Welcome to the Jungle
Welcome To The Jungle DVD (Jonathan Hensleigh, Optimum 2007)
No matter what the director may say on this disc’s commentary, ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ is a micro-budgeted remake of Ruggero Deodato’s ‘Cannibal Holocaust’. That’s both a boon and a curse, because while nothing will ever be able to match the soul-ripping experience of seeing that evil fucker in its uncut form, the much-borrowed premise still makes for addictive viewing - just ask the makers of ‘The Blair Witch Project’. Not to be confused with a similarly titled adventure film starring The Rock, ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ begins with two couples who head into the wilds of New Guinea to search for an old white American man rumoured to be living with the natives, one who just might be Michael Rockefeller, the real life son of the future vice president of America who disappeared in 1961 while studying the remote Asmat tribe. Believing that a pilot acquaintance has provided them with a solid clue as to his possible whereabouts, the friends are soon following in Rockefeller’s footsteps, and head deep into hostile territory where they generally arse about, insult a couple of missionaries, fight, get high, fight, argue, get drunk, fight, and so on, finally sealing their fate when they upset the locals by stealing relics from a tribal burial site. As the natives start to stalk them through the jungle, you just know that this one ain’t going to have a happy ending… The gimmick here is that the two couples each have a camcorder, and the film consists of ‘found’ footage in a concept lifted wholesale from ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ and later copied in the likes of ‘Cloverfield’ and ‘Paranormal Activity’. As the first couple fall prey to the vengeful natives, we view the rest of the film through the second couple’s camera. This allows for a standout shock sequence where the surviving couple literally stumble upon what the natives have done to their friends – a seriously grim discovery that is undeniably effective despite being a direct (and inferior) steal from the most infamous atrocity that Deodato staged for ‘Cannibal Holocaust’. For better or for worse, ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ keeps you watching to the bitter end, but I would have preferred to have seen a more original effort, especially as it was one of the last films that Gale ‘The Terminator’ Anne Hurd produced before her untimely death, and while interesting, it is still an unworthy swansong for her talents. Liam Ronan
