The legendary euro-sleaze filmmaker Jess Franco directed an average of 5 movies per year during the early 70's, so naturally not all of his films are genuine masterpieces, or even remotely good movies for that matter. The majority, however, are truly entertaining and even grew out to become most wanted cult treasures that are difficult to come across on DVD. "X312 Flight To Hell" is another extremely obscure and rarely seen film from The Godfather of Sleaze, and even though it certainly doesn't rank among his finest efforts, it's an action-packed and exiting exploitation adventure with cargo loads of rancid sex, paltry dialogs and nasty violence. The plot is extremely unoriginal but straightforward, as it introduces a series of highly sinister characters traveling over the Amazon jungle in a ramshackle airplane. One of the passengers is a corrupt bank director who's fleeing from the authorities with a briefcase of stolen diamonds attached to his arm. When the plane crash-lands in the middle of the Amazonian jungle and the survivors have to rely on each other in order to find their way out, some of passengers' true nature begins to show. Especially when the greedy flight captain Paco finds out about the valuable stolen loot, the lives of the rest of the passengers aren't worth a penny anymore. Franco's portrayal of the dangerous Amazon jungle is rather tame, actually. There are almost no virulent animal-attacks (apart from a handful of plastic alligators) or cannibalistic tribes, and most of the cast members die as a result of banal accidents or personal struggles. Sex and nudity, on the other hand, there is plenty! I guess only a director like Jess Franco is capable of mixing the concept of a jungle survival-trek with extended footage of lesbian sex and SM-torturing. The camera-work and editing is almost intolerably amateurish, with fast and uncontrolled movements that are unclear and difficult to follow. At least Bruno Nicolai's score is excellent and surprisingly enough the acting performances are far above average! The heroic male lead Thomas Hunter has quite the ideal charisma for his role and Franco regulars Howard Vernon ("The Awful Dr. Orloff", "Virgin Among The Living Dead") and Fernando Sancho ("Return of the Blind Dead", "Demon Witch Child") make great villains. The female starlets mainly serve as sexy eye-candy. Particularly Esperanza Roy impresses with her
um
big rack.
8 Reviews
Mediocre Jess Frank movie co-produced by West Germany/Spain including noisy action , crossfire , treason and violence
ma-cortes7 July 2020
The film starts with a reporter stating a speech ; from now on , a long flashback develops the movie action : as a plane leaving the turmoil of a South American nation in the midst of a revolution crash-lands in the Amazon jungle in Brazil . Among the passengers are a selfish banker who is smuggling diamonds out of the country , a journalist (Thomas Hunter) , a gorgeous Spanish woman (Esperanza Roy) , the spectacular blondie Mrs. Wilson (as Ewa Stroemberg) , Miss Steffi (Gila von Weitershausen) , a shady young ( Hans Hass Jr) and a mysterious flight attendant (Fernando Sancho) . The survivors find themselves up against not only the risks of the jungle itself but a band of thieves (Howard Vernon and his lover Lolita : Beni Cardoso) go after them , while all of them are looking for the smuggled diamonds.
This is an action adventure movie set in Amazon jungle with corrupt characters , crosses and double-crosses , thrills , chills , nudism and shootouts . This very campy picture contains struggles , betrayals, disconcerting situations , and being developed in fits and starts . As our passengers become involved into twisted incidentes among themselves , being assaulted by band of revolutionaries , headhunters and gangs of cutthroats . Here Franco manages to give us an appropriate ambient in Amazon jungle , an evocative production design , action enough , including a criminal plot enough to keep you intrigued throughout the flick . However , here he doesn't use his trademarks , as he pulls off a traditional narration , without zooms , neither lousy pace . The picture was made early 70s , shortly after the time in which Franco directed nice movies such as : ¨Rififi En La Ciudad¨ , this ¨Miss Muerte¨ or ¨Diabolic Doctor Z¨ , ¨Necronomicon¨ and ¨Gritos en la Noche¨ , developing a consolidated professionalism , as his career got more and more impoverished in the following years, but his endless creativity enabled him to tackle films in all genres , from "B" horror to erotic films .
