Golden Temple Amazons Blu Ray Review (MVD Classics)

Golden Temple Amazons (aKa Les amazones du temple d’or & Amazons in the Temple of Gold) is a 1986 exploitation film directed by Alain Payet (Hitler’s Last Train, Lola 2000, Helga, la louve de Stilberg, Dirty Lady, The Doctor Has Huge Boobs, & Porno Poker) under the name “James Gartner”. It was produced for the infamous Eurociné. It was written, produced, & some additional direction by EuroSleaze legend Jesús Franco (Diamonds of Kilimandjaro, Bloody Moon, Faceless, Hellhole Women, & Emmanuelle Exposed). It didn’t have a theatrical run in America when it was first released so it made it’s debut on home video. A tribe of Amazons is zealously guarding a mysterious fortress built on top of a gold mine. Uruck (played by: William Berger from Face to Face, Keoma, Hercules, The Adventures of Hercules, & Devil Fish) & his cruel sadistic mistress Rena (played by: Eva León from Inquisición, Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll, Bahía blanca, & I Hate My Body) rule the tribe.

Some 15 years ago an explorer discovered their golden temple. The Amazons who were intent on protecting their secret slaughtered both him & his wife. However, their daughter, Liana (played by: Analía Ivars from Revenge in the House of Usher, The Panther Squad, Dirty Game in Casablanca, & Operación Mantis) was spared & grew up in the jungle raised by tribesmen. Now that she’s all grown up & she has learned the ways of survival, she wants to avenge her parents from the savages that murdered them! She runs into Bud the Jungle Guide (played by: Antonio Mayans from Diamonds of Kilimandjaro, The People Who Own the Dark, Oasis of the Zombies, Zombie Lake, & Cannibals) on her journey for vengeance with her chimpanzee Rocky & witch doctor Koukou (played by: Stanley Kapoul from Maniac Killer & Gwendoline). No one is safe in the jungle & various people get captured by the brutal tribe. They love to torture their new guests for entertainment. Can Liana & her friends save them from this evil that controls everything????

Golden Temple Amazons definitely has everything that you would expect in Jess Franco production. It depends on the viewer if that’s a good or bad thing. This project has always had a little controversy to it. Who really directed it?  Alain Payet? or Jesús Franco? From what I researched, it was mainly Payet supervised by Franco. You can see the Franco influence everywhere in this film. As far as nudity goes, it’s non stop here & lots of beautiful women are not shy to show off some skin here. It’s damn near in every scene so if you enjoy a sleazefest you will be very saTITSfied with this low budget feature. The jungle locations are great & the cinematography by  Henry Frogers (The Revenge of the Living Dead Girls, Rats: Night of Terror, Maniac Killer, & Women’s Prison Massacre) really elevated the crazy atmosphere.

The screenplay & acting are very questionable here but it manages to be very entertaining. It had some familiar faces when it comes to genre films in either supporting roles or cameos like Alicia Príncipe (Night Has a Thousand Desires), Françoise Blanchard (Caligula and Messalina), Jean-René Gossart (Emmanuelle 6), Olivier Mathot (Cannibal Terror), & Emilio Linder (Slugs). The dubbing is beyond atrocious & adds to the so bad it’s good territory this film achieves. The score from Norbert Verrone (Commando Mengele) sounds like a cheap 80s porn most of the time but it actually starts to get better towards the end. If you are a fan of Uncle Jess then you know what you are getting into with Golden Temple Amazons. It’s very cheap & trashy but you can’t deny that it’s fun as hell. It never had a dull moment & I would definitely watch it again. Invite some friends over & enjoy some beer while watching this mess. You won’t regret it, RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from NEW label MVD Classics! This 1080p (1.66:1) transfer is a MAJOR upgrade from the previous Shriek Show DVD release! This low budget film will never be reference quality & it still has some print damage but it’s the best it’s ever looked on home video! The English dub 2.0 stereo audio track is unintentional comedy gold but it’s very clean & sounds good. It also has the French 2.0 stereo audio track if you want a different option for the feature. Just a warning, there’s no subtitles. It’s great to see more Franco projects get blu ray treament. MVD Classics is a new label from the creator of the MVD Rewind Collection & MVD Marquee. I am looking forward to their future releases especially if it’s more material like this. It’s available everywhere next week, check it out!!!!