X312 - Flight to Hell (1971)
A plane crashes in the South American jungle. As the survivors attempt to reach safety, it seems some have secrets they'd rather keep from the others. Meaning head hunters and revolutionaries might be the least of their worries.
X312 is a fun action adventure from director Jesus Franco. For the most part he dispenses with the sex and amazingly Lina Romay too, in this bullet strewn romp. Once the plane crashes (You don't actually see the plane crash of course, this is a Jess Franco film) the plot dives straight into character development and things do fall a little flat, however Franco does know how to wake males, well, me anyway, up from their slumber - he gets the voluptuous Esperanza Roy to bathe in the river.
Despite it steering clear of the usual softcore fumblings, being a Jess Franco film there is plenty of nudity and even the odd scene of girl on girl action (Good old Esperanza ), however the bulk of the second half of the film is thankfully well staged action as the survivors attempt to flee from Howard Vernon's armed revolutionaries. It was interesting to see a fight take place on the back of a pickup truck. It was clearly staged on a moving vehicle going at speed down a main road played out by the actors themselves - definitely not the sort of dangerous stunt you'd see nowadays.
Of the rest of the cast, Fernando Sancho, a veteran Spanish actor most famous for bandit roles in westerns is a suitably sleazy villain and also the planes steward, and Tom Hunter, who went on to write the excellent Kirk Douglas film The Final Countdown (1980) makes for a typically heroic type. Another of Franco's regulars, the excellent Paul Muller, also pops up in a small but pivotal role as the film takes a left field turn in the final act and no Jess Franco film would really be complete without Howard Vernon sporting a dodgy tache.
X312 - Flight to Hell isn't a great film but as a diversion from the norm for the director it's well worth seeking out for fans.
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