An undercover C. I. A. Agent , Derek Carpenter(Chris Mitchum), posing as a reporter , embarks on a dangerous journey to South America with a perilous mission: to dismantle a menacing drug syndicate led by a wealthy person, Luis Morel (the always great Christopher Lee). Along the way, our starring meets up with Moira (Brigitte Lahaie), a woman who wants vendetta on Morel for murdering her husband, and meanwhile he falls for Linda (Christina Higueras), Morell's daughter. Why and who brings cocaine into the United States?
A gripping but very mediocre action/adventure/thriller film, starring Chris Mitchum, Christopher Lee, Richard Harrison, and Cristina Higueras. This movie takes you on a roller-coaster ride of intrigue, tension and suspense. With a runtime of 1 hour and 25 minutes, Dark Mission: Flowers of Evil, promises an action-packed experience that will keep on the edge of your seat. However, it is a very weak and boring film that does not offer the promoted thriller that it advertises. That's why it contains ridiculousness , silliness and shabby action abound in this average/inferior B-movie. This is a typical Eurociné productions run by Daniel and Maroius Lesoeur, but with a with a little more money and more ambitious feeling. Maybe they had a richer financer in the background somewhere, who also demanded more for the money. But with the time and money Franco had, and an acceptable cast, he also delivers an passable , if a bit generic action drama with showy and colorful photography from the Spanish Mediterranean coasts. The only thing that stands out in the film is the appearance of three modern helicopters -which shows a certain amount of budget- doing aerial stunts and along with some scenes of shootings, chases and explosions.
It becomes an involving thriller-drama, at times, but here's really no depth in the story, but it's easy to see where Franco put his little talent: in the interrelation between the outlandish characters: between the demanding CIA chief Richard Harrison and Mitchum , the romance between Chris and Christina Higueras and the crosses and double-crosses that they intermingle. Stars Chris Mitchum who has a lot fun and energy playing a CIA agent disguised as a reporter who goes to South America to stop a drug syndicate. Christopher Mitchum is the second son of actor Robert Mitchum destined, like older brother James Mitchum, to follow in the footsteps of his famous dad. He auditioned for John Wayne and won a small role in the western Chisum (1970) as Billy the Kid's sidekick and Big Jake (1971). Duke introduced him to director Howard Hawks, who screen-tested Chris and gave him a starring roles in Hawks' last film, Rio Lobo (1970). But the films that followed, however, were of a lesser grade and quite violent in comparison to his father's sturdy work, with such obvious titles as Savage Harbor (1987), SFX Retaliator (1987), Aftershock (1990), Striking Point (1995) and Lycanthrope (1999). He was popular in such foreign market as Spain, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Phillipines, however, so he continued to churn out product there including Master Samurai (1974), Chinese Commandos (1975), American Commandos (1985) and Dendam Membara (1986). Being his most successful the following thrillers: The Summertime Killer (1972), Clockwork Terror (1973), The Mean machine (1974). In smaller parts we have Jesus Franco's regulars: Antonio Mayans, Daniel Katz, Carmen Carrión, Antonio Mayans and even Lina Romay as film editor, all doing functional jobs with the material they have.
The film feature was directed by prolific Spanish filmmaker Jesús Franco or Jess Frank or Uncle Jess. Most people agreed that some of Frank's work was passable, but most were botched films. Jess was a Stakhanovite and restless writer, producer and director who made more than 200 films. His career spanned more than 50 years with some successes and many failures, making all kinds of genres: thrillers, adventures, action and with a penchant for horror and erotica. Jesús used to sign under a pseudonym, among the aliases he used besides Jess Frank or Franco Manera, were the following: Frank Hollman, David Khune, James P. Johnson, David Though, Clifford Brown (with whom he signs this film), among others. Franco used to use his artisanal trademarks, such as: zooms, nudity, close-ups on objects, making films in the 'do it yourself' (DIY) style and managing to work extraordinarily quickly with very low budgets, as well as frequently releasing several titles at the same time. He was a prolific filmmaker, directing many terrible films. In his early days he soon applied all his knowledge and experience as an assistant director, musician, editor to his debut as a feature film director: We Are 18 Years Old (1959). His Succubus (1968) was nominated for the Berlin Film Festival, and this event gave him international reputation. His career became increasingly consolidated in the following years, and his inexhaustible creativity allowed him to tackle films of all genres, from B-series horror films to pure hardcore sex. However, he made some passable films, such as: The Terrible Dr. Orloff, The Bloody Judge, Count Dracula, 99 Women, The Blood of Fumanchu, Faceless and a few more. And many of them with very strong cuts and double versions. Score: 4.5/10. Inferior and below average exploitation film. Only for Jess Frank completists.
