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.