The motion picture was middlingly directed by Jesus Franco ; being ordinarily written , produced by Artur Brauner and often deemed among his mediocre films . Jesus Franco was a Stajanovist director , as his filmography boasts 203 directorial credits from 1957 to 2013 , a record few can match in the era of talking pictures . Given that many Franco films exist in three or four variant versions, sometimes so radically different that alternative cuts qualify as separate movies , his overall tally might be considerably higher but embarrassing . As the picture belongs to Franco's first period in which he made passable flicks . Franco used to utilize a lot of pseudonyms and customary marks such as zooms , nudism , foreground on objects , filmmaking in ¨do-it-yourself effort¨ style or DIY and managing to work extraordinarily quickly , realizing some fun diversions, and a lot of absolute crap . Many pictures had nice photography , full of lights and shades in Orson Welles style , in fact , Franco was direction-assistant in ¨Chimes at midnight¨ and edited ¨El Quijote¨ by Welles . He often used to introduce second , third or fourth versions , including Hardcore or Softcore inserts or sexual stocks many of them played by his muse Lina Romay . In many of the more than 200 films he's directed he has also worked as composer , writer , cinematographer and editor . His first was "We Are 18 Years Old" along with the documentary ¨El Arbol de España¨ and his subsequent picture was ¨Gritos en la Noche¨ (1962) , the best of all them . Like ¨Justine¨ , some of these films have been extraordinarily entertaining : ¨The Diabolical Dr. Z¨ (1966), ¨Vampyros Lesbos¨ (1971), ¨A Virgin Among the Living Dead¨ (1973) , ¨The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein¨ , ¨Female Vampire¨ , ¨Women Behind Bars¨ (both 1975), and ¨Bloody Moon¨ (1981). As his ¨Necronomicón¨ (1968) was nominated for the Festival of Berlin, and this event gave him an international reputation . He also directed to the great Christopher Lee in 4 films : "The Bloody Judge" , ¨Count Dracula¨, ¨The Blood of Fu Manchu¨ and ¨The castle of Fu Manchu¨ . Jesús's influence has been notable all over Europe . Many of his films have had problems in getting released, and others have been made directly for video . More than once his staunchest supporters have found his "new" films to contain much footage from one or more of his older films . He broke up with all that and got the independence he was seeking . He always went upstream in an ephemeral industry that fed opportunists and curbed the activity of many professionals . But time doesn't pass in vain, and Jesus' production has diminished since the 90s ; however he went on shooting until his death .
This is an action adventure movie set in Amazon jungle with corrupt characters , crosses and double-crosses , thrills , chills , nudism and shootouts . This very campy picture contains struggles , betrayals, disconcerting situations , and being developed in fits and starts . As our passengers become involved into twisted incidentes among themselves , being assaulted by band of revolutionaries , headhunters and gangs of cutthroats . Here Franco manages to give us an appropriate ambient in Amazon jungle , an evocative production design , action enough , including a criminal plot enough to keep you intrigued throughout the flick . However , here he doesn't use his trademarks , as he pulls off a traditional narration , without zooms , neither lousy pace . The picture was made early 70s , shortly after the time in which Franco directed nice movies such as : ¨Rififi En La Ciudad¨ , this ¨Miss Muerte¨ or ¨Diabolic Doctor Z¨ , ¨Necronomicon¨ and ¨Gritos en la Noche¨ , developing a consolidated professionalism , as his career got more and more impoverished in the following years, but his endless creativity enabled him to tackle films in all genres , from "B" horror to erotic films .
