Blu Release – 3.5/5
Jungle Trap
Director – James Bryan (Hell Riders, Don’t Go in the Woods)
Starring – Renee Harmon (Lady Street Fighter, Frozen Scream), Frank Neuhaus (Night of Terror, Run Coyote Run), and Heidi Ahn (Out All Night, Cousin Skeeter)
Release Date – 1990/2016
Rating – 2/5
Several years ago, before I was into the American Genre Film Archive blu releases, I found the Bleeding Skull website. I appreciated their love of obscure and odd films and checked out some of thier reviews and write ups. I also noticed that at one time they released a movie or two. The one that really caught my eye was Jungle Trap from director James Bryan. Bryan is a filmmaker that has had several films on my chopping block from Vinegar Syndrome. Sadly, they were no longer making copies of this release.
Fast forward a few years and AGFA and Bleeding Skull has once again teamed up for a blu release and this time it was a Bryan double feature with Jungle Trap and Run Coyote Run. I quickly snagged a copy and as soon as I could I tossed in Jungle Trap.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a team of explorers who venture deep in the jungle to a hotel that was once the site of a tribe war between the hotel staff and a local tribe. Things start out innocently enough but soon turn strange when members of their party go missing and then the hotel staff disappears. Thats when the survivors learn that the hotel staff were ghosts and the tribe will be attacking them as soon as the sun sets. **Spoiler Alert**
Jungle Trap is the unfinished 1990 film from James Bryan and Renee Harmon. The film went unfinished for sometime before Bleeding Skull would find it, finish it, and release it. It’s a far out there story and film with an even more entertaining backstory but the overall film is a dud. I wanted to like this one but I couldn’t bring myself to it.
The acting in this one had me laughing my ass off. This is the kind of acting that you love to see when you are downing cheap beer with cheaper friends at Cinema Wasteland. The cast overreacts through most of the scenes and their dialogue delivery is absolutely atrocious. Bryan is capable of creating some fun genre efforts but he was very disconnected with the cast on this one.
The story for this one is a wild idea with a very interesting plot but the execution is rough. I know it took the film a couple decades to be completed but the production value and lack of direction really makes this one a tough one to finish. I love a good bad movie but this one lacks the good. With that being said, a haunted jungle hotel with an angry tribe really is a good premise for a horror flick. We just need the execution.
Finally, the film has a cheap decapitation gag that I really enjoyed and a few cheap gags here and there but for the most part it’s rather dry. No blood or chaos that I was expecting considering the story. Overall, Jungle Trap was not what I was expecting. I know it took a long time to be completed but it’s a tough one to finish. I’ve seen some bad movies in my life and this is among them. Collectors will want to snag it but don’t expect something enjoyable.
Run Coyote Run
Director – James Bryan (Don’t Go in the Woods, Hell Riders)
Starring – Renee Harmon (Frozen Scream, Lady Street Fighter) and Frank Neuhaus (Revenge of Lady Street Fighter, Night of Terror)
Release Date – 1987
Rating – 1/5
I was extremely disappointed in Jungle Trap which can be said for like three or four reviews. When I ordered the Jungle Trap and Run Coyote Run double feature from Amazon when it was available for purchase I was really excited for this release. I had heard about this one a few years prior to the blu release and was extremely curious about it. Sadly, the movie was a mess but I was still optimistic about the second film in the set which was 1987’s Run Coyote Run.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a cop who is also a psychic who is hot on the trail a killer. However, the closer she gets she finds herself the target of hitmen who are searching for a mysterious cassette tape. **Spoiler Alert**
Jungle Trap was an extremely difficult watch but I found myself liking it significantly more than Run Coyote Run which is a loose sequel to Lady Street Fighter. Sadly, it took me several sittings to finish this one. No wonder Bryan was in no hurry to release these two. The acting in this one is bad. I was laughing when it first started but after watching Jungle Trap and then Run Coyote Run I was at my limit for bad acting. What I would normally find funny was now becoming a real chore to finish.
The story for this one could have been a little bit of cheap fun but the choppy editing, unfinished story, and rushed filming creates an extremely chaotic movie experience. If you have read my reviews for sometime now then you know I love nothing more than a no-budget disasterpiece but this is a difficult one to watch. Finally, the film has some extremely cheesy scenes and very forgettable “death” scenes. Overall, Run Coyote Run doesn’t need to be watched by genre fans. In fact, collectors can toss this one on their shelves and never visit it. It’s a cool talking piece but as a film its horrible. Skip it.
Special Features
Region Free Blu-ray
JUNGLE TRAP transferred from the original 3/4” master tapes
JUNGLE TRAP Commentary track with director James Bryan, star Heidi Ahn, and the Bleeding Skull! team
It Wasn’t My Fault: The Making Of JUNGLE TRAP
JUNGLE TRAP outtakes
HORROR CON (1989): surviving footage from James Bryan’s unfinished horror movie, scanned in 2K from the 35mm camera negative
Bonus movie: RUN COYOTE RUN (1987), transferred from the original 3/4” master tapes
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
