I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Rene Cardona Jnr's attempt to re-create the, at the time, topical Jim Jones cult that resulted in the mass suicide of almost a thousand followers. Stuart Whitman plays the megalomaniacal cult leader, deviant, zealot and polygamist with an open licence and while he probably looks more like Roy Orbison than Jim Jones, it's not a bad imitation based on what I know of the Jones persona.Bradford Dillman plays Jones' doctor-in-staff who administers (reluctantly) the fatal dose, Gene Barry is the doomed American diplomat trying to disassemble the oppressive community and a host of former Hollywood heavyweights (Cotten, DeCarlo, Ireland) fill out the ranks. Good to see Cardona's preferred local talent Hugo Stiglitz on board along with beauties Jennifer Ashley and Erika Carlsson (the trio reunited from "Tintorera"). While not to trivialise the subject, you know you're watching an exploitation movie when those guys are in the cast.Fatally overlong, the long-awaited climax doesn't prove to be worth the wait (knowing the conclusion doesn't help, but there's no attempt at suspense) and while the cast is appealing, the film doesn't do the subject matter justice. Obviously this is made for a particular audience so if you want to see the more deferential treatment, then the "Guyana Tragedy" (1980) is probably your picture. I'm faithful to the Rene Cardona Jnr factory, and while this is perhaps his least-impressive 'western' work, it still contains some of his trademark excess.

If you take a look at Rene Cardona Jr.'s credits, you'll quickly discover that he jumped on every bandwagon that passed by. Tintoera is his Jaws "inspired" film. Cyclone is his cash-in on the disaster movie boom. The Bermuda Triangle is his link to the unexplained mysteries craze of the 70s. And I'm sure you can find similarities between Cardona's The Treasure of the Amazon and either a Hollywood movie like Romancing the Stone or a watered-down Italian cannibal film. With Guyana: Crime of the Century, Cardona wasn't trying to rip a movie, but instead choice to latch onto the coattails of one of the biggest news stories of the 70s – Jim Jones and the People's Temple.Compared with Cardona's other films I've seen, Guyana: Crime of the Century comes off as a much more serious work. Cardona appears to be going for fewer of the exploitation elements he loaded his other films with and, instead, is going for something more true to life and realistic. Don't misunderstand, there are scenes of exploitation in Guyana: Crime of the Century, they are just not played to the max the way they are in something like Tintoera. Being based at least somewhat on an actual event, Cardona was handcuffed by the reality of what actually took place in the jungles of Guyana. As a result, this movie is not as "fun" as Cardona's other films. Much of the first 2/3 of the film is very slow with little more to enjoy than the wild, crazed dialogues of the good reverend. The last 1/3 does pick up the pace, culminating with a satisfactory finale that is very well done by Cardona's standards. It's a moving and fitting end to the film.In addition to comparing Guyana: Crime of the Century with his other works, I can't help but compare Cardona's movie with the 1980 TV movie Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones. I haven't seen the TV movie in a decade or more, but I remember it being a better made film that probably sticks to the truth of what happened at Jonestown better than Cardona's movie. Also, the 1980 film stars Powers Boothe as Jim Jones. His portrayal of the crazed leader of the doomed cult is light-years ahead of Stuart Whitman's turn in the role. Boothe delivers an incredibly powerful (pun not intended) and believable performance.Speaking of Stuart Whitman, Guyana: Crime of the Century is filled with over-the-hill, past-their-prime actors in most of the major roles. Whitman was the youngest at 53. Yvonne De Carlo was 57. Gene Barry was 60. John Ireland was 65. And Joseph Cotton was the oldest at 74. For Cotton, Guyana: Crime of the Century is about as far away from Citizen Kane as you can get.

I have to admit that ever since I first heard about this cult I've been terribly interested in knowing just what the tag line of the movie implies that this movie tells you: The Truth Behind the most shocking crime of the century. This movie did everything but fulfill its' promise.We get introduced to the cult in an opening scene with Reverend James Johnson, the leader of the cult, preaching in a church. He explains that they have gotten a piece of land by the "friendly socialists" in Guyana where they will establish a religious community. This is a key sentence, because the connection between Johnson and socialism becomes established over and over again. For example, in the "Johnsontown agricultural project", they listen to a woman that is trying to teach them Russian while they are working. Later in the movie, the U.S. Ambassador calls Johnson a socialist.I think that the movie was made too soon after the incident to have any perspective. I was bewildered by the ignorance of the director that actually believed he could get any real insight in the event when not even a year had passed since! He tried and failed miserably, as far as I'm concerned. This movie is not even trying to tell the truth. The director is making almost desperate efforts to draw parallels between "suicide cults" and "socialists" using the infamous "guilt by association" method. I think that this is a very interesting movie if you watch it from that perspective - and bear in mind the echoes of the cold war. If you're trying to get to know what happened - look elsewhere.

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*Reverend James Johnson leads his followers to Johnsontown. Not Jonestown. Johnsontown. They build a camp in the jungles of Guyana. It's supposed to be a paradise away from the corrupting influence of the United States. Of course it's all a lie. The cult members do hard labor and are rewarded with rice. This all leads to a visit from a congressman and a buffet line of poisoned fruit punch. Of course this little exploitation movie is based on the real Jonestown massacre. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, (Whatever!). So you know going into this movie that you will see a mass suicide. This is the ghoulish highlight. We get to watch babies being force fed poison and other scenes of poisoned drinks being shoved down people's throats. I wondered why the cult members kept lining up for drinks when they could see their fellow Johnsontown residents howling in agony in front of them. Ah, cult members. How wacky.Most of the movie is spent listening to the pompous Rev. Johnson preach to his mindless flock. He gathers them together several times to tell them why he's great and the rest of the world stinks. SNORE! You'll just have to bear through these scenes to make it to the slaughter scene. There are a few scenes of discipline and torture to keep things interesting on the way to the fruit punch exodus. Is the trip worth the destination? Hard to say. I've always wondered what a bunch of brain washed dolts killing themselves looked like. Now I know. Thanks, "Guyana, Crime of the Century"!