( 2005 / Thailand )
Reviewed By-Paul Cooke Directed By-Chanchai Pantasi Starring: Danai Smuthkcochorn, Paul Visut Carey and Eilidh MacQueen. Source : Thailand / All Region NTSC / Wide Screen Approx 1:75:1 / English Language Subtitles / Hi Fi Stereo Sound
Nature contorted to the extreme in this Ecological unfriendly flick , that plays like ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ but has flesh eating creatures of the non human variety as the antagonists. A group of Thai animal conservationists join up with an ecological welfare outfit of Europeans , to seek out a rare hairy elephant believed to exist in the rain forest of Thailand. What lies ahead of them is a terrifying trek into an un-chartered region that soon turns into a mammoth quest for survival. The style of the film has its roots very much set in the Italian made Action outings made in the prolific Eighties decade. This is very welcome as with what is in essence a low budget ‘B’ movie it never forgets that and allows its audience to have Fun with it. What it does have in abundance are scenes of gory delight and no short sharp shock glimpses , but the full on lets see it happening variety. Right from the start ‘The Trek’ signs on with its intention to entertain and as a band of drug smugglers appears from out of the jungle , to be met with an onslaught of bullets from a military faction , the bloody squibs explode right into camera. Their bounty of white powder pure narcotics spills into the river they are attempting to cross. These events have been playing out for many years and like the bad effects on humans these drugs affect the endemic wildlife as well , but with extraordinary results. Shooting up on a diet of pure cocaine sends nature schizoid!.
As the lead Thai conservationist heads his combined group to the fringes of the jungle they are warned off going any further by the locals. They require a guide but the village head refuses to offer any help , knowing all too well what lies beyond his sanctuary. Unrelenting they proceed in search of the mythical breed of elephant and proceed to trek deep into the tropical forest. Events soon take a turn for the worst !. Off the beaten track the group’s leader and one of the other Thai males fall into a nest of swarming millipedes and are besieged by the carnivorous critters. The top side group panic as their fallen colleagues are bloodily assaulted by the flesh tearing insects , that actually burrow under the skin with blood spurting frenzy. Even for a CGI rendered sequence this is a moment of genuine surprise , both bloody and startlingly well done. Panic sets into the group but some restrain is brought to bare with the arrival of the village guide who decided to follow the group with the foresight of danger befalling them. He rallies them to picking themselves up and moving on towards a way back to civilisation. Everything moves swimmingly until night falls and their potential saviour befalls an unceremonious demise himself , picked to the very bone by the pincers of jungle crabs , who make a sideways maneuver on him in droves.
Not long after experiencing one fatal attack upon them an inquisitive female looks too closely at a mass of webbing and falls victim to a leaping spider doing a great impression of the face hugger from ‘Alien’. The out of this world big black spider starts to burrow into her face as her friends try to pull it off her , its legs holding tight and venomous fangs puncturing her forehead. The young band of Thai and English survivors start to fall apart and one of the Thai guys heads up a rebellious break from the group , which sees him set off in another direction with the remaining European male. The others stay behind to nurse the almost comatose spider attack victim. Intense stuff with more attacks around each corner to befall the hapless victims of nature fighting back. A gigantic boa constrictor comes into camp and when it becomes riled by the fire wielding troop it takes it personally and comes back for a main course. Most of the cast are of the stupid variety , and with one particular female bring her cutesy dog into the jungle with her you cant expect any sympathy from an audience that will be baying for blood. A dream sequence doggie death by machete is quite unique but the real deal canine kaput moment is set up so obviously it’s a crowd pleasing moment of expectancy.
Great gory Fun amidst a lush green setting that so enhances proceedings , as the vibrant scenery allows the cinematography to capture that vivid Technicolor quality that oozes quality , even from a product that is rich only in entertainment. Taking ‘The Trek’ is well worth it for fans of schlock and jungle Action adventure with bite. Grisly gore and a fast paced production overshadow the silly snake CGI but even that is part of the films charm. Those renting or purchasing ‘The Trek’ aren’t after a fifty million dollar Hollywood ‘A’ list movie , they want thrills , spills and chills of the outlandishly silly variety , and that’s just what this movie has in its man made monsteriffic make up.
Film : 3.5 Bitch Slaps Picture : 3.5 Bitch Slaps Sound : 3.5 Bitch Slaps Overall : 3.5 Bitch Slaps
