Welcome to the Jungle (2007) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

U.S. 2007
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Cast: Veronica Sywak, Nick Richey, Sandy Gardiner, Callard Harris, D. Kevin Epps, Darren Thomas
Rating:
Release Date: November 13th 2007
Running Time: 1 hour 22 minutes

The Movie Review

Whew....it's been a while since the ever-notorious/most-demented cannibal movies tarnishing the movie world in the 70s. I personally do hope that they're banished from this world for-ever. I never thought I would see another one in this millennium era, but then again, I try to forget those earlier films and try to review Welcome to the Jungle as its own.

Not in South America, but now the country-victim is Indonesia. This beautiful country, according to the filmmakers, is said to still have a fairly amount of stone-age cannibals hidden in the remote jungle and mountain of Irian Jaya (West Papua). However, the real theme underlining this film is actually about the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller,


WELCOME to the JUNGLE
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the son of U.S vice president Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller. Michael was reported to be lost in the jungle and never returns back to the civilized world.

Now, since this is actually could be considered as a movie about Michael, let me tell you a bit about him. Michael Rockefeller was born in 1938 and was the youngest son of Nelson who was at that time a New York Governor. Michael was sent on an expedition to study the Dani tribe in Irian Jaya in 1961. He and his friend decide to also study another tribe, the Asmat. Their boat was capsized and turned him and his friend over to the water. Both were drifting but Michael then swam to the shore while his friend stayed put and later be rescued. Michael, however, was never seen again and presumed dead in 1961. Many rumors said that people have seen him walking around in the jungle wearing native clothes, while other believes that either he was eaten by a crocodile or by the cannibals who lived deep in the jungle. After three years of extensive search that produced questionable results, The Rockefeller family finally alleged his death in 1964.

The storyline in Welcome to the Jungle then revolves around two couples who dare to venture the thick jungle of Irian Jaya for the sake of money, fame and curiosity. Bijou (Veronika Sywak) and her new boyfriend Mickey (Nick Richey), Colby (Callard Harris) and his girlfriend Mandy (Sandy Gardiner) are spending their vacation doing one thing very daring, to find the missing Michael Rockefeller. It starts when Mickey serves someone at the bar whose friend is a helicopter pilot who claims to have seen a 70-year old bearded white guy in Southwest New Guinea.

With knowledge acquired only from a stolen book about Michael Rockefeller from a library and although realizing their chance is slim, but still, they brave themselves and hope for the best. So they sail across from Fiji to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from there they plan to cross the Indonesian border to Irian Jaya with their car. Real troubles begin when they could not cross the Indonesian border and have to walk through the jungle to get to Irian Jaya. Not just the jungle is hard to explore but they also part ways for difference they can't settle. Will these two parties ever rejoin or even manage to find Michael Rockefeller?

This movie should actually falls to the exploitation subgenre recalling the cannibalistic theme. But it's not, thanks to the solid real background story and great performance of its actors. Even other cannibal movies in the 70s and 80s were more soulless, except for one that is heavy on the social issue but also very dementedly heavy on the cannibalistic scenes and real-animal torturing.

The acting quality of the entire cast is just great, but probably these movies relies heavily on several aspects only. First, it uses the real life story of Michael Rockefeller and the fact that Asmat tribe used to practice cannibalism and headhunting. A tribe that is also very famous for the woodcarving. Second, the eerily empty remote locations in the jungle and between the mountains plus the extras who play the people of Asmat. But probably what will strike you is the use of hand-held camera, directly influenced by the earlier cannibal movie. If you are not familiar with this technique, the filming style will make you feel that you are with Bijou and friends and experiencing the terror with them.
The gory scenes are absolutely there, they are not excessive and even lesser than most horror movies released this year, but every time the gore shows up, they come in shocking ways. The movie's focal point is the expedition of these young people and not the gore. Even though there are 2 sexy girls in this horror film, do not expect for something titillating to be enjoy, vice versa instead.

Welcome to the Jungle is a unique entry in the horror realm, it brings something new but still it is stale compared to the novelty that The Blair Witch Project had brought.

Welcome to the Jungle film still 1