User Reviews

Michele Massimo Tarantini's NUDO E SELVAGGIO aka MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY (Italy and Brazil, 1985) belongs to the category it's so damn bad it becomes totally enjoyable for fans of low budget trash cinema. The film is written by Tarantini, too, and some sources mention that also Dardano Sacchetti (the man responsible for many Fulci scripts) worked as a writer in this film, uncredited. Still most of Sacchetti's screenplays are much better and professional than this so I think he didn't do too much for this film after all.

In DINOSAUR VALLEY, Michael Sopkiw (BLASTFIGHTER (1985), 2019 BEFORE THE FALL OF NEW YORK (1983) etc.) stars as our Indiana Jones like hero who collects dinosaur bones and sells them to those who pay him much. He travels to Brazil and is willing to search for the bones there. There he gets to know an older doctor and his daughter, who are also going to the jungle alongside a photographer, his two almost naked female models and a traumatized Vietnam veteran and his more than annoying and paranoid wife. Now that sounds a hilarious cast doesn't it? It is as wild and laughable as it sounds, so the fanatics of trash cinema will love DINOSAUR VALLEY.

After their plane crashes (unbelievably funny scene by he way!), the fun and the so called plot begins. The most interesting thing in the cast is easily Suzane Carvalho who belongs to the most memorable beauties I've seen in any of these exploitation films of the 70's and 80's. She plays the part of the doctor's daughter, and her beauty steels the whole show. Her eyes are like chocolate balls waiting to be eaten. There are some other beauties in films of this kind like Uschi Glass (Umberto Lenzi's SEVEN BLOOD STAINED ORCHIDS, 1971)), Glory Annen (Norman J. Warren's PREY, 1978) and Olivia Hussey (Brian Trenchard-Smith's outrageous BLOOD CAMP THATCHER aka TURKEY SHOOT, 1981) but Suzane in DINOSAUR VALLEY is easily the most beautiful angel of all.

Sopkiw is as bad as can be expected and that goes to the acting in general in this film, too. The acting is so bad at times that one might wonder if they did it in purpose because it seems unlikely that somebody really "acted" that bad while trying to act good and believably. That of course adds to the enjoyment this junk gives and DINOSAUR VALLEY is easily to these jungle adventures (CUT AND RUN (1985), THE CATHERINE MILES STORY (1986), TREASURE OF THE AMAZON (1985) etc.) the same as Ivan Katansky's ridiculous Italian sleaze fest BEAST IN HEAT (1977) is for nazi exploitation and WIP films. All those who've seen BEAST really know what I'm talking about.

DINOSAUR has plenty of gratuitous sex, nudity and gore which can also be expected from these films. The sex and nudity-o-meter is very high and there are some shots of naked females that go farther than I expected so the makers noticeably wanted to "deliver the goods" big time with this film. The same thing is with the gore as there are the usual scenes of blood letting and people being killed in gory manner as the dangers of the jungle like piranhas and leeches attack the unhappy travellers as well as the hungry cannibals who happen to live there, too. Also, they soon find out that the jungle is terrorized by some sleazy slave ring led by a fat and horny dirtbag whose fate in a film like this isn't too hard to guess.

Pretty much all the characters in the film are more or less disgusting and evil and there are some unbelievably sleazy scenes like the relationship between the war veteran and his wife as well as the laughably lusty men who, trapped in the jungle surrounded by different dangers, don't seem to be able to keep their eyes off the almost naked females and thus giving the camera man an excuse to give couple of close ups! Can it be even more exploitative and over-the-top sleazy than this?!

The settings in the Brazil jungles are very nice and beautiful as can be expected and that is perhaps the only positive and noteworthy cinematic achievement that can be found in this film. The water and trees are shot very lively and peacefully and it creates a nice atmosphere, and the overall beauty of nature is pretty stunning, and even the loathsome characters and goings-on cannot disturb that. The music score (the synthesizer one) is also worth mentioning and it is very simple but effective in the tradition of Carpenter's HALLOWEEN score.

