very weak, unfortunately

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

"Cut and Run" has some pretty bad acting that tends to drag it down. Willie Ames, Richard Bright, and Karen Black are especially awful. Michael Berryman really doesn't do much other than grunt and pop up whenever least expected. Richard Lynch, although top billed, has very little screen time. The Venezuelan jungle locations are spectacular, and most of the special effects are acceptable, the best being a man torn in half by a native trap. The biggest letdown is with the script, which is unfocused, and at times makes very little sense. Thus, considering all the pluses and minuses, what remains is a very average jungle shocker, and nothing more. - MERK

It was nice to finally see Ruggero Deodato's "Cut and Run" uncut, as the only version I had seen before this solid Blue Underground release was a heavily cut Vestron Video release where practically all the affective gore was excised, leaving a somewhat exciting jungle action thriller which alternates between Miami and Venesuela as a supposedly dead colonel, Brian Horne(Richard Lynch, who believes his character was modeled after Col Kurtz from the novel "Heart of Darkness") long gone off the deep end and considered a mastermind in the Guayana suicide massacre, has natives led by two vicious henchmen taking apart cocaine operation camps throughout South America, removing the goods, distributing the drugs themselves. Miami is a city where he recently sent men in to remove drug dealers, as he has in other places like New Orleans and New York. A hungry news reporter, Fran Hudson(Lisa Blount) and her camera man, Mark(Leonard Mann) decide to seek out the location of Horne and their boss' missing son, Tommy(Willie Aimes, in a hideous performance), hoping to get a big scoop which will lift their careers substantially. What they don't expect is to be in danger of Horne and his dangerous army of homicidal natives, and in order to get the story they so desire, will have to brave the elements, the sweaty, uncomfortable surroundings of a jungle and what lies within, which could very well cost them their lives.With John Steiner and Michael Berryman as soldiers armed with machetes and natives who spit-shoot poisonous darts that sometimes go all the way through the neck of victims, Richard Lynch doesn't have to carry the burden of being a chief heavy, in fact, he's really only in the film towards the end, which, to be honest, for a fan such as I am, it was a bit of a drag to see so little of him. As he always does, Lynch commands the screen when he appears, and his exit is certainly a memorable one.Regarding the gore, you see one victim ripped from crotch to neck by a rope trap as two trees make a wishbone out of him. Three glorious beheadings, a stomach slit open with guts spewing out, a blade penetrating a poor soul's neck(Berryman relishes his role as a nasty brute who breaks through wooden floors, emerges from swamp waters, and sneaks from behind camp guards out of the darkness of the jungle)and one poor girl getting sticks stabbed into her legs(the most unpleasant scene, in my opinion, the girl struggling as natives rip open her clothes, stabbing her with great big smiles on their faces).It was great seeing Eriq La Salle as a Miami pimp whose whistle blowing gets him in deep doo-doo. Also featuring the ravishing Valentina Forte(Deodato's lover at the time) taking a shower, attempting to wash the filth of a helicopter pilot from her body after having to submit sexually or else perish at the hands of her boss, cocaine camp leader Manuel(the sleazy Gabriele Tinti), a real piece of trash who mistreats Tommy, only allowing him to live because he's white. Tommy just wants to leave and his father Bob(Richard Bright), desperately wants to find him, hoping Fran and Mark will run into the young man. Karen Black guest stars as the producer of a cable station helping fund the expedition into the jungle. I'm glad this doesn't resort to cannibalism just to recapture Deodato's past success(he admits that he had no plans whatsoever to go in this direction when others wished for him to). I also enjoyed the use of skeletal remains in a key sequence involving the attempt to secure a trapped canoe and accompanying crocodiles. Superb score from Claudio Simmonetti just adds pop to this well-paced actioner that rarely lets up.

Cut and Run (1985) ** (out of 4) A TV reporter tries to crack the American war on drugs so she travels to Columbia where she encounters the drug war mixed with a crazed vet and some cannibals. This was director Ruggero Deodato's third "cannibal/jungle" film following Man From Deep River and the infamous Cannibal Holocaust and this here is certainly the weakest of the group. The film is way too slow and boring and there are way too many different ideas trying to be done in the film. The so called "message" of wars on drugs doesn't do the trick either. Lisa Blount, Richard Lynch, Karen Black and Michael Berryman star. The only real reason to watch this is for gore hounds because there are plenty of gory decapitations and one scene where a man is split in half.

