Treasure of the Amazon

Director - Rene Cardona Jr. (Beaks: The Movie, Under Siege)

Starring - Stuart Whitman (Night of the Lepus, Deadly Intruder), Donald Pleasence (Halloween, Prince of Darkness), and Bradford Dillman (The Enforcer, Sudden Imapct)

Release Date - 1985

Genre - Action/Adventure

Tagline - "Their greed and lust for diamonds was more deadly than the perils of the jungle"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Sometime ago Vinegar Syndrome announced a new box set featuring three films from Mexican filmmaker Rene Cardona Jr.  I'm a sucker for box sets and anything from Vin Syn so it was guaranteed that I would be snagging this one up.  When my Vin Syn box finally arrived I couldn't wait to dig into it and decided to set my sights on the Cardona set.  The first film in the set is the 1985 action adventure film Treasure of the Amazon featuring a role from genre legend Donald Pleasence.  

     The film follows several groups of explorers who are traveling deep in the jungle in hopes of finding riches.  However, what they actually find is greed amongst each other and the local tribes that call the jungle their home.

     I was genuinely excited to check this one out and it didn't disappoint.  It was a lot of fun and not what I expected from a mid-80s action adventure film.  It really was a surprise.  The acting in this one is great.  Pleasence came out of nowhere with his German accent.  It does feel forced at times but it's a lot of fun especially if you have seen his other films.  He really dedicates himself to the role and I really enjoyed it.  Whitman is great as the film's star, Gringo.  He carries the film on his back and does a fantastic job.  Sadly, this film is not a typical 80s action flick so you don't see his name pop up like other 80s stars.  The supporting cast is solid but very inconsistent.  Some people are more dedicated than others which creates some very uneven scenes.  The story for this one is extremely entertaining and straight forward.  We have a lot of adventure as the cast navigates the perils of the jungle while the scene sets up character development.  It is predictable but the characters make it so much fun especially if you like the adventure films that spawned after the success of Indiana Jones.  Finally, the film has some blood and a few graphic death scenes that I was not expecting.  The practical effects look great and two death scenes really stood out.  I'd recommend watching this film just on those two death scenes alone.  Overall,  Treasure of the Amazon may not be everyone's cup of tea but I'm a sucker for 0s action adventure flicks.  This one was great fun with an amazing cast.  I highly recommend it.