Indonesian adventure Jungle Virgin Force is, as the schlocky title suggests, a big dose of cheesy exploitation, and provides trash cinema fans with a splendidly silly hour and a half of entertainment that is hard not to enjoy.
The film opens on an island where a jungle tribe make a mysterious vine-swinging woman (Lydia Kandou) their queen, much to the annoyance of the high priest and his followers. A fight breaks out and the tribe splits into two warring factions, tasty females in fur bikinis and their queen versus grunting ape-men and their priest.
Meanwhile, a group of scientists embark on an expedition to the island, closely followed by a band of ruthless treasure hunters, who have heard that the tribe have a hidden fortune in gold.
This set up allows for plenty of trashy jungle shenanigans, including naked frolics in a jungle pool (although any nudity is optically fogged), female explorers in hot pants, loads of poorly choreographed fight scenes, a cat fight, some black magic by the wicked priest, a few terrible special effects (including one of the worst matte shots I have ever scene, the island poorly composited with the sea), a couple of daft native dance routines, and quite a lot of gore: loads of extras are shot by arrows, skewered by spears and impaled by flying shards of rock, and director Danu Umbara even channels the spirit of Lenzi and Deodato with a spot of cannibalism, a man falling into a pit of spikes, brief animal cruelty, and a grisly scene in which a woman is strapped to a cross and decapitated.
Obviously, this kind of thing isn't going to appeal to everyone, but those who enjoy z-grade movies will have a blast.
6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the baby sacrifice, the horned warriors, and for naming the female treasure hunter Doris.
