The Hunters of the Golden Cobra

Director - Antonio Margheriti (Killer Fish, Death Rage)

Starring - David Warbeck (Breakfast with Dracula, Sudden Fury), Almanta Suska (The New York Ripper, The Gravy Train), and Luciano Pigozzi (Strike Commando, Robowar)

Release Date - 1982

Genre - Action/Adventure

Tagline - "The Mission: Recover the world's most priceless treasure.  The odds: impossible"

Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

    I'll be completely honest here when I say I didn't know what to expect when I took a dive into this box set from Severin Films.  I was familiar with Antonio Margheriti and his horror titles so I knew I was going to see some campy writing and a rushed story that somehow finds a way to be cheap fun.  So far that has been exactly what these Indiana Jonesploitation films have been in this set.  Movies, much like the women I love, are a lot of fun when they are cheap and these three films are just that.  After Jungle Raiders and The Ark of the Sun God, I was left with the final film in the set which was the 1982 flick The Hunters of the Golden Cobra.  I once again want to thank Severin for sending this one over.

     The film follows an American soldier who partners with a British officer on a mission.  Things happen and the American soldier is left for dead.  Fast forward a few years and the British officer finds the American soldier in an Asian country.  After a quick scuffle, the pair make ammends an agree to once again team up to retrieve an ancient artifact said to have a supernatural power.

     The Hunters of the Golden Cobra is the only film in the set where we have well written characters but lacked story.  This one was shot in 1982 and I would almost wager that it was rushed into production to cash in on the Indiana Jones craze while writing it as they went.  It's the weakest in the set but does have it's moments.  The acting in this one is easily the most inconsistent but my favorite of the set.  David Warbeck delivers my favorite performance of the three films.  It looks like he is having a lot of fun on set and that shows in each scene.  His on screen chemistry with John Steiner is fantastic.  The pair feed off each other and make the film as enjoyable as possible.  The supporting cast is hit or miss with some showing zero acting experience while others were clearly locals paid to fill space in front of the camera.  The story for this one, like the other three, starts out promising enough but does run it's course fairly early on.  We once again encounter rush stories with everything from Indiana Jones and other like it tossed at the viewer hoping something sticks.  It's clear it was only made to make a quick buck off fans.  Finally, the action is fiarly enjoyable in the early portion of the film but it's nothing original or memorable.  Those of us looking for fun deaths will be disappointed as well.  Overall, The Hunters of the Golden Cobra got my hopes up at the beginning with the fun characters but was once again a cheap watch with some fun moments but is easily forgettable.  It's worth a watch especially if you bring some beer.