The motion picture was middlingly directed by Jesus Franco ; being ordinarily written , produced by Artur Brauner and often deemed among his mediocre films . Jesus Franco was a Stajanovist director , as his filmography boasts 203 directorial credits from 1957 to 2013 , a record few can match in the era of talking pictures . Given that many Franco films exist in three or four variant versions, sometimes so radically different that alternative cuts qualify as separate movies , his overall tally might be considerably higher but embarrassing . As the picture belongs to Franco's first period in which he made passable flicks . Franco used to utilize a lot of pseudonyms and customary marks such as zooms , nudism , foreground on objects , filmmaking in ¨do-it-yourself effort¨ style or DIY and managing to work extraordinarily quickly , realizing some fun diversions, and a lot of absolute crap . Many pictures had nice photography , full of lights and shades in Orson Welles style , in fact , Franco was direction-assistant in ¨Chimes at midnight¨ and edited ¨El Quijote¨ by Welles . He often used to introduce second , third or fourth versions , including Hardcore or Softcore inserts or sexual stocks many of them played by his muse Lina Romay . In many of the more than 200 films he's directed he has also worked as composer , writer , cinematographer and editor . His first was "We Are 18 Years Old" along with the documentary ¨El Arbol de España¨ and his subsequent picture was ¨Gritos en la Noche¨ (1962) , the best of all them . Like ¨Justine¨ , some of these films have been extraordinarily entertaining : ¨The Diabolical Dr. Z¨ (1966), ¨Vampyros Lesbos¨ (1971), ¨A Virgin Among the Living Dead¨ (1973) , ¨The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein¨ , ¨Female Vampire¨ , ¨Women Behind Bars¨ (both 1975), and ¨Bloody Moon¨ (1981). As his ¨Necronomicón¨ (1968) was nominated for the Festival of Berlin, and this event gave him an international reputation . He also directed to the great Christopher Lee in 4 films : "The Bloody Judge" , ¨Count Dracula¨, ¨The Blood of Fu Manchu¨ and ¨The castle of Fu Manchu¨ . Jesús's influence has been notable all over Europe . Many of his films have had problems in getting released, and others have been made directly for video . More than once his staunchest supporters have found his "new" films to contain much footage from one or more of his older films . He broke up with all that and got the independence he was seeking . He always went upstream in an ephemeral industry that fed opportunists and curbed the activity of many professionals . But time doesn't pass in vain, and Jesus' production has diminished since the 90s ; however he went on shooting until his death .
Jungle squabbles and nice twists - minor spoilers.
parry_na6 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
If anyone could manage to produce a jungle action/adventure for the price of a sangria, it would be Jess Franco. Even by 1971, he had carved out a name for himself as being able to make a virtue out of a microscopic budget. However, some films lend themselves better to that arrangement than others. For the dream-like 'horror' films he directed, such cut-price weirdness can actually enhance the overall mood - with a film such as this, where the dangers are more real, the constraints are more obvious.
'Flight to Hell' features prolific Spanish actress Esperanza Roy (as Anna Maria), who shows off a lot more than she did in possibly her better known role of Vivian, the second most glamorous character in 1973's 'The Return of the Evil Dead' (someway behind ruggedly coiffured hero Tony Kendall). There are also a number of faces here that are familiar from other Jess Franco films, most notably Howard Vernon, Paul Müller and Ewa Strömberg. Fernando Sancho is also notable as the dastardly Paco.
'Flight to Hell' is a nicely structured, although not hugely exciting, Franco jungle romp, with various plane crash survivors trying to stay alive in the tropics, whilst keeping their heads amidst greed and squabbles.
There's a fairly sexual lesbian scene involving Anna Maria and Lolita (an uncredited Beni Cardoso), who is introduced purely for that brief moment. This only goes to enflame the passions of Vernon's Pedro (it's a testament to Vernon that his character is pretty convincing despite a very false-looking moustache. His presence lifts any film he is in, even when playing a fairly minor role: this is no exception).
All in all, this will probably suffer the fate of many of Franco's projects - those unfamiliar with his work will note with disdain the constant zooms, meandering plot and murky pacing. Others, who have a fondness for Uncle Jess (like myself) will find the whole venture charming in its way, with a lot to enjoy. Not a major work from the director, this nevertheless entertains for its 86 minutes. My score is 6 out of 10.
'Flight to Hell' features prolific Spanish actress Esperanza Roy (as Anna Maria), who shows off a lot more than she did in possibly her better known role of Vivian, the second most glamorous character in 1973's 'The Return of the Evil Dead' (someway behind ruggedly coiffured hero Tony Kendall). There are also a number of faces here that are familiar from other Jess Franco films, most notably Howard Vernon, Paul Müller and Ewa Strömberg. Fernando Sancho is also notable as the dastardly Paco.
'Flight to Hell' is a nicely structured, although not hugely exciting, Franco jungle romp, with various plane crash survivors trying to stay alive in the tropics, whilst keeping their heads amidst greed and squabbles.
