Dark Mission: Flowers of Evil

Spanish exploitation vet Jess Franco directed this tiresome action thriller about American secret agent searching for big time cocaine dealers in Cuba (or something). The film is an example for the Americanization of European B-cinema that started in the 80's - Dark Mission looks like an American TV movie and nothing else. There's nothing here that reminds of whatever talents Jess Franco once had. Even French actress Brigitte Lahaie looks surprisingly bad in this awful, uninspired yawnfest.

"Dark Mission: Flowers of Evil" is a film which stars Robert Mitchum's son, Chris. While Chris never exactly became a movie star, he did manage to make a few movies...mostly in supporting roles. But here in this film, he has a chance to show whether he's leading man material. Judging by the scores of his films over the past couple decades, I would say he isn't exactly big star material.

In this story, Chris plays a guy who tells everyone he's a reporter who has arrived in Columbia to do a story about addiction and the drug trade. However, everyone seems to think he's either a gangster or a government agent. And, no matter where he goes, women just throw themselves at him.

One of these women just happens to be the daughter of a huge drug kingpin (Christopher Lee) and Chris isn't sure if she knows her father's business...especially since she was sent to the States for an education.

So is this film any good? Not especially. It's incredibly low energy and the film manages to do very little with its location shooting in Spain and Portugal. I blame the director for much of this. While I wouldn't say the movie is terrible...it's close.

Prolific sleaze merchant Jess Franco's sorry excuse for a message movie has plenty of unintentional hilarity for dedicated bad-movie fans. Atrociously acted, hopelessly amateurish action scenes, horrendous dialogue and one of the worst music scores ever make for a truly strange film experience. Christopher Lee and Brigitte Lahaie try to lift the film, but is let down by the stupid script and Franco's clumsy direction.

1/10

An undercover C. I. A. Agent , Derek Carpenter(Chris Mitchum), posing as a reporter , embarks on a dangerous journey to South America with a perilous mission: to dismantle a menacing drug syndicate led by a wealthy person, Luis Morel (the always great Christopher Lee). Along the way, our starring meets up with Moira (Brigitte Lahaie), a woman who wants vendetta on Morel for murdering her husband, and meanwhile he falls for Linda (Christina Higueras), Morell's daughter. Why and who brings cocaine into the United States?

A gripping but very mediocre action/adventure/thriller film, starring Chris Mitchum, Christopher Lee, Richard Harrison, and Cristina Higueras. This movie takes you on a roller-coaster ride of intrigue, tension and suspense. With a runtime of 1 hour and 25 minutes, Dark Mission: Flowers of Evil, promises an action-packed experience that will keep on the edge of your seat. However, it is a very weak and boring film that does not offer the promoted thriller that it advertises. That's why it contains ridiculousness , silliness and shabby action abound in this average/inferior B-movie. This is a typical Eurociné productions run by Daniel and Maroius Lesoeur, but with a with a little more money and more ambitious feeling. Maybe they had a richer financer in the background somewhere, who also demanded more for the money. But with the time and money Franco had, and an acceptable cast, he also delivers an passable , if a bit generic action drama with showy and colorful photography from the Spanish Mediterranean coasts. The only thing that stands out in the film is the appearance of three modern helicopters -which shows a certain amount of budget- doing aerial stunts and along with some scenes of shootings, chases and explosions.

It becomes an involving thriller-drama, at times, but here's really no depth in the story, but it's easy to see where Franco put his little talent: in the interrelation between the outlandish characters: between the demanding CIA chief Richard Harrison and Mitchum , the romance between Chris and Christina Higueras and the crosses and double-crosses that they intermingle. Stars Chris Mitchum who has a lot fun and energy playing a CIA agent disguised as a reporter who goes to South America to stop a drug syndicate. Christopher Mitchum is the second son of actor Robert Mitchum destined, like older brother James Mitchum, to follow in the footsteps of his famous dad. He auditioned for John Wayne and won a small role in the western Chisum (1970) as Billy the Kid's sidekick and Big Jake (1971). Duke introduced him to director Howard Hawks, who screen-tested Chris and gave him a starring roles in Hawks' last film, Rio Lobo (1970). But the films that followed, however, were of a lesser grade and quite violent in comparison to his father's sturdy work, with such obvious titles as Savage Harbor (1987), SFX Retaliator (1987), Aftershock (1990), Striking Point (1995) and Lycanthrope (1999). He was popular in such foreign market as Spain, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Phillipines, however, so he continued to churn out product there including Master Samurai (1974), Chinese Commandos (1975), American Commandos (1985) and Dendam Membara (1986). Being his most successful the following thrillers: The Summertime Killer (1972), Clockwork Terror (1973), The Mean machine (1974). In smaller parts we have Jesus Franco's regulars: Antonio Mayans, Daniel Katz, Carmen Carrión, Antonio Mayans and even Lina Romay as film editor, all doing functional jobs with the material they have.

The film feature was directed by prolific Spanish filmmaker Jesús Franco or Jess Frank or Uncle Jess. Most people agreed that some of Frank's work was passable, but most were botched films. Jess was a Stakhanovite and restless writer, producer and director who made more than 200 films. His career spanned more than 50 years with some successes and many failures, making all kinds of genres: thrillers, adventures, action and with a penchant for horror and erotica. Jesús used to sign under a pseudonym, among the aliases he used besides Jess Frank or Franco Manera, were the following: Frank Hollman, David Khune, James P. Johnson, David Though, Clifford Brown (with whom he signs this film), among others. Franco used to use his artisanal trademarks, such as: zooms, nudity, close-ups on objects, making films in the 'do it yourself' (DIY) style and managing to work extraordinarily quickly with very low budgets, as well as frequently releasing several titles at the same time. He was a prolific filmmaker, directing many terrible films. In his early days he soon applied all his knowledge and experience as an assistant director, musician, editor to his debut as a feature film director: We Are 18 Years Old (1959). His Succubus (1968) was nominated for the Berlin Film Festival, and this event gave him international reputation. His career became increasingly consolidated in the following years, and his inexhaustible creativity allowed him to tackle films of all genres, from B-series horror films to pure hardcore sex. However, he made some passable films, such as: The Terrible Dr. Orloff, The Bloody Judge, Count Dracula, 99 Women, The Blood of Fumanchu, Faceless and a few more. And many of them with very strong cuts and double versions. Score: 4.5/10. Inferior and below average exploitation film. Only for Jess Frank completists.

Chris Mitchum of Santa's summer house fame is a CIA operative that all the chicks in the movie thinks he's hot and either try to or end up banging him.. Christopher Lee is again channeling his fu Manchu to play the Cuban drug lord with a thick British accent! There's bad dialogue, goofy fights , explosions and a Reagan era anti drug message that would put saved by the bell to shame. But Chris Mitchum delivers his lines like he's getting paid in socks and underwear but if you love pre cgi b movies definitely check this one out on par with Terror in Beverly Hills American hunter Any jelel merhi film.