Blu Release – 3.5/5
Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included
Director – Jesus Franco (Down Town, The Devil Came from Akasava)
Starring – Howard Vernon (The Silence of the Sea, In the Eye of the Snake), Helena Garret (Angel of Death, Revenge in the House of Usher), and Jose Llamas (Slave of Crime, The Last Women in the Phillippines)
Release Date – 1985
Rating – 2.5/5
Jesus, or Jess, Franco isa filmmaker that I respect but I’m not the biggest fan. His career is legendary spanning every genre and several decades up until his death. While he was known for his sexploitation and horror efforts, he did take a crack at other genres from time to time.
Franco took to Bangkok in the mid-80s where he made a pair of action adventure films that recently found their way into the hands of my friends over at Severin Films. Severin was kind enough to send me a copy of this double feature for review. I was very cruious about this release and threw it on the chopping block as soon as I could with the first film Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included. I want to thank Severin for sending this one over!
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a British officer who visits Thialand to investigate the murder of an ambassador. He teams up with secret service and uncovers that the murder was carried out by a blind assassin that is part of a cult ran by an evil scientist. **Spoiler alert**
I went into this one completely fucking blind and holy fuck is all I have to say. I was not expecting this one to go the way that it does and a part of me actually enjoyed just how fucking random the movie is. However, it struggles to find any traction which made it difficult for me to finish. I seriously wanted to like it but it wasn’t for me.
The acting in this one is very inconsistent. Vernon and Garret are solid for most of their scenes but several other scenes were very disappointing and awkward. The same can be said about the supporting cast. Their dialogue delivery was awkward at time and most of them show zero depth. The story for this one is not something I was expecting from Franco but I wish he would have fully embraced the bizare. We have a blind assassin, a cult, and an evil scientist in a mid-80s action adventure film from a filmmaker that I admire due to his work in sexploitation and horror. However, the story doesn’t really ermbrace the weird like it could have and feels more like a cheap action flick that doesn’t know what to do with the random humor.
Finally, don’t go into this one expecting memorable kills and a lot of fun effects. The film focuses heavily on the story and not so much on deaths and effects. Overall, Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included is not the action adventure flick I was expecting. It has a lot of aspects that I liked but they were just thrown away and never fully embraced. Honestly, I would have loved it if it offered up more of the blind assassins and cult aspects. It’s worth a watch if you have an edible or some beers.
Bangkok, Date with Death
Director – Jesus Franco (Vampire Junction, Helter Skelter)
Starring – Jose Llamas (Slave of Crime, Angel of Death), Helena Garret (The Beast and the Magic Sword, Revenge in the House of Usher), and Eduardo Fajardo (Django, The Murder Mansion)
Release Date – 1985
Rating – 2/5
Jess Franco is a filmmaker that is never really consistent with me. His career is legendary spanning multiple genres and decades. However, I often find myself on the fence with his films. For every film of his I like, there is a film of his that was damn near impossible to finish. I respect the hell out of him but I’m not niave enough to know that every film of his is not for me. A few weeks back I was sent the Jess Franco: From Bangkok with Bullets from my friends over at Severin Films. I started with Trip to Bangkok, Coffin Included and before throwing in the second film Bangkok, Date with Death. I want to thank Severin for sending this one over.
**Spoiler alert** The film follows the wealthy daughter of a rich man who is kidnapped by a pirate of sorts. Her father hires a private investigator to track her down instead of paying the hefty ransom they are demanding. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into this one expecting the same sort of zany story without the intentional humor that made the first film in the double features as fun as it was. Sadly, it wasn’t and was easily the weakest of the pair. As I said before, his movies are hit or miss with me and this set seems to be a miss.
The acting in this one is extremely uneven. We have frequent Franco collaborator Lina Romay in a fun performance but that is about the end of it. Everyone else in the film feels rushed through their performances. The dialogue we have is extremely flat and most of the performances is extremely campy and not in a fun way. The story for this one is a bit more straight forward that the first film in the set. While we do have some beach karate and pirates, it’s not as wild as I had hoped for.
Finally, this one doesn’t have a lot of action and those of you wanting some fun deaths with great practical effects will be disappointed. Overall, Bangkok, Date with Death was not the cheap action flick I had hoped for. I don’t see this one improving with some edibles or booze. Skip it.
Special Features:
Disc 1 Blu-ray: TRIP TO BANGKOK, COFFIN INCLUDED
Filmmaking On The Run – Interview With Film Writer/Bit Player/Assistant Director Carlos Aguilar
Colonel Blimp In Bangkok – Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco
In The Land Of Franco Part 14
Disc 2 Blu-ray: BANGKOK, DATE WITH DEATH
Carrara In Bangkok – Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Flowers Of Perversion: The Delirious Cinema Of Jesús Franco
Bangkok Back To Back – Interview With Film Scholar Dr. Álex Mendíbil
In The Land Of Franco Part 15
