Massacre In Dinosaur Valley (Severin Films Blu-Ray Release)

Is Massacre in Dinosaur Valley Treasure or Treasure

Blu Ray Distributed By Severin / September 29, 2020

It’s been called “top-notch entertainment” (Rock! Shock! Pop!), “a rip-roaring riot of Italian exploitation” (DVD Beaver) and “a weird cross between ROMANCING THE STONE and CANNIBAL FEROX” (The Video Graveyard). Now experience the wildest ‘80s cannibal movie you’ve never seen scanned uncut in 4k from the original negative: Michael Sopkiw (BLASTFIGHTER, KILLER FISH) stars as a cocky paleontologist who crash-lands into a jungle hell chockfull of fashion models, graphic violence, rampant nudity, and tasty gobs of flesh-chomping mayhem. Marta Anderson (BARE BEHIND BARS) co-stars in this ”fromaggio gem from another era” (Bloody Good Horror) – also released as AMAZONAS and CANNIBAL FEROX II – co-written by the legendary Dardano Sacchetti (THE BEYOND, DEMONS) that B&S About Movies says “delivers on everything it promises, except dinosaurs.”

Jamie’s Take (4 / 5)

Maybe the most misleading title ever, Massacre in Dinosaur Valley has action, gore, nudity, cannibals…but no dinosaurs. Yep, that’s right, absolutely no dinosaurs. So for those looking for an Italian R rated Jurassic Park, you are out of luck as this is one of the last cannibal films the Italians churned out during their heyday, starting from the 70’s and into the mid 80’s. While many of the later cannibal films have by now run their course and have gotten cheap, tame, and tedious, Massacre in Dinosaur Valley cranks up the exploitation and fun and shockingly is one of the stronger cannibal entries.

Kevin Hall (played by Michael Sopkiw from Devil Fish and 2019: After the Fall of New York) is our hero, a rather blatant Indiana Jones carbon copy who, instead of being an archeologist, is a paleontologist who has found his way onto an island where he’s trying to barter his way onto a private plane in order to get to a hidden jungle. The jungle Kevin is trying to get to has had reports of possible dinosaur fossils in the area. While onboard a flight, the plane goes through some turbulence and crashes in the jungle, killing the pilot and some of the passengers on board. The remaining passengers must find their way to safety as they battle snakes, alligators, piranhas and even themselves.

If their situation isn’t already bad, the remaining survivors start to get hunted by blood thirsty cannibals who look like Native Americans(?), kidnapping two women from the plan crash who force them to strip and be sacrificed / eaten during some ritual. Well, that is until Kevin pops up with a shotgun and an overabundance amount of bullets, wasting quite a few of these savages and rescuing the ladies. As they are chased down in the jungle they run into a group of drug smugglers who are just as dangerous if not worse than the cannibal tribe.

Massacre in Dinosaur Valley may be the most entertaining cannibal films I have yet to see. It has a certain charm and humor, while silly, that is quite amusing and pleasant. It’s a nice change of pace from the ultra serious and depressing earlier cannibal films. While I made an Indiana Jones reference earlier, the film feels more like a hard R version of Romancing the Stone as Kevin does fall for one of the female passengers, even finding time to stick his bone fossil in her. I couldn’t help but laugh as she smiles and enjoys her fucking just moments after her father had just died in her arms.

At just 89 minutes long, Massacre flies by and is a perfect entertaining action / horror film to waste your time with. While there is a good amount of gore, it is still nowhere near as explicit as say Cannibal Ferox or Cannibal Holocaust. I do appreciate seeing a cannibal film where no animal was harmed so that is always a plus in my book. Plus, after reviewing Primitives my rating may be a bit over generous but damn it, I had fun watching Massacre in Dinosaur Valley.

Severin’s blu ray transfer looks great, no print damage at all really and a very strong looking transfer. The 2.0 mono soundtrack was fine although I did have to turn it a tad up in the beginning of the movie. The special features are nice but nothing Earth shattering. There is an interesting interview with Michael Sopkiw that hints there was friction with one of the actresses and briefly mentions he was in jail prior to becoming an actor. There is a somewhat bland interview with one of the co-writers as well as the trailer and some deleted scenes that really don’t add to much.

I have now seen my fair share of cannibal films and Massacre in Dinosaur Valley definitely ranks higher than most in the gut-munching genre. A great looking blu ray too by Severin makes this a hidden treasure for not only cannibal lovers but also those who like a fun exploitation flick that you just don’t see anymore.

Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?

Jamie says: Hidden Treasure!