A
Werewolf In The Amazon Collection
(1982 - 2005/Camp Motion Pictures 3-DVD Set)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C+ Films: C+/C/C+/C
If
you're a fan of campy B-Movies (who isn't), or a big horror fan that
also enjoys foreign films then you may want to check out these four
monster movies by Brazilian filmmaker Ivan Cardoso and starring Paul
Naschy - who was known as the Spanish Lon Chaney, in the new A
Werewolf In The Amazon Collection (1982 - 2005).
These
films haven't been easy to find over the years and have been
collected here in this limited edition set.
The
films included on the release are...
A
Werewolf in the Amazon
(2005) - In search of a powerful hallucinogen, five friends embark
on a dangerous journey deep into the Amazon. But a bad trip isn't
the only threat, as they discover when they stumble across the hidden
camp of the crazed Dr. Moreau and his murderous animal-human hybrids.
This one was pretty fun and full of nudity and gore with a touch of
Scooby Doo meets Friday
the 13th
meets The
Wolfman.
The
Scarlet Scorpion
(1990) - When the ultra-villainous Scarlet Scorpion kidnaps a famous
fashion designer, crimefighting millionaire playboy The Angel must
step in to save the day. Almost feeling a little out of place in the
release, still campy enough to be fun.
The
Seven Vampires
(1986) - As a botanist researches a dangerous carnivorous plant, a
bumbling detective and his assistant investigate a plague of
mysterious ''vampire'' attacks surrounding a sexy upscale nightclub.
The
Secret of the Mummy
(1982) - Death stalks those who search for the tomb of Runamb, the
mummy. Undeterred, Professor Expedito Vitus acquires all eight
pieces of the map and soon the Mummy returns! A fun little low
budget Mummy movie that uses both color and black white to tell its
story on film.
My
biggest gripe with the release are the transfers which are have bad
interlacing and choppy picture quality in some places. Presented in
standard definition and English subtitles, the films are presented in
1.77:1 widescreen and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack.
What this really needs is a restoration from the original elements
which would probably be a bit costly. Still, there is a certain
charm to watching a Z grade movie in Z grade quality, though we've
covered Naschy on Blu-ray so some of these can look better than you'd
think.
Special
Features include...
The
Mark of Terrir
- a short film collection featuring Director Ivan Cardoso's seminal
16mm short Nosferatu
in Brazil
and his experimental featurette O
Sarcofago Macabro.
A
mini-poster of the new illustration (cover art).
Liner
notes by Justine Smith, film critic and co-host of Sound
on Sight.
Full
of a lot of low budget heart and some scripts are pretty silly, the
production design and imagination of these films definitely makes
them fun for fans of foreign horror that also enjoy camp. A fusion
of classic literary characters intermixed with more nudity and gore
than what you would see in a Hammer Film, I'm surprised these films
don't get more attention amongst cult movie fanbases. Perhaps this
release will help remedy that.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
