A Werewolf in the Amazon

Director - Ivan Cordoso (The Secret of the Mummy, The Seven Vampires)
Starring - Paul Naschy (Horror Kung-Fu Theater, Countess Dracula's Orgy of Blood), Daiana Amendola (Under New Management), Karina Bacchi (The Invisible Woman)
Release Date - 2005
Genre - Horror
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     My time with Ivan Cordoso is coming to an end.  So far I have went through The Secret of the Mummy, The Seven Vampires, and The Scarlet Scorpion.  The Secret of the Mummy is a poorly executed film that leaves the viewer trying to figure out what is going on due to horrible writing and editing.  It truly has no value.  The second film, The Seven Vampires, started out so much better but was unable to follow through with what they had established.  The third film, The Scarlet Scorpion was another turd.  It starts out strong but once again falls apart before it finishes.  The fourth film, A Werewolf in the Amazon has Paul Naschy so I was hoping for something better than what I had already seen.

      The film follows a group of twenty-somethings who visit the Amazon jungle to look for a power hallucinogen.  What they don't know is that there is a crazy doctor, Dr. Moreau, who has been making animal/human hybrids.  Also in the jungle is a group of Amazonian women who want to use the men that enter the jungle to breed with before killing them all.  Now the group has to fight off beasts and female warriors in order to survive.

     I lost hope in this collection after watching The Seven Vampires and The Scarlet Scorpion only solidified my predictions but A Werewolf in Amazon had so much promise.  The film had some style but needed to be cleaned up for this release.  Some of the scenes were so dark I could not figure out what was going on.  The acting in this one is, once again, fun.  The cast is great and this time they do have better written characters to work with.  Naschy, as always, is fucking brilliant and does not disappoint.  Its always a pleasure to see him in his element.  The story for this one is great but drags out for far too long.  The Dr. Moreau meets Amazonian warriors and horny twenty-something year olds is a stroke of brilliance.  Sadly, the film moves at a snails pace and they are unable to properly tie them all together.  Finally, the film does have some on screen deaths but they are rather boring considering they come at the hands of spear wielding amazon warriors and a werewolf.  The kills have a little blood and fall prey to camera angels and quick cuts.  The viewer gets none of the actual carnage and bloodshed.  Overall, A Werewolf in the Amazon could be one of those horror films that everyone knows and loves but is unable to pull all the elements together.  The story is slow and boring but has so much potential.  It deserves at least one watch but that is about it.