From legendary exploitation producer Dick Randall, jungle adventure King of Kong Island starts off in suitably trashy fashion, but quickly loses momentum when it becomes evident that there isn't nearly enough plot to support a full length feature.
The film begins as a group of armed robbers ambush a payroll. Instead of splitting the $300K haul, Albert Muller (Marc Lawrence) betrays his comrades, shooting them all and making off with the loot. However, one of the men, Burt (played by peplum muscleman Brad Harris), is still alive, and, after recuperating, goes looking for revenge. Meanwhile, Albert is conducting experiments on gorillas, inserting AA batteries into their skulls in order to make them obedient slaves.
When I tell you that the highlight of the whole movie is an early scene in a nightclub, where Brad Harris shows off his hilarious dance moves (he nods his head a lot and occasionally claps his hands), that might give some idea of just how tedious everything else is. There's loads of aimless wandering around the jungle (with the usual stock footage of animals to pad out proceedings), Brad gets shirtless to appease fans of his ripped bod, a nearly naked jungle woman preserves her modesty with her strategically placed hair, and we get a few men in really manky gorilla costumes; all of this is executed with zero flair, looks incredibly cheap, and moves at a sluggish pace.
I have a pretty high tolerance for low budget schlock, but found this one quite a chore to watch.
The film begins as a group of armed robbers ambush a payroll. Instead of splitting the $300K haul, Albert Muller (Marc Lawrence) betrays his comrades, shooting them all and making off with the loot. However, one of the men, Burt (played by peplum muscleman Brad Harris), is still alive, and, after recuperating, goes looking for revenge. Meanwhile, Albert is conducting experiments on gorillas, inserting AA batteries into their skulls in order to make them obedient slaves.
When I tell you that the highlight of the whole movie is an early scene in a nightclub, where Brad Harris shows off his hilarious dance moves (he nods his head a lot and occasionally claps his hands), that might give some idea of just how tedious everything else is. There's loads of aimless wandering around the jungle (with the usual stock footage of animals to pad out proceedings), Brad gets shirtless to appease fans of his ripped bod, a nearly naked jungle woman preserves her modesty with her strategically placed hair, and we get a few men in really manky gorilla costumes; all of this is executed with zero flair, looks incredibly cheap, and moves at a sluggish pace.
I have a pretty high tolerance for low budget schlock, but found this one quite a chore to watch.