush pilot, among other
peculiarities and flourishes of mayhem. And that doesn’t even begin to describe
how bonkers this shit is.
Jungle Trap is a spectacle that needs to
be witnessed first hand. I even braved a midnight show at the Seattle International Film Festival to see this bit of off-kilter madness. That’s so
far past my bedtime, but it was worth every second. [Grade:
A]
No comments:
Post a Comment