A military plane transferring a government spook (oh my lord, is that Dracula from Blacula?) on an import mission is shot down by rebels and crashes in some unnamed stretch of Asian jungle. Forced to parachute out, the small crew must now navigate through the dangerous landscape. A careless accident (don’t kick fruit) causes the explosion of a landmine and knocks all the men out. Realizing the road is probably littered with explosive death traps, they cut their way through the jungle which is also riddled with death traps, just not explosive ones. A faulty compass gets them lost and frustration comes with exhaustion and a lack of supplies. They come across an incongruous house and the major decides to watch the house over night in case it’s a haven for rebels. Music and lights come from the building after midnight, even though the men did not see anyone enter or exit the premises. The government spook decides they need to send a man in to investigate because he knows that the area should be uninhabited and there’s no way anything should be here. It is a shadowy spook’s job to know such things, after all. They give it a night but then decide to take a peek after daybreak. We get a look from inside the house as the men poorly sneak around outside and furniture appears out of thin air. The place is void of life but it has all the amenities anyone struggling through the jungle could want. Almost like the house was waiting for them. Things get stranger when meals are prepared by seemingly nobody, the climate is comfortable within the home without air conditioning and clothes clean themselves. The spook is paranoid that someone is playing puppet master while the other men appear to be content with finally finding comfort. A ghostly woman appears in his room and is unaffected by the bullets he blasts into her. There’s no body in the room when the major responds to the gunshots, so now the government agent is looking pretty damn insane. That doesn’t last long because more strange women show up to seduce and confound our heroes. It’s an intriguing film that maintains a strong focus on its odd script while it plays out like a theatrical production with some surprising graphic violence. One of the most off-kilter haunted house (loosely defined) stories I’ve had the pleasure of watching. It feels like a piece of folklore that I can’t quite put my finger on but that appears in every culture. An admittedly slow but undoubtedly fascinating bit of fantastic cinema. Even the cop out feels earned. Another treasure unearthed from a lost status by Vinegar Syndrome.
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