There's a fairly sexual lesbian scene involving Anna Maria and Lolita (an uncredited Beni Cardoso), who is introduced purely for that brief moment. This only goes to enflame the passions of Vernon's Pedro (it's a testament to Vernon that his character is pretty convincing despite a very false-looking moustache. His presence lifts any film he is in, even when playing a fairly minor role: this is no exception).
All in all, this will probably suffer the fate of many of Franco's projects - those unfamiliar with his work will note with disdain the constant zooms, meandering plot and murky pacing. Others, who have a fondness for Uncle Jess (like myself) will find the whole venture charming in its way, with a lot to enjoy. Not a major work from the director, this nevertheless entertains for its 86 minutes. My score is 6 out of 10.
Out-of-style Franco movie
tim_age23 August 2003
This movie has recently been released on DVD in the US. Fortunately they used the German language version so they avoided the dreadful English synchronisation that is common for these type of movies.
Still, it's not a very good movie. It has been clearly made very fast and it seems they only had enough money to go to South America to shoot some footage (although it might also be archive footage now I come to think of it).
The story is simple and not very original: a plane crashes in the jungle and among the survivors is a bank president carrying a suitcase with stolen jewelry. As soon as the other passengers find out they start fighting while trying to survive in the Brazilian jungle.
Typical Franco elements are still there but not as numerous as they normally are; of course you'll see most of the women in this movie naked and there's a lesbian lovescene; Franco's love of zooming in and out on irrelevant details is apparent several times; and Franco regulars have small roles, I saw Paul Müller, Ewa Stroemberg, Howard Vernon, Beni Cardosi and Franco himself passing by on the screen.
Unfortunately this is not a movie to remember, and not a good place to start if you want to witness the genius of Jesus F.
Still, it's not a very good movie. It has been clearly made very fast and it seems they only had enough money to go to South America to shoot some footage (although it might also be archive footage now I come to think of it).
The story is simple and not very original: a plane crashes in the jungle and among the survivors is a bank president carrying a suitcase with stolen jewelry. As soon as the other passengers find out they start fighting while trying to survive in the Brazilian jungle.
Typical Franco elements are still there but not as numerous as they normally are; of course you'll see most of the women in this movie naked and there's a lesbian lovescene; Franco's love of zooming in and out on irrelevant details is apparent several times; and Franco regulars have small roles, I saw Paul Müller, Ewa Stroemberg, Howard Vernon, Beni Cardosi and Franco himself passing by on the screen.
Unfortunately this is not a movie to remember, and not a good place to start if you want to witness the genius of Jesus F.
Disaster movie where they couldn't afford the disaster
Andy Irvine27 July 2000
Not sure how to rate this. It's an ultra-low quality film which, in terms of what it set out to achieve, fails miserably. The plane crash (I hope I'm not giving away too much of the plot here) is conveyed to the audience principally by means of horrified expressions on bystanders' faces, plus a little flame-coloured lighting. Needless to say, the tension is non-existent.
However, it does have a redeeming feature. It's unintentionally hilarious. Minimalist special effects aside, the dubbed English dialogue is dreadfully stilted, well beyond the point at which a soap opera script editor would blanch, and the scene in which the, er, hunky guy picks up the love interest by means of his sexy whistling (honestly) is a golden moment in cinema history.
Get many, many beers in and enjoy.
However, it does have a redeeming feature. It's unintentionally hilarious. Minimalist special effects aside, the dubbed English dialogue is dreadfully stilted, well beyond the point at which a soap opera script editor would blanch, and the scene in which the, er, hunky guy picks up the love interest by means of his sexy whistling (honestly) is a golden moment in cinema history.
Get many, many beers in and enjoy.
