Before “1-18-08/Cloverfield” was baffling and angering the internet by having the unimaginable nerve to fly under the radar and begin production without telling us every single thing about it – another low-profile, highly intriguing cinema-verite style flick was off shooting while effectively keeping us in the dark: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE.
It turned out this was being helmed by fairly well-known writer-director Jonathon Hensleigh, under the watch of world famous producer Gale Anne Hurd (not coincidentally, Hensleigh’s wife) – and all signs pointed toward it being a remake of the infamous CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, since it dealt with young dumbasses traveling into a cannibal-populated jungle totally NOT expecting to be eaten alive by cannibals…
Well, Hensleigh didn’t take too kindly to these comparisons – completely shooting down the idea that this was at all connected to the Ruggero Deodato film:
Welcome to the Jungle is not a remake of Cannibal Holocaust. It has nothing to do with Cannibal Holocaust. It is the story of four kids who hear a rumor that Michael Rockefeller could still be alive in the heart of New Guinea. They go off and try to find and then interview him…
This is just the irresponsible internet era we live in where somebody can sneak into a screening and then just blog some completely inaccurate description of a film and then the film is forever stamped that way, “Oh it’s a remake of Cannibal Holocaust.” We all now have to deal with these internet bloggers who report inaccurately on films.
Alright man, settle down… Anyway, it’s been a LONG while since I’ve read anything pertaining to this film, but today Dread Central pointed me toward a site called Movies Unlimited – which claims WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE will be released on DVD on November 13. I can’t seem to find any other info confirming this, but it’s major a development if true. We’ll keep you posted.
(Side note- definitely do some research into the story of Michael Rockefeller. Stranger-than-fiction type shit, right there.)