People who knew me will be surprised that I just watched this flick. I'm a horror buff and I do dig exploitation and drive-in flicks but this was just a straight love story. But there's more towards this flick. It was made by a Belgium director, Guy Lee Thys. And it's one of two flicks he made that are almost unfindable. Cruel Horizon is still unavailable on DVD and even in Belgium it hasn't found a proper release. Strangely I had to search the States to find a copy on NTSC VHS. His other rare flick was 'De Potloodmoorden' or 'The Pencil Murders', also only released on VHS and even harder to find. And that's what made it interesting for me. Go find them. So far I have found 'Princess (1969)' another flick made in Belgium, but that was pure exploitation and available on DVD but already OOP. The hardest one to find after De Potloodmoorden is The Antwerp Killer.
Nevertheless, Cruel Horizon is surely one to watch if you are open minded to the story. It do has some nasty killings and brutal torture. The red stuff is available and even some slashing is done on-camera. And I should even say that one scene isn't for the squeamish. The one were one's dick is being slashed by a so-called victim of the pirates.
The story is simple, back when the Vietnam war was going on the white people could left Vietnam without any problem. When Nick Vandam (Bruce Baron) is trying to escape with his Vietnamese girlfriend she is stopped by guards and left behind. Several years later Nick received a letter from Mai (Jessie Elmido) his girlfriend that she's still alive. She's a refugee now and Thais do search them to bring them into prostitution. Up to Nick to find her.
What surprised me is that a lot of nudity was involved in this flick. A lot of Thais go naked but what surprised me more was that Ingrid De Vos, who is big in Belgium now goes full frontal in a shower scene. I guess that this is her one and only nudity scene and everything is revealed. Strange to witness that. But also François Beukelaers (as Mike) is still in the Belgium scene as a famous actor. Also Jan De Bruyne as a German tourist is watchable here who also went further to De Kotmadam and other parts in series. One scene is really funny and went back memory lane when he's wearing a T-shirt of De Torre, a famous pub in De Haan, at Belgium's coast side.
I can't explain why a good directed flick as this didn't got a proper release in Belgium or in Europe. Bruce Baron was known back them from a few Ninja flicks. His acting wasn't worth watching but for a flick with such big names from the Belgium scene it's worth hunting down. Sometimes it's slow but it do deliver in cruelty and nudity.
Gore 2/5 Nudity 1,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5