After all, DINOSAUR VALLEY is almost perfect exploitation trash romp but the viewer really has to "understand" and love the genre in order to come to this conclusion. If you try to show this film to anyone with "normal taste" for cinema, you are guaranteed to be recommended to visit a mental hospital to get some help, because these films are so far away from what is considered as acceptable or correct in mainstream (and "normal") cinema. I give DINOSAUR VALLEY 6/10 as a fan of this cheesy genre.

An anthropologist, Vietnam vet, his bitchy lush wife, scientist, his daughter, and two fashion models(??!?) on their way to dig up some fossils on Dinosuar island (there's no dinosaurs in the movie, don't worry, it's just a name) crash land in the midst of a jungle and must contend with various obstacles to their survival including cannibals, wild animals, and various other things. This movie is so goofily cheesy that I couldn't help but to enjoy it. Lots of gore as well as T&A (and some bush too) make this film go down so much easier. Add to that many quotable lines and you have a good bad movie.

My Grade: C+

Michael Sopkiw plays Kevin Hall, a paleontologist who hitches a ride on a plane travelling to Dinosaur Valley, a fossil hunter's paradise deep in the cannibal-infested Amazon jungle. But when the plane crashes en route, he and the other survivors (a photographer and his model, a Vietnam veteran and his wife, and a scientist's daughter) must attempt to reach civilisation on foot, without losing too many body parts on the way.

Although the Italian cannibal craze had pretty much run its course by the mid 80s, a handful of directors tried in vain to scrape a little more meat off an already well-picked carcass, and delivered several offerings that did little to reignite interest in the genre.

Ruggero Deodato, of Cannibal Holocaust fame, directed the fairly enjoyable Cut and Run, an adventure movie with a little gut munching to spice up events, and Mario Gariazzo presented Amazonia, an unexceptional tale (actually about headhunters) that still managed to successfully capture some of that savage vibe that we cannibal fans know and love.

Michele Massimo Tarantini, meanwhile, gave us Massacre in Dinosaur Valley, a trashy (ie. it has plenty of hot nekkid women in it) B-movie style affair that totally misses the mark. With a fraction of the gore that fans have come to expect from the genre (the only memorable moment being a fun piranha attack), particularly dreadful acting, and a group of unlikeable characters you actually look forward to seeing being eaten alive, I found Tarantini's movie to be one of the weakest Italian cannibal films I have seen.

Some viewers seem to have enjoyed this one's general shoddiness, awarding it 'so-bad, it's good' status, but I don't think it manages to pull off that particular trick. In fact, part of me suspects that Massacre in Dinosaur Valley was intentionally made to be bad. Which doesn't make it good. Just bad. Which I guess, would make it a success. Except that I didn't enjoy it that much.

Ah, stuff it..... 4/10 for the quality T&A.

The copy that I borrowed from a friend is titled "Amazonas". I have been a friend of all the Italian gore films, so that is why I checked it out. It has adventure, sex, and gore. It sort of reminded me of Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals in that it goes a little farther in the sex scenes then your average adventure movie. The copy I have is the uncut unrated version. So if there is a rated R version, I can imagine it just wouldn't have the same edge that the unrated version has.

Some may see the rating I've given Massacre in Dinosaur Valley and think I've lost my mind. I'm fully aware that a 5/10 may be too high. In all honesty, the movie is horrible. Tarantini has crammed the film with every exploitation element and cliché you can think of. Massacre in Dinosaur Valley lacks originality, any semblance of good acting, and anything approaching taste. Technically, the movie doesn't fair much better with some really bad looking special effects and poor editing. But if you can get past all the film's shortcomings (as I did), it's a lot of fun for fans of cheese-filled, Italian exploitation type movies. Maybe I was just in the right frame of mind, but I had a great time with it.

Actually, my biggest complaint with the film has nothing to do with the list of previously mentioned problems. My biggest gripe is the "look" of the cannibals. If you've seen Cannibal Holocaust, the Granddaddy of cannibal films, you'll understand what I mean. The cannibal tribes in Cannibal Holocaust look authentic (at least to my untrained eyes). They're dirty, unkempt, and "wild" looking. The cannibals in Massacre in Dinosaur Valley, on the other hand, look like actors. They look like they showered, shaved, and had a fresh haircut on the way to the set. In addition, the cannibal village in Cannibal Holocaust is something completely alien to our modern society. It fits the look of the cannibals. Here, the cannibal village reminded me of one of the headhunter sets from Gilligan's Island. A little more authenticity would have really helped Massacre in Dinosaur Valley.

