Filmed under the title DEVIL'S ODDS, DAMNED RIVER is an unmemorable tale of man against nature, man against man, man against a lousy script. In search of, like, white-water action, dude, some young river-rafting enthusiasts travel from the US to Africa for a trip down Zimbabwe's
treacherous Zambezi River. The group consists of Carl (John Terlesky), an aspiring lawyer, his leggy girl friend, Anne (Lisa Aliff), Luke (Marc Poppel), a novelist, and overweight party animal Jerry (Bradford Bancroft). They engage Ray (Stephen Shellen), a moody American, as their guide. Before
the group embarks, Ray has a tense confrontation with Van Honnegin (Louis Van Niekerk), a local bigwig. Ray later claims that Van Honnegin represents rival tour operators who want to put the guide out of business. As the little band journeys downstream, Ray grows increasingly domineering and
paranoid, insisting that they're being followed. He's right, and he proves it by emerging from the bushes with Van Honnegin's severed head as a trophy. Ray, it seems, is a psycho ex-soldier with notions of making the Zambezi his private domain, and he picks this point in the proceedings to go
completely insane, raping Anne while keeping the others covered with his AK-47. Carl tries to go for help, but Ray tracks him down and mortally wounds him. Meanwhile, the others in the group try to escape down the river, but the rapids capsize their raft and deposit survivors Luke and Anne at
Ray's feet. Later, while Ray is busy ambushing Zimbabwean authorities, Luke recovers a pistol and gets the drop on Ray at last, forcing him to row the raft. But ahead lies the impassible network of waterfalls known as Devil's Odds. Babbling about "a soldier's grave,"Ray steers the raft toward the
deathtrap. In the ensuing struggle, the raft overturns, leaving the trio grappling on a small beach above the falls, into which Anne knocks Ray with a well-placed swing of an oar.
"Now we're just like you," Anne murmurs after dispatching Ray, making clear to latecomers that the whole affair has pretty much been a remake of DELIVERANCE, with the African setting adding little to the familiar story. One raging cataract looks very much like another, although the raft stunts
here are fairly impressive. The youthful actors--all of whom look like GQ cover models--are burdened with dumb dialog and stock roles that range from unbelievable to aggravating. As if Bancroft's one-note slob weren't annoying enough, he is given an inordinate share of the dialog early on. Not a
moment passes without his boorish comments, usually dealing with the breasts of native women or his unquenchable thirst for "brewskies." Ray's hostility toward Bancroft's Jerry is supposed to signify the guide's murderous psychosis, but because Jerry comes off as such a reprehensible jerk, viewers
find themselves on the madman's side.
The only time the narrative stirs up any real emotion occurs with Ray's brutal assault on Anne. It's a raw, savage scene with a lot more impact than the silly slow-motion shootouts that follow. Because Carl is too frightened to intervene, his ill-fated character takes on tragic dimensions.
However, it's a desperate film indeed that is forced rely on so vicious a sexual attack to stir itself from torpor. DAMNED RIVER is, on the whole, a trip that can be avoided. After an extremely limited theatrical run, the film was released on a videocassette double bill with another wilderness
thriller, SURVIVAL QUEST. (Profanity, sexual situations, violence, nudity.) leave a comment