Wild Cactus

Okay, "Wild Cactus" is supposed to be some kind of escaped convict hostage drama. At least that's the film-makers' story.

And that's why we watch it, right guys?

Yeah...as long as it has a lot of female nudity, kinky situations and creative use of maple syrup.

Allen (once and future Playmate) shows her acting talents as Naughton's wife and what a wife; she'll go to any lengths to help spice up their dormant marriage (any kind of relationship with Allen would have to be anything BESIDES dormant, wouldn't it? Oh well....).

Anyway, Hudson (yeah, one of the Hudson Brothers) has just been released from prison and is looking for a little excitement. After hooking up with a nicely unbalanced Moffett and killing two ex-girlfriends, he looks for new avenues to travel and finds them when Naughton and Allen happen into view.

I can't believe that I actually bothered to describe what passes as a plot here. Guys, listen - women get naked, there's simulated sex, low-budget intensity, a blonde putting on a strip show (YOWZA!) for Hudson and the obligatory traveling salesman who comes to the wrong door at the wrong time. All the while Gleason (from a lot of John Hughes movies) slums as a local sheriff trying to solve the murders.

Anyone looking for real plot and motivation, look elsewhere. This was made by Jag Mundhra, who is not exactly a character-motivated director. But at least he knows what sells: lots of rampant well-proportioned female nudity.

Now THAT'S entertainment.

Six stars. Actually, I think that the title, "Wild Cactus", is explained somewhere along here but for some reason, I was distracted.

This was plain trash, sex, drugs, bad acting, but hey, at least that's watchable trash!

Wild Cactus (1993) was made by the same film crew that shot the brilliant Other Woman (1992). However this one is the opposite. What could have been another awesome film turned out to be a bore. Why didn't they just follow the blueprint to their last film? I don't know, they tried to be like all the others and it failed. Even the mandatory girl-on-girl scene was dry as the climate they were shooting in. I was disappointed with this one. I mean you have two good looking women and the film-makers just couldn't pull it off.

A waste of time. Don't go out of your way to try and find this one because it's not worth it, A shame really, it had so much potential to be a real winner. The only way I would recommend this one is if you happen to catch on Cinemax, other than that don't bother.

Not recommended.

D

Even though it has a girl-on-girl scene, don't bother because it'll only get you even more frustrated.

This film couldn't be more formulaic to its genres, those being (1) bad-guy(s)-terrorize-innocent-people, and (2) late-night-cable-T and A. Having said that, I must admit that it does so much better than average. The actors seemed to actually try, and no major character turned in a performance that he or she needs to be ashamed of. India Allen is lovely, and while no Meryl Streep, did pretty darned good for an ex-model. Gary Hudson is reliably evil. The real jewel of this film, however, was Michelle Moffett as Maggie. While some of the simulated sex was pretty cheesy, the other nude scenes were hot. I would have given this one a 5 without them...but I ended up giving it a 7.

Philip and Alex Marcus are struggling in their marriage. Philip gets a research grant to spend 6 weeks in Black Rock Springs, Arizona to study desert plants. Randall Murphy gets out of jail for assault and is tracking down his ex Celeste, who put him in prison, to Arizona. He's a cold-blooded killer and picks up wild hitchhiker Maggie on the way. They rob a local gas station. Randall rescues Philip at a dive bar and he gives Randall his address. After Celeste, Randall and Maggie show up at the Marcus place.

This is not horrible as far as these 90's erotic thrillers go. The acting is second rate although Gary Hudson is a solid villain. India Allen's best assets have nothing to do with acting. There is the prerequisite nudity. There are plenty worst movies out there but I wouldn't call this good.