Cut and Run (1985) – A Movie A Day 2021 #14
Cut and Run (1985) – A Movie A Day 2021 #14
Today’s movie choice was another decision largely guided by the film’s poster. Whenever I want to watch something old and trashy, more and more I find myself going to Tubi and skimming through their catalog. I’ll find a movie that looks somewhat interesting, then I’ll keep clicking through the recommendations that movie pulls up until I find something that forces me to stop. This time, it was Michael Berryman that gave me pause. The poster for today’s movie, Cut and Run, features an amazing image of Michael Berryman getting ready to swing a machete at a group of unsuspecting people in what appears to be some sort of jungle lake or river. That was all I needed to see. My search for the night was over.
Cut and Run is an Italian production, but it was filmed primarily in English with a predominantly American lead cast. The film stars Lisa Blount (of Prince of Darkness fame) as Fran, a reporter who is looking to break a huge story to boost her career. Fran is joined by her cameraman, Mark, as she heads to South America to follow a lead that involves a bloody drug war, a supposedly dead cult leader, and her boss’s missing son. It’s a very convenient set of circumstances that sets up what the movie is really mostly all about: Fran and Mark trying to stay alive in a South American jungle as they are chased by vicious natives and, of course, Michael Berryman.
Cut and Run was directed by Ruggero Deodato, and even if you don’t know that name, you might be familiar with his most famous movie: the notoriously brutal Cannibal Holocaust. While Cut and Run is not anywhere near as violent and disturbing as Cannibal Holocaust, it does share a lot of the same themes. The movies are so similar that even before I realized who directed Cut and Run, I was noting many common themes. I won’t spoil anything for either movie, but both of them focus heavily on the juxtaposition of savagery and civilized society. That theme is central to Cannibal Holocaust and is explored in nearly every second of its run time. The theme takes more of a backseat in Cut and Run, but it’s still very clear when we see repeated feeds of Fran in the jungle being transmitted live to plush, high-tech offices in the United States. Also, both movies feature similar locations, and the usage of the native people is largely the same. So yeah, there are lots of similarities, but Cut and Run is WAY more accessible for general audiences.
I do think I watched the tame version of Cut and Run though. Looking at a few reviews, I see people referring to excessive violence and nudity. I saw some violence and nudity, but not to the extent I see some of these reviews describing. Also, some of the edits looked very abrupt and janky, so I’m going to blame that on the additional cuts.
I’d be interested in watching Cut and Run again with the longer, more extreme cut so I can see what I missed. As it is, I enjoyed what I saw. It might try to do a little too much for a movie that’s basically about violence and survival (there’s a Jim-Jones-esque sub-plot and the missing son thing feels unnecessary), but it’s still fun. I will say that I was very disappointed when a certain character didn’t make it to the end of the movie, but I got over my grief and still managed to have a good time. As for a recommendation, I think Cut and Run is a fun action movie with some nice, cheesy violence. If you like action movies set in a jungle (which seemed to happen a lot in the 80s), and if you like Michael Berryman, I’d say give the movie a shot.