The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck (1988)

David Keith in an Indy Jones knockoff

A rich Caucasian couple vacationing in Borneo (which looks suspiciously like Sri Lanka) hires a famous hunter to take them up a river where dangerous headhunters dwell.

Shot in 1987 and released in 1988, “The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck” is a ‘B’ imitation of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” along the lines of "King Solomon's Mines" (1985) and "Firewalker.” Regrettably, it’s easily the least of these. It starts off entertaining enough, but the second half devolves into dull activities in the deep jungle, which the creators try to spice up with nudity and a rape sequence involving the character played by statuesque blonde Kathy Shower. There’s also a beheading scene reminiscent of “Apocalypse Now.”

Shower is effective enough, yet comes across as a low budget version of Kate Capshaw in “Temple of Doom.” It’s brunette Tiziana Stella as Che who’s the real highlight in the feminine department; with a nod to Patricia Zanetti as Monique. Unfortunately, both are absent after the first act.

The plot was ripped off from Louis L'Amour’s “The Diamond of Jeru,” which was made into a ‘B’ movie in 2001 with Billy Zane, Keith Carradine and Paris Jefferson. That one’s not flip like this juvenile flick, but takes the material seriously and has mature themes. I don’t mind the ‘fun’ spirit of this movie; it’s just that it loses its mojo after the first half. Still, the jungle locations are great and Keith is surprisingly good in the titular role.

It runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Sri Lanka.

GRADE: C/C-