Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Dark Amazon’

Written by Scott Edwards

There are so many things that can be done to make the world a better place, from writing a life changing novel to finding the cure for cancer. While everyone may not have the abilities to make the world a better place, they do have the ability to make their lives better by never settling. Keeping the urge to learn new things and using them to your advantage is something that can be lost when you get older, but it shouldn’t. They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but they should be saying that you can never keep an old dog down, since there is still plenty of life to continue living.
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Getting word from her father figure, Doctor John in the Amazon that he has found a massive breakthrough, Mina is ready to make the trek down to the forest. With a documentary team coming along to show the world that they have finally found the cure for cancer, Mina and her boyfriend Ben are more than excited to see what the doctor has found. With the promise of a great story to be told, Nikki and her crew are ready to help make history and gain a little bit of fame on their trip as well.

Arriving at the village, the group is greeted by Doctor John and his assistants who introduce everyone to the local tribe. Noticing that they are not being received too well, the group will be included in a spiritual celebration for Anhanga whom all of the locals believe is protecting them and their forest. Being able to do a little bit of research on this spirit, the group finds out that it is more of a devil creature and are not sure what the locals see in him, but after conducting some interviews and finding out about the distrust the tribe has toward outsiders in their community, they slowly start to put the pieces together.

After the celebration comes to an end, the group returns to their camp site to see that it is torn to sherds. With the samples gone and all of the research notes torn up, the group is left to come to the decision to head into the deadly forest to try and locate a new sample. With everyone coming along for the ride, the group is introduced to a guide who does not think that any of them should come along, but needing to document the game changing event, they overrule him and the group ventures further into the rainforest than they could have expected. Being able to locate the frog that houses the magical cure, the group returns to their meeting point to return back to the village, but to their surprise, there will be no boats to ferry them back down the river. Starting to make their trek through the forest, one by one, the members of the group are picked off and the group is forced to believe that this Anhanga creature might actually exist.

I liked the premise of this movie when I first read the description and liked how the story ended up playing out. As finding a cure for cancer was the driving force of the storyline, the fear of the unknown is really what made the story interesting. I enjoyed the interactions within the groups, especially when Nikki fell into a puddle and finally told her camera man to stop filming. The importance of documenting the greatest discovery known to the human race was first and foremost, yet not destroying nature to do so was a great narrative to add into the story as well. With a creepy forest, frogs, ghostly sounds, plenty of wildlife and a dying doctor trying to make his last push for a better life, it’s just a good movie that will make you wonder what would happen if something as massive as finding the cure for cancer was ever discovered. Would it be celebrated by all, or would it be hidden under the rug, since there is more money to made if people continue to die, up to you to ponder. Stay Scared.

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