Jungle Woman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Jungle Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 10, 2020

After experiencing the rampage of gorilla woman Cheela/Paula (Acquanetta), an investigation into the incident is organized, with Dr. Fletcher (J. Carrol Naish) at the center of questioning. Working through the details of the case, Dr. Fletcher recounts his time bringing Paula back from the brink of death, giving her a home as he continues research into her bizarre animalistic origin. When Dr. Fletcher’s daughter, Joan (Lois Collier), arrives for a visit, she brings along her fiancé, Bob (Richard Davis), and his presence stirs up something uncontrollable within Paula. As Dr. Fletcher follows science, Paula is a slave to her instinct, trying to claim Bob for herself.

1944’s “Jungle Woman” is a sequel to 1943’s “Captive Wild Woman,” with Universal trying to stretch a one-movie idea into a franchise, continuing the exploration of Paula as she wrestles with her origins as a gorilla turned human through weird science. It seems the producers were caught off-guard by the success of the original effort, struggling to come up with a reason to revisit the damned character, who’s now suddenly alive and ready to experience Bob in a way that makes Joan very uncomfortable. The story plays out in flashback, permitting Universal to spend roughly 25% of the feature recycling footage from “Captive Wild Woman” (which recycled footage from 1933’s “The Big Cage”). Tedium settles in soon after, as the screenplay doesn’t have anything more to offer than legal testimony, “Cat People” seasoning, and some tame acts of aggression, unable to take flight with the limited runway the previous film left behind.

Jungle Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.37:1 aspect ratio) presentation (sourced from a "New 2K film transfer") displays the most wear and tear on the Blu-ray set, with periodic frame damage, scratches, and speckling detected during the viewing experience. Detail survives, with a satisfactory look at facial surfaces and costuming, and limited sets are explored in full. Delineation is adequate, preserving shadowed encounters. Grain is heavy but film-like.

Jungle Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix shows its age, battling sibilance issues and hiss, while popping is frequent throughout the listening event. Dialogue exchanges are largely intact, with decent clarity on performances, handling shouted line-readings and a few hushed encounters. Scoring is also a bit harsh at times, slipping into fuzziness during louder stretches. Sound effects are acceptable, registering animal growls.

Jungle Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historian Gregory Mank.

• Image Gallery (2:31) collects film stills, publicity shots, poster art, and lobby cards.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Jungle Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Jungle Woman" is quite dull, unwilling to simply escalate the ludicrousness of "Captive Wild Woman," giving viewers more of a ride when it comes to blunt demonstrations of animal behavior and Paula's crisis of identity. It's talky and runs out of things to do after the first reel, leaning hard on star Acquanetta to prove some sex appeal as the rest of the endeavor scrambles to find any sort of story to tell.