The Films of
Rene Cardona Sr. & Jr.

Cyclone   Cyclone: (1977) Cardona Jr's semi-follow-up to his dad's Survive! starring Hugo Stiglitz, Olga Carlotos, Arthur Kennedy and Lionel Stander. After a cyclone causes a plane to crash in the ocean and a tourist boat picks up the survivors, it's hell to pay as they drift, lost at sea hoping for a rescue. Along the way they must decide whether or not to eat the rich lady's dog (they do, and it's graphic) and finally whether to resort to cannibalism. In English with Dutch subtitles. [B]
 
  The Bermuda Triangle: (1978) Cardona Jr's uneven, but entertaining thriller about a family who take a cruise a little too close to the fabled Bermuda Triangle. When they fish a really creepy-looking doll out of the drink, it possesses a little girl, eats raw meat and kills. All the while other weird things are going on and the little girl runs about predicting the deaths of the passengers and their imminent joining of "them, down there." Hugo Stiglitz, John Huston (who is obviously speaking Spanish with a dub English track over his dialogue!) and Claudine Auger star. In English with Dutch subtitles. [B]
 
Evil Birds    Evil Birds: (1987) A.k.a. Beaks, Birds of Prey. Another minor masterpiece of schlock from Rene Cardona Jr. Apparently the birds of the world (right down to the household parakeet) are seriously pissed-off at human kind and now they are flocking together for revenge. Christopher Atkins and Michelle Johnson (who sadly eschews any gratuitous nudity for a body double) star as a cameraman and photographer who are doing news coverage of the bizarre disaster. Damn cool entry in the "nature runs amok" sub-genre with good n' gory attack sequences. [B]
 
  Guns and Guts: (197?) A.k.a. God, Guns and Guts. Bloody as hell Rene Cardona Sr Mexi-Western about a hired gun that wants to complete his last big job so he can retire with his prostitute. The job consists of killing a sheriff who keeps himself hidden away inside an old monastery. A series of double crosses culminates with an excessively bloody Wild Bunch inspired massacre inside the monastery. Badly dubbed, but the Fulci-esque gouts of blood that erupt from bullet wounds is enough to make up for it. Widescreen in English with Dutch subtitles. [B]
 
Night of the Bloody Apes    Night of the Bloody Apes: (1968) A.k.a. Gomar the Human Gorilla. Classic René Cardona Sr trash about a brilliant surgeon who's son is dying from a bad ticker. Finally he decides to do a heart transplant using the heart of an ape, causing his son to mutate into a half-man half-ape creature that runs about Mexico tearing the clothes off of women and various body parts out of the general public. Very gory, even by today's standards (I can't imagine what it was like back in the day) with liberal doses of nudity, camp dialogue and the obligatory masked wrestling scenes, this is sure to get you hooked on Mexican cinema. Actual heart transplant footage is used and due to this and other factors it is banned in the UK. [B]
 
  Survive!: (1977) Uncut print of this rare Cardona Sr's film (based on a true story, and the inspiration for the inferior Alive). In 1972 a rugby team crash lands in the snowy peaks of the Andes. Some of the members are medical students and realize that they must resort to eating the flesh of their dead friends in order to... Survive! In English with Greek subtitles. [B]
 
 
  Tintorera: (1978) Rare Cardona Jr trash about a killer tiger shark, shamelessly rips-off Jaws in a wonderfully bloody, exploitive fashion (particularly the many well-lit skinny-dip sequences). The T&A tends to overshadow the gory shark attacks and underwater mondo stuff (as do those slick '70s duds!), but do you care?
 
 
  Treasure of the Amazon: (1984) Cardona Jr's foray into cannibal country with much nudity, mayhem, Stuart Whitman and, yes, Donald Pleasance as a gold hunting Nazi. Ol’ Stu takes a trip into the Amazon in search of a cache of diamonds. Cheesy fun with great cinematography and great bit where a guy is eaten alive by spider crabs (obviously inspired by The Beyond). Includes trailer. [B]