There isn't much to be said for "Dinosaur Valley" (aka "Cannibal Ferox 2") with the exception of some lovely young ladies who spend a good deal of the film naked and on the run. A plane carrying some truly oddball passengers, including the film's fossil-hunting hero Kevin and several scantily clad models, crashes in the Brazilian jungle. For those who survive, it is a fight to get back to civilization, through pirhanas, jungle animals, flesh-eating pigs, cannibals and a slaver who is running an illegal mining operation. The film is wildly overacted and the dialogue atrocious, but the location photography is noteworthy and the ladies are the kind all heterosexual men dream of. The film verges on camp, so you might as well laugh along with it. The gore quotient is so-so, the few special effects pathetic.

A passenger aircraft crashes in to the Brazilian rainforest . The survivors realise they're many miles from civilisation and their only hope of rescue is if they trek out of the rainforest . They begin the trek only to find out the dangers facing them are many

I came in to this film knowing it was going to be sleazy exploitation . What becomes clear while watching it is that it has a slightly better look and production value than you normally see in this type of movie . It also has a tongue in cheek sense of humour and you could see this being a mainstream Hollywood movie featuring Sylvester Stallone or Harrison Ford or even Tom Selleck leading a group of annoying characters out of a jungle . Having an archaeologist does mean you've got an Indiana Jones inspired movie

This is an exploitation film with a mainstream feel . The difference is that there's little thought given to events that happen on screen being given much consequence later on in the movie . For example a female character is raped and yet the next day she shows little trauma at her ordeal . This type of sexual violence is typical of the exploitation genre and leads to dismissal from a mainstream audience . It's also a dumb movie featuring a lack of internal continuity where a minor character gets killed by a school of piranha but when the hero enters the water all the killer fish seem to have miraculously disappeared

In short this is a dumb exploitation film that will have little appeal to anyone who doesn't like the genre . That said it has better production values than most of its peers and the gore is fairly restrained which gives the film a relatively mainstream feel

Entertaining because several "good bad movie" qualities sent this jungle adventure soaring on the "good bad scale." A leading actress who looks good undressed, but would rather be a race car driver, a leading man who bombed in Hollywood, and a supporting cast of local thespians. There is a language barrier of epic proportions, and a free wheeling Italian Director, who seems to have simply said to his actors, "surprise me." One stand out example would be when the girls are captured by cannibals, striped naked, and subjected to some kind of evil Witch Doctor's torments. Both show zero terror or emotion of any sort, but simply stare at the threatening Cannibals as if they were watching a National Geographic Channel program. What makes the film special, is it does develop characters before they are cannibalized. The Brazilian jungle locations are well photographed., and the dialog is priceless. MERK.

A bone hunter named Kevin Hall (Michael Sopkiw) gets himself a free plane ride to Dinosaur Valley. There he can continue his search for bones. Unfortunately for him and the other travelers the plane crashes. Now they must spend the rest of the film trying to stay alive after attacks from a school of piranhas, a tribe of cannibals and some secret slave traders.

This is not successful as a gory cannibal film, nor is it successful as an adventure film. This is not Indiana Jones. This film seems to be taking a few different genres and can't really rock any of them. Not to mention with dinosaur in the title I was coming to expect to see one. Nope. Not a one. It's more of a bad adventure film with a dash of survival, dash of cannibal and loaded with nudity.

Some of my fellow fans of Italian Horror/Exploitation cinema and the Cannibal-subgenre in particular seem to regard "Nudo e Selvaggio" aka. "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley" (1985) as a particular highlight. While Michele Massimo Trantini's film is definitely fun to watch, I am personally not too enthusiastic about it. What makes this film fun is both its incredible schlock-factor, and the fact that it combines elements from various sub-genres. While the film is obviously a Cannibal flick (and also marketed as such) it isn't anywhere near as disturbing as (nor otherwise comparable to) the genre classics by Umberto Lenzi and Ruggero Deodato. This film is more like a gory adventure/action film that includes Cannibals and even employs comedy elements.

