Cut and Run (Italy, 1985)

Nine Things About the Movie Cut and Run

1. This is the final movie of Ruggero Deodato's so-called Amazonia Trilogy (after "Jungle Holocaust" and "Cannibal Holocaust").

2. "Cannibal Holocaust", which is about a group of Western journalists being tortured and killed by savage natives of the Amazon, was so infamous that there was demand for a sequel. But Deodato didn't want to make "Cannibal Holocaust 2". So he made "Cut and Run", which is about a group of Western journalists filming drug runners being tortured and killed by savage natives of the Amazon. See the difference there?

3. The plot consists of about three different stories that are as lost and confused as the journalists in the jungle. One of the stories is about a father and his missing son. One of the stories is about the cocaine trade. And one of the stories is a cheap rip-off of "Apocalypse Now". None of the stories are complete, nor do they mix well.

4. 80's teen idol Willie Aames is in this movie. In clean-cut America, his good looks may have distracted everybody from his acting ability. But in Venezuela (where the movie was filmed), his terrible overacting made me laugh out loud.

5.  Actually, a lot of this movie made me laugh out loud. All the acting is bad, the story is ludicrous, and the gore is everywhere.

6.  Speaking of gore, this is Deodato we're talking about here. The only reason you watch one of his movies is to watch blood and guts and spears and knives. What's awesome is how elaborate all the decapitation and mutilation gore is, but when someone gets shot, they just fall over with no bullet holes.

7. The movie is perhaps most notable for having the best depiction of a man being ripped in half by a jungle rope trap.

8.  A young Eriq La Salle has a small role as a pimp, dressed all in purple. He later became the well-known and respected actor in the series "ER".  And the guy that plays the mutant Pluto in "The Hills Have Eyes" is here, too. He just pops up out of the water every now and then and kills someone.

9. Make no mistake, this is a bad movie. But for fans of bad movies, it's worth checking out. And while it doesn't have the kick of "Cannibal Holocaust", followers of Deodato's career need to put this on their shelf.