Um Lobisomem na Amazônia

Paul Naschy is in the forthcoming movie, Wax, currently in post-production. This, notwithstanding the fact that he died in 2009! So, thanks to animatronics he will play a moving (and talking!) wax figure some five years after death. I just thought how appropriate this is that this man who never really made a great film, nevertheless kept at it because he loved movies so much and ended up appearing in more than a hundred and directing a couple of dozen.

This piece of work by Brazilian director Ivan Cardoso has to be deemed inept by in all departments, yet his multi part performances are far better than those anyone else in this and amidst the madness and mayhem he convinces in his portrayal of a Dr Moreau, mad scientist, drifting from one mauled corpse to another in his efforts to make his genius transformation. At one crazy moment, in what surely should really have been an outtake, one corpse sits up and grins at him. Naschy simply slaps him back down, telling him to stay dead.

There are far better Naschy films to see if you are tempted into the murky waters of his world but for such a late work, this is certainly no disgrace. Not on his part anyway!

A Werewolf in the Amazon (2005)

** (out of 4)

Brazilian horror/comedy has Dr. Moreau (Paul Naschy) doing various experiments in the Amazon. At the same time six people show up to party on some "tea" and soon they begin getting killed by a werewolf. I will admit that A WEREWOLF IN THE AMAZON has quite a bit packed into its short 77-minute running time. I will also admit that I had to watch the film in Portuguese without any subtitles so I couldn't follow everything going on but the visuals pretty much told you everything you'd need to know. Within the first five-minutes of the picture you're going to see a werewolf attack, a big-breasted woman taking a shower and then a lesbian scene in that shower. Throughout the film there's just all sorts of weirdness going on including a couple idiots doing comic relief, a bizarre musical number and there's even a cult of females attached to everything. Oh yeah, there's also the werewolf going around killing everyone. There's no question that director Ivan Cardoso wanted to pay homage to star Naschy and for the most part I think he did just fine. I think most people are going to object to the humor because it's simply not funny and it takes away from the horror elements but outside of this I think the film offers some cheap thrills. Naschy turns in a good performance in the role of Moreau and the director even allows him a few sex scenes. The supporting actors are actually better than you'd expect in a film like this. All of the actresses have very large breasts and often take their clothes off, which adds to the exploitation nature. The attack scenes aren't overly graphic or bloody but they're good enough. To my shock, the werewolf make-up is actually extremely good, which is a major plus. The bizarre nature of the film certainly helps it stand apart from various other low-budget movies out there. Add in the great Naschy and the film is worth viewing, although this certainly doesn't rank among the actor's best work.

First of all: if you have never watched any movie by this director, I would advise you to watch THE SECRET OF THE MUMMY first. It is a more successful mix of naked bodies, idiotic dialog, silly delirium and trashy violence. But this one here is good too, if you like ridiculous movies that show young people using drugs in the vicinity of murder scenes.

The director clearly wants you to know this movie is a low budget project. I sincerely hope the subtitles are even crazier than the original lines, when it gets to be shown outside Brazil. Inventing new lines would be the best way to be true to the conscious stupidity of it all. The story involves a mad scientist hidden in the rain forest, a group of youngsters who go there to drink a hallucinogenic beverage, even amazons! Turn off half your brain and enjoy!

Five friends, Bruno, Natasha, Carol, Raul and Samantha (played by Pedro Neschling, Danielle Winits, Djin Sganzerla, Bruno de Lucca and Karina Bacchi respectively) make a trip to the Amazon rain forest to have a good time and get high on daime tea, a local hallucinogenic specialty. They are guided by a guy named JP (Evandro Mesquita) and aren't worried about a murder spree that has been occurring in the area. Soon things turn sinister and people start dying, as there appears to be a werewolf on the loose. Could it all be related to a reclusive mad scientist Dr. Moreau (Paul Naschy) who lives nearby and has been conducting bizarre experiments with both humans and animals?

As expected from Ivan Cardoso, the style is intentionally trashy and much closer to comedy than horror. Most of the humour is provided by the banter between Nuno Leal Maia and Tony Tornado playing a doctor and a cop investigating the murders, but other strange plot turns are amusing too, such as the dramatic musical number literally bursting out of nowhere. There is also plenty of female nudity, of course, mostly courtesy of the tribe of strong and horny female Amazon warriors created by Moreau. Some hand-held video camera footage is also used to comply with the trend of modern horrors.

Even though some of the actresses are a joy to the eye (particularly Djin Sganzerla and Danielle Winits) and the colourful lighting and production design are pretty cool, some major pacing problems make the advancement of the nonsensical plot lines a tad tiresome at points. Even so, at only 77 minutes, the movie is entertaining enough for what it's worth and recommended for fans of the trashy Cardoso style, even though I think he's done better in the past.

Paul Naschy is a werewolf in this film, although he is not Waldemar Daninsky, but Dr. Moreau.

The best reason to see this film may be Danielle Winits in the shower before she is interrupted by her friend Samantha (Karina Bacchi). Or the Amazon Queen (Joana Medeiros).

A group of tourists are in the Amazon looking for hallucinogenic tea. They will be fodder for the werewolf. I nominate Raul (Bruno de Lucca) to be the first. He is a real jerk!

Corny dialog and bizarre happenings are dotted throughout, especially by Prof. Scott Corman (Nuno Leal Maia) and the police inspector (Tony Tornado).

I am not familiar with Brazilian director Ivan Cardoso, but I will have to check out some of his other work after this.