MovieChat Forums > I Shouldn't Be Alive (2005) Discussion > Jerks in the Jungle

Jerks in the Jungle

posted 18 years ago by JC_Aliss
14 replies | jump to latest

Regarding the episode of the three men who went with that nutso tour guide into the Bolivian rain forest, okay, could that main surviver have been any more cold and callous about the "friend" they left behind?

I understand he was bringing their mood down a lot, but it just seems to me that:

A: He was getting increasingly sick with his foot infections, which they all knew about, and,
B: He sensed the tour guide was whacko and therefore had a lot of anxiety about it.

So the other two leave him behind with the tour guide to go down the river, and the two of them get lost and eventually find each other, and the ENTIRE TIME the first man never once mentions worrying about the one they left behind.

Sure, at the end he said he had "assumed" he had made it to safety with the tour guide. Not sure why he just assumed that, since he never heard from him again. But I think the worst part was when he said "I know leaving him behind was the right thing to do." Um, WHAT?!?!?!? He DISAPPEARED FOREVER, ILL AND WITH A CRAZY MAN LEADING HIM! How could leaving him have been the "right thing to do" since the outcome was so dark and frightening????

I'm telling you, with friends like that...

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] h3vnlyt33rs 18 years ago

for some reason that one really creeped me out, i geuss because for all we kno mr. psycho tour guide could have eaten him, i dont know i just feel bad for that poor foot infection guy!

[–] momster64 18 years ago

My suggestion is to read the book "Jungle" by Yossi Ghinsberg which tells everything that couldn't possibly be condensed very well into a one-hour show. It's really a better telling of the whole story.

Watch out for snakes!!

[–] chok_inc 18 years ago

Kevin is the name of two of the survivors right? I think he's so stupid to follow that tour guide. I just hated him when he decided to proceed on the journey and just let his swiss friend go back (supposedly). When I learned what happened to that guy in the end I was so shocked and so creeped out by what happened. It's better be killed in the city than be lost in a jungle with a lunatic(kinda) on your side. I feel so bad for that guy (with the infected foot).

[–] h3vnlyt33rs 18 years ago

ya thats me i was just really creeped out but i'll have to check on that book , thanks:)

[–] sep2972 18 years ago

Okay I think you're all wrong. If you actually watched the entire episode, the two guys that survived were taking a much more difficult trail. They sent the swiss guy back with their guide because he was going to take a much safer way back. That's why they assumed they would be fine, because that journey was supposed to be much easier than theirs.
Yes they were stupid to have a crazy guy they didn't know lead them into the rain forest, but I think that they did do the right thing in sending him back with the guide, even if he was crazy. Going back was supposed to have been much safer than forging ahead.

[–] h3vnlyt33rs 18 years ago

supposedly but they said he wasn't a real tour guide besides would you walk off with someone you didn't know? there is no way I would have! I would have rather risked it with peoplE I know!

[–] HolyRomanEmperor 17 years ago

I thought that was a very selfish and stupid move on their part.

Even if you want to say that the two guys wanted the adventure of the more dangerous path, it was clear that they already thought the guide was off his rocker.

There is no way in hell I can understand the rationale of leaving a sick/wounded friend alone with a (suspected) nutjob in a place as harsh as that jungle.

What any person with a conscience should have done was to go along with the "safe" route until they got to a town/camp. They should NOT have left their "friend" at the mercy of the nutjob.

If they really felt that the friend was cramping their style, then on FUTURE adventure, they could leave him safely at home and not invite him along. Their selfish refusal to make sure their friend was safe, just so they could get the "thrills" of challenging the river, was an unforgivably selfish action. If I were the family of the freind that got left behind, I would be pissed, and would never forgive these two morons.

[–] bobsphotography2000 15 years ago

I was enthralled with the episode because I love to explore, too, and having done that I recognized how scary their situation was.

The guy with the infected foot had what I had one time (cellulitis). It was so painful, I couldn't walk on flat ground let alone tromp through the jungle.

My guess is that he couldn't walk back from the river where they all split up. And, of course, he wouldn't be able to crawl back. So, the "guide" abandoned him and the guy with the infected foot likely died from exposure first and then his body was eaten and dismembered by the various animals. At least we HOPE he died first. Sometimes the animals will eat you as you are too weak to fend them off. They eat you ALIVE.

The "guide" probably got lost, as well, and died of exposure. But the possibility exists that the "guide" made it out and, having abandoned the one with the infected foot, decided to get out of the country rather than admit he was responsible for leading people to their deaths which could mean prison in that grimy prison system they have down there.

There was another episode on being lost in the Amazon, too. In it, the two young people had finally decided to kill themselves via knifing their arteries just hours before luck saved them via a fisherman on the river. They suffered for an entire week due to stupidly entering the jungle WITHOUT a compass or gps and only one bottle of water. The local authorities actually attempted a search for them but in the end, it turned out the search was something like 50 miles away from where they were finally found by the fisherman...... who RARELY fished in that section of the river system.

The bottom line: If you've never even developed some experience day hiking in the hills / mountains / deserts around your own home, don't even be stupid enough to explore dangerous areas. There is no 911 to call for help. There are no cops. There is no ER with medical staff. You'll suffer. You'll cry. You'll realize that you're a city boy/girl .... and that exploring isn't something to be done by amatures who've never learned the basics.

[–] crossbar94 17 years ago

Yeah, I didnt get that episode. The main survivor seemed like a real douchebag. He felt guilty about the 1 guy he ended up 'saving' at the end, yet the guy who died with the tour guide...he was like "oh well, life goes on"...HUH?!?! He feels guilt about the 1 guy, but not the other? Whatever. His selfish actions were in part the reason Marcus died.

[–] Prisoner_5421153-2 16 years ago

well... he IS alive... and that's what would matter most, eh? he DID use logic in hi s decisions... the trenchfooted friend wouldn't have made it on the raft.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to return some video tapes.

[–] imzadi35 14 years ago

I agree. The Kevin guy came off as a real jacka$$ as he was co narrating the story. I get the impression that the other two were not very good friends of Marcus. Just acquaintances. And that Marcus was ruining their time so they felt it was almost a good twist of fate that Marcus got trenchfoot so that the two of them could go off and have their adventure. Almost all of us have been in a situation wehre there is one person that is going to prevent you from having your good time and you're glad they go home. What sucks about the whole thing is that all three of them knew their "guide" was a wack job. I can't believe they'd force their "friend" to go with this guy when he very clearly did not feel comfortable. The "safer route" sounds good on paper, but in the jungle where decisions are life/death, the should've found a solution where all three could stay together. The OP is exactly right. They definitely are Jerks in the Jungle.

[–] moveguy 12 years ago

ya that wasn't cool at all. for sure you wouldnt think the worst but still you don't ditch your friend in that situation. I mean you shouldn't even ditch a guy you dont know to head out injured alone with the super creepy guide.