Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. I’m not sure why there’s still not even an IMDB entry for Jonathan Hensleigh’s WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE considering it’s been playing film festivals in Germany and is actually set to be released on DVD there within a month or so. Right now, there’s no word on an American release date, but if they’re doing test screenings here, then chances are they’re at least considering it. Of course, since there’s no IMDB entry, I’m not sure who owns the film or who has distribution rights in the US. Information on this film is incredibly hard to come by. I’m going to do my best to talk to Hensleigh himself about this one. I am curious to see this one for myself, especially with that rumored remake of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST still floating around out there as well. Will it be redundant by the time it finally gets made?
Hey Drew. Just got back from the screening of Welcome to the Jungle. Overall, I would have to say it was total shit. Basically it was like the Blair Witch Project but in the Jungle and with Cannibals instead of a witch. Same annoying twenty somethings, wandering around for most of the movie, same predictable ending. NOTHING happens for the first hour or so. SPOILERS Two couples meet up in Fiji on vacation and end up going to New Guinea to search for Michael Rockefeller (who is a real person who actually disappeared). They make it into the jungle, start bickering (very annoyingly) and the two couples end up splitting up. We then follow the first couple and finally see the natives, who attack the couple. We see the boyfriend get shot with two arrows and then the woman getting attacked. The movie then switches to the second couple and their camera. Did I mention both couples somehow manage to build rafts and float down the river? Yeah, it didn't make a lot of sense. The second couple goes down the river and find the belongings of the first couple. Then, in an pretty obvious homage to Cannibal Holocaust, they find the woman skewered on a pole. They also notice the natives are following them. But apparently the natives don't care too much about them, because they disappear. Later in the night they find the remains of a group of missionaries and the guy from the first couple. He is alive, but is missing his arms and legs. The boyfriend shoots him. They hike towards the ocean but encounter another tribe, who appear to be friendly. It's night again and they are in the village. The tribe offer them some unknown food, which is obviously human flesh but the couple is too stupid to realize it. "I don't know what we're eating." "What was that?" Gee… I wonder. Most of the natives seem to disappear and one lone native beckons the couple to the fire. They put down the camera and walk towards the native and they are then encircled by the rest of the natives. The drums start, blah blah blah, the girl goes for the camera and while she is doing this the natives attack the boyfriend and then they go for the girl. One of the natives then picks up the camera and we see some of the gore, but not nearly as much as Cannibal Holocaust. As the natives put down the camera and walk away, we see that the leader is an old white man, presumably Mr. Rockefeller. The end. The four actors were pretty terrible. They whine and moan at each other for the first hour. I almost fell asleep. The end was sort of suspenseful, but you knew exactly where it was going, and it all happens rather fast. I don't think this is getting a theatrical release. If it does, they'll definitely be doing some re-editing to speed things up a bit. There you have it, Welcome to the Jungle. It looks like there is no entry for this one on IMDB. Strange. If you decide to run this, call me Randal Graves. I'll be seeing Trick R' Treat next week. I'll let you know how that one is.