The film actually begins like a silly 80s slapstick comedy, with goofy jokes, staged fistfights, stereotypical characters, and some female eye-candy. A bunch of drifters stranded in a Brazilian village all require a flight to a certain savage and 'forbidden' area in the Amazon jungle, the 'Dinosaur Valley' which is still inhabited by Cannibals. Needless to say that the slapstick comedy is soon over and the film turns into bloody survival exploitation. Still, the film is tame compared to almost all other Italian Cannibal flicks from the 80s.

The characters are eccentric and their actions often incredibly stupid, but the film is entertaining from start to finish (though never creepy or suspenseful let alone shocking). The highlight in the cast is obviously the ravishing Suzanne Carvalho, who plays Eva, the sexy daughter of a famous scientist. Michael Sopkiw (who might also be known to fans of Italian genre-cinema for playing the lead in Sergio Martino's "2019 - After the Fall of New York") is well-cast in the lead as a shotgun-wielding anthropologist. The rest of the characters include two luscious nude-models, a sleazy photographer and a married couple with slight marital problems - he is an insane 'Nam vet, she is an alcoholic pain in the ass who does not even stop annoying her husband and mocking his impotence once they are surrounded by hungry cannibals.

The film is fun enough to watch, but in my opinion, it is only recommendable to my fellow enthusiastic fans of Cannibal flicks and/or schlock Horror. Those who haven't seen any Cannibal films so far are well-advised to watch Ruggero Deodato's masterpiece "Cannibal Holocaust" (1980) followed either by Deodato's own "Ultimo Mondo Cannibale" ("Last Cannibal World" 1977) or Umberto Lenzi's "Il Paese Del Sesso Selvaggio" ("Deep River Savages", 1972), "Mangiati Vivi" ("Eaten Alive By The Cannibals", 1980) and "Cannibal Ferrox" (1981). When you've seen all the Deodato and Lenzi flicks, you can throw in this one, though there are still a few other Cannibal flicks that I'd probably recommend over "Dinosaur Valley". Unlike most other Cannibal flicks, this one doesn't involve any animal-killings, so some people might actually prefer it (though it probably isn't their genre in general). Overall, "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley" is highly entertaining, though nothing essential in my opinion.

Well, this wouldn't have been an outstanding movie if this had been one of the last z movies to be released on French screens. It was just before the cinema crisis in 1985-86,a crisis which put an end to all these poor quality products.

this film released in France under the title of "Prisoners in the valley of the dinosaurs" is a mixture of adventure (Indiana Jones was quite popular then), erotica and cannibalistic violence. of course, none of these movie genres are successfully adapted. it's just another curiosity for bad movie buffs.

In order to cash in on the success of Umberto Lenzi's Cannibal Ferox, this film has been released under the title 'Cannibal Ferox 2', and personally I can't understand why they would do that - because how could anyone resist a film with 'Massacre in Dinosaur Valley' as its title? That title is somewhat misleading, as it refers to a section in the Amazon where there are fossilised dinosaur remains, and so unfortunately; there are none of the giant beasts in this film. It's hard to deny that this jungle adventure is a bad film, but it's a LOT of fun, and I don't hesitate to name this film as one of my favourites of the Italian cannibal subgenre for that very reason. The film is more along the lines of adventure flicks such as Sergio Martino's Mountain of the Cannibal God than disgusting gore flicks like Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox. The plot follows a palaeontologist who hitches a lift to Dinosaur Valley. However, the plane ends up going down - and then we follow the palaeontologist along with two fashion models, a professor's daughter, a Vietnam Vet and some guy with a moustache as they try to get out alive.

The main reason why this film works is because of a hilarious lead performance from Michael Sopkiw. His performance is half Kurt Russell and half Treat Williams; so as you can imagine, every scene he features in is a treat. He's not believable in the slightest as a palaeontologist, but he plays his role as a 'courageous' American perfectly, and his action scenes are carried off well. The film features all the sex and gore that is synonymous with the Italian cannibal films. The gore isn't as strong or relentless as in some of the others, but the scenes that do feature are more than worthwhile for the gore fan. There's a lesbian sex scene, which is always nice and most of the female cast end up baring their breasts. Director Michele Massimo Tarantini does a good job of creating the jungle setting, as the locations look realistic, thus making it easy to believe that the characters really are in a desperate situation. This film won't do much for people who are expecting a sick gore fest, but providing you go into Massacre in Dinosaur Valley knowing that it's a somewhat tongue in cheek adventure film; there's a lot of fun to be had. I know for sure that I'll find myself enjoying this one again.