Cut and Run is as unique a film as any, and it's made better by the fact that it succeeds so well at what it does. Even after being criticized and heavily censored the world over, Ruggero Deodato still has the balls to return to the jungle only naturally to complete his epic trilogy. Though not a cannibal film, Cut and Run is still a brutal, in-your-face gore thriller that delivers the goods as well as any Hollywood production (and then some), and is one of the most violent films I've ever seen (even more violent than Cannibal Ferox, which boasted to be the most violent film ever made). But even being a violent exploitation film, it's a great and effective thriller as well. Yes, I may have a soft spot for jungle/native films, but being a slave to the sleaze doesn't mean I can't recognize films that are actually legitimate. I was enthralled by every aspect, including decent acting (better than most dubbed films), non-stop action, an involved plot, and a fun mystery (it joins Amazonia as the only Italian jungle film I've seen that is also a mystery movie). It never lets up on the action or the horror; it's a perfect blend. While there are some seriously grotesque displays, it also keeps moving to make it a thrill a minute gore show.A reporter, Fran, and her cameraman, Mark, are following a Columbian drug operation that's leaving dozens of people slaughtered by unknown assassins. While investigating, they come across a photo that has Tommy in it, who is the missing son of an exec at their station. Also in the photo is a believed dead leader of the Jonestown massacre, Colonel Brian Horne. They're given permission to fly in and uncover whatever may be happening, all for the sake of sensationalism (and to find their boss's son, of course). The two blackmail the pilot who flies to one of the jungle encampments that Tommy is at. Right when they're flying in, the installation becomes the next target of annihilation, and every drug runner is violently butchered. While in hiding from the assassins, Fran and Mark encounter Tommy's girlfriend, Ana, and the three flee into the jungle. While the two news-persons are making a satellite broadcast, Ana is butchered by the natives. Mark and Fran run off again, and then they soon run into Tommy. Now lost, the trio is captured by Brian Horne and his army of natives. It turns out that Horne has been slaughtering the drug installations to steal the coke and sell it for himself. Unbeknownst to him, Mark and Fran's broadcasts have the authorities hot on Horne's tail.Cut and Run works because it stays an action movie when it has the blatant opportunity to turn into a mindless bloodbath and slaughter mayhem. Not saying that it doesn't have it's own share of blood and gore, which this "hard" version is notorious for, but it doesn't relish in the violence; the gore isn't exploited so that it would be pure and simple horror in the jungle (except for maybe the first scene, which in reality sets a good tone for the rest of the movie). Had it done that, it would simply become another "Been there, done that" horror show that Deodato had already mastered with Cannibal Holocaust, so why would he want to do that again? Instead, he knew when to give the audience a break from the horror, and also knew when to pick it up again so that it doesn't turn into a boring stroll through the rain forest. That's definitely what Cut and Run has going for it: it stays moving. There's never even a chance for you to become bored. Questions like "How did the house in Miami get slaughtered?" never rises while you're watching, because by the time you've thought enough to ask why, Michael Berryman is leading another all-out assault on another compound. He added the perfect key to the rest of the film by his genuinely creepy performance reminiscent of The Hills Have Eyes. It was a disappointment to see him knocked out of commission so early on in the film, but he adds the last little twist to the end of the movie.In the end, Cut and Run is a very well executed action/thriller that tries to be nothing more than what it is. It's crossing of so many genres may be a bit ambitious (it sounds like it could be a Schwarzenegger film, but it's also a mystery and a soap opera), but it's able to tie them together so well that it's never looked down upon for biting off a little more than it can chew. There are no production problems that might spoil viewing except for a few questionable actors. Most of the characters, however, are dubbed over very well, giving performances not usually seen in exploitation films. This film is proof that Ruggero Deodato is one of the most underrated directors in the history of film, because it showcases his talents in that he can make his work different and yet as entertaining as anything that Hollywood craps out onto celluloid. His directing decisions are so ballsy because he isn't afraid to show the gruesome displays that most won't touch. He also tries to tie in his criticism of media sensationalism in this like he did in Cannibal Holocaust, but since the media is the good guys here, the message never really comes across. Still, kudos for one hell of a ride.