This movie wasn't hell, but not too far away either
Horst_In_Translation20 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"X312 - Flug zur Hölle" or "X312 - Flight to Hell" is a co-production between West Germany and Spain from 1971, so this one had its 45th anniversary last year. The Spanish influence here is by director and writer Jesús Franco, known to many, and if you take a look at the writers here, then you will find a handful of people who also worked together with Franco on other occasions. The film is as short as some other Franco films, runs for comfortably under 90 minutes and tells the story of a couple plane passengers and what happens to them when they crash down. Add to that a bunch of priceless diamonds and you also have a crime component that results in murder on several occasions. And as it is Franco, there is obviously once again a great deal of erotics and female nudity in here, which is nice though as the women are as gorgeous as always in his movies, especially Esperanza Roy. And the names are actually not unknown at all if you see how many times Strömberg worked with Franco and Gila von Weitershausen is also well-known to my fellow German film buffs. But eventually the film suffers like many other Franco films from the weak production values. Even if a big part of the film plays in the jungle, it isn't a captivating or mesmerizing watch. Some of the actors are pretty weak and the script is not a revelation either with Franco including 1 or 2 too many plot twists again. Apart from that, I never felt it was a gritty film and despite the potentially exciting plot, it never managed to get me to the edge of my seat. However, on a more positive note, the beginning with the character introduction and also the very end were somewhat interesting and among the film's better parts. But everything in-between was (except the great female bodies) very forgettable. I don't think it is one of Franco's worst. Not at all as he has created way bigger trash in his long career. But it is also not good enough that I would recommend it. The plot certainly offered the potential for a much better film, so they came pretty short in that regard. Thumbs down. Don't watch.
Broken heart
BandSAboutMovies5 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Jess Frank is, of course, Jess Franco and this movie feels like absolute sadness as it was once to star Soledad Miranda except that she died a few months before shooting. One assumes that Franco was destroyed by this.
Bank president Alberto Rupprecht (Siegfried Schürenberg) has run from his job along with millions in jewels, but like that lottery ticket winner from a Canadian singer's song, the plane is taken hostage, then crashes and soon, everyone that survives is on the run through the jungles of Brazil and being following by Pedro's (Howard Vernon, who else?) revolutionaries and - yes, this is a Franco movie - some headhunters.
Along for the ride are Miss Stefi (Gila von Weitershausen), who has a teddy bear and that won't help much; the pneumatic Anna Maria Vidal (Esperanza Roy, Return of the Blind Dead); a man (Antonio de Cabo) and his small dog and a rich American beauty named Mrs. Wilson (Ewa Strömberg, The Devil Came from Akasava, Vampyros Lesbos) and it should surprise no one that Franco shot a lesbian scene amongst all this death in the jungle.
Franco must have really been depressed because this is filled with hardly any zoom and none of the outright sinful insanity I expect. He'd be back on his game - in fact, outdoing himself - before too long.
Bank president Alberto Rupprecht (Siegfried Schürenberg) has run from his job along with millions in jewels, but like that lottery ticket winner from a Canadian singer's song, the plane is taken hostage, then crashes and soon, everyone that survives is on the run through the jungles of Brazil and being following by Pedro's (Howard Vernon, who else?) revolutionaries and - yes, this is a Franco movie - some headhunters.
Along for the ride are Miss Stefi (Gila von Weitershausen), who has a teddy bear and that won't help much; the pneumatic Anna Maria Vidal (Esperanza Roy, Return of the Blind Dead); a man (Antonio de Cabo) and his small dog and a rich American beauty named Mrs. Wilson (Ewa Strömberg, The Devil Came from Akasava, Vampyros Lesbos) and it should surprise no one that Franco shot a lesbian scene amongst all this death in the jungle.
Franco must have really been depressed because this is filled with hardly any zoom and none of the outright sinful insanity I expect. He'd be back on his game - in fact, outdoing himself - before too long.
Weaker Franco
Michael_Elliott28 February 2008
X-312: Flight to Hell (1970)
** (out of 4)
Jess Franco directed adventure film about a plane that goes down in the Brazil jungles and the survivors who must battle natives, gangsters and wild animals. The political side plot is quite boring and really drags the film down but the adventure story isn't too bad, although it drags even at only 85-minutes. The film is pretty straight forward, considering this is a Jess Franco film, which makes it a tad bit too bland for its own good. Paul Muller and Howard Vernon star.
The movie is available in Spanish with English subs (unlike many of the director's best work).
** (out of 4)
Jess Franco directed adventure film about a plane that goes down in the Brazil jungles and the survivors who must battle natives, gangsters and wild animals. The political side plot is quite boring and really drags the film down but the adventure story isn't too bad, although it drags even at only 85-minutes. The film is pretty straight forward, considering this is a Jess Franco film, which makes it a tad bit too bland for its own good. Paul Muller and Howard Vernon star.
The movie is available in Spanish with English subs (unlike many of the director's best work).
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