The story of "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley" (a.k.a. "Nudo e Selvaggio") is clichéd to the very last speck of celluloid. We have the not-so-invincible hero, the tropical version of Professor Challenger and his gorgeous daughter, the neurotic 'Nam vet and, to add gratuitous T&A, a photographer and two models. They go dig dinosaur bones on a forbidden area of Amazonas, but the plane crashes (it's one of them Star Trek-like crashes), leaving 'em stranded in the heart of the jungle. On the way to get back to civilization, they stumble on hungry alligators, piranhas, quicksand and a tribe of meat-eating Indians. But the real threat is an illegal mine where the sadistic China abuses his slave laborers. Everything's derivative, but at least it's well directed and full of gore and nudity. Sharp ears will recognize the score. It's the same one composed by Andrew Barrymore for Lamberto Bava's "Blastfighter" (also starring Sopkiw, also co-written by Dardano Sacchetti, who's not credited in "Massacre").

I did not think that Cannibal Ferox 11 was as good as the first film. It is about a man called Michael Sopkiw who hitches a ride to Brazil to dig up some dinosaur bones. Once he is in Brazil he gets in to trouble with the locals and manages to get a ride on a charter flight deep into Amazonia. but he plane crashes deep in the heart of the jungle, leaving Sopkiw, Soares, and two super models on their own to get back home. The group runs into cannibals, and murderous animals. they must face the cannibal tribes sacrifices to stay alive. I thought that this was quite a good cannibal film, but not as good as the first film Cannibal Ferox was, but i did end up enjoying it. 4/10

Yes this is an Italian Exploitation flick from the depths of the cheap low-budget 80's & itself still a hell of a fun trip into the Jungle Adventure genre!!!

Cool, Handsome Cult Hero MICHAEL SIPKIW from the Awesome sci-fi Thriller 2019 AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK & the Cult Classic BLASTFIGHTER is just fine here as an all American Explorer who finds himself in a plane wreck over the Brazilian rainforest & is trying to survive the dangerous Jungle & the Cannibals that are stalking him & a bunch of other survivor's from the plane such as two sexy skimpy ladies, a mouthy blonde bimbo & her partner a grumpy & controlling Vietnam vet soldier & a photographer, what a bunch as they try to make it through the Jungle as they bicker & fight. Now the dialogue is obviously terrible but expected in these flicks & it has a cheesy but fun music score & some cool gore scenes & a feeling of fun which makes it so enjoyable & entertaining. There's some very bloody gore bits & some weird freaky Rape threat bits & plenty of weirdo characters that make this a strange but still fun Jungle romp. The Cinematography is very good & captured the raw feel of everything in all it's grittier bits but the bizarre thing is that really this could be a very nasty flick but because of it's funky score & Cool Action hero lead it ends up just being silly Action fun.



If you like this type of Jungle Adventure then you will enjoy this as i did & i love old school flicks like this & Exploitation Films & Grindhouse Cinema it's all good fun in my opinion & i genuinely like the B-movie actor MICHAEL SOPKIW as he's got a nice guy charm about him & is more fun & enjoyable here than Indiana Jones in my opinion!!! SOPKIW is a true Cult Hero as he only made 4 films & all 4 was low-budget Italian Exploitation flicks & he's great in them all. Great trashy, erotic Jungle Adventure with comedy & Horror elements throw in too for extra enjoyment.

Where do I start? I'm a movie buff, so I downloading this movie thinking it would be watchable. I love horror, action, and drama movies the most. This movie ended up being a comedy because the acting by everyone in the movie was horrendous. Don't waste your time watching this crap. The 5 rating must have came from relatives or the actors themselves.

