Movie Review: Treasure of the Moon Goddess (1987)

Treasure of the Moon Goddess (1987) - USA/Mexico - Action/Adventure - R

Directed by José Luis García Agraz

Starring Don Calfa, Linnea Quigley, Asher Brauner, Joann Ayers, Danny Addis, Enrique Lucero, Eric Weston

A mostly entertaining and at times funny low budget Indiana Jones-esque movie that could have been better.

Lu looks to her manager Harold to get her singing career off to a good start. Harold, though, doesn't seem to understand the word 'good', or have much business sense as a manager and has her performing in cantinas in Central America that make dives seem upscale by comparison. A small time crime boss and modern pirates have an unusual interest in Lu as they try to kidnap her. Teaming up with a boat owner and his girlfriend they run from and/or dodge various dangers and adversaries in the jungle.

Of course the poster art for this movie is misleading. Any Indiana Jones clone outside of the actually Indiana Jones movies does not come anywhere close to the poster art. I have seen several clones in an attempt to find something else close to as entertaining as Indiana Jones, and this is one of the better attempts, and that's still not saying a lot.

There are several problems with the film which take it down a notch or two, and right up front is the fact that here is an R-rated movie with Linnea Quigley and Joann Ayers running around the jungle in tank tops or skimpier clothes and not one of them even loses their top; calling this R-rated is ridiculous. The editing is choppy in places and fight choreography is near non-existent. And yes, the plot is incredibly silly.

Those problems aside, the movie does work. It doesn't take itself seriously. Don Calfa as Harold also is the narrator of the story, which I can only presume exists as a way to tie up loose ends in continuity and for filler. Don Calfa is the primary source of comedy in the movie, though Linnea Quigley does her fair share of adding to it. If editing had been tighter, and some other sloppiness cleaned up, this could have been pretty good, but as it is, it is just mediocre but still entertaining so long as you keep in mind that it is a low budget Indiana Jones knockoff and don't expect too much.

My Rating: 3 Fingers

This movie is only available on VHS though I did find it on YouTube. Keep in mind that being it is only available on VHS means that any online copies you find to download were ripped from a VHS copy and are not going to look very good on anything bigger than a laptop screen.

Toxic Fletch