OK, this is a Brazillian T&A flick, as far as I know... It's typical of the T&A genre, but it has one very good thing going for it -- Suzie Carvalho (see also: Women In Fury) -- If you like darker women (Yasmeen Ghauri style) then you should find her an exceptional beauty, well worth the time to see this, as you will get to see quite a bit of her. There are some other naked bimbos to see in this, but Suzie is in a class by herself. The title derives from a vaguely obscure plot point that centers around an anthropological search for some fossils. To get there, they fly through the Amazon jungle, as I recall, (along with some nude models and a photog -- go figure), and well, gosh-darnit, that damned plane just had to go and crash. The Perils of Penelope follow, as our semi-naked heroine gets captured, in turn, by cannibals and then jewel smugglers... OK, ok -- The Perils of Penelope as directed by John Willie, at least. If she wasn't so gorgeous, you would be bored with her body after all this, but it just doesn't seem to happen. Your mileage may vary. See also, as noted earlier, "Women in Fury", Suzie's one other known flick.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Cannibal Ferox II a.k.a. Massacre In Dinosaur Valley; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.00 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 6.00 out of 10.00.

I understand why the distribution company changed the film's title from Massacre In Dinosaur Valley to Cannibal Ferox II. One reason is obvious: to cash in on the first Cannibal Ferox's notoriety. The other becomes clear the longer we watch the movie; the unlucky accident victims never make it to Dinosaur Valley.

One element that surprised me was the storyline. For most flicks presenting as cannibal adventures, the storyline is secondary, if not lower, in the importance scales. Michele Tarantini and Dardano Sacchetti give the audience more substance than your average finger-licking heart-eating tale. They provide the audience with characters who verge on three-dimensional - sometimes they miss the mark, but hey, cheap cannibal flick! We start by observing the travellers' arrival at their stop-over hotel. From here, they'll fly to the fabled and legendary Dinosaur Valley. Tarantini and Sacchetti use this segment to build their characters and personalities, instilling them into the audiences' minds. Once aboard the plane, it becomes clear they're not all going to get along. And when the pilot loses control of the aircraft and ditches them into the forest, killing himself, the fireworks really erupt between them. Having two alpha males and three damsels in distress will definitely lead to some gripping altercations. But their inter-squabbling is the least of their worries: Living in this forest is a cannibalistic tribe and a band of jade smugglers. Each of them will throw more than a spanner into their works of escaping this green inferno. The secondary characters, especially the smugglers, also received robust and credible characterisations, allowing the easy flow between the narrative segments. For me, Cannibal Ferox II possesses one of the best cannibal adventure storylines.

Tarantini isn't as good behind the camera as he is scribbling with his biro. And, though that's the truth, I'm underselling him as a director. Yes, it could've been better, but the direction, like the story, is not as dire as most cannibal pictures. His composition is good, as is his use of natural lighting. Even though he uses pans, they're all from a fixed position. Luckily, his point-and-shoot style works well with the story and his vision. But some point-of-view shots wouldn't have gone amiss and would've built up the much-needed tension and excitement. That's not to say there are no thrills. Tarantini uses rapid cuts to heighten the viewers' enthusiasm, but it's not enough. The story merited more.

The cast is also surprisingly good in their performances. Everyone nails their characters, making them more believable for the audience. One reason could be that most share a similar amount of screen time. Though you know who the leads are, they're not molly-coddled or overused, adding, once more, to the story's realism.

All in all, Cannibal Ferox II - Massacre In Dinosaur Valley was an enjoyable forest romp. It's a well-structured tale filled with engaging characters. But, I find it difficult to recommend it to anybody apart from the Cannibal lovers. Even then, I have some hesitations. For one, there's not enough cannibalism in the story. The fans will feel slighted. It also means I can't recommend it to newbies because they'll wonder what all the fuss is about in the sub-genre. Hell! There's not even the shock factor of killing a perfectly fit and live animal in the flick. But if you've only watched Cannibal Ferox, give this film a try. It's a lot better - in every way.

Between the egotistical survivalist, the cannibals, and gem smugglers, I've not had time to update my IMDb list - Killer Thriller Chillers. So...where to rank Cannibal Ferox II - Massacre In Dinosaur Valley? Come check out my decision.

Take Care & Stay Well.