User Reviews

This war film is included on this website is cheesy, Italian, and there's a plentiful amount of gore on offer. Don't expect anything original to be on offer here, as parts are copied from APOCALYPSE NOW and THE DEER HUNTER, but if you are looking for a juicy slice of Italian exploitation then you've come to the right place. I thought that only horror films were gory, but this war film has enough blood and guts to satisfy even the most hardened viewer. Made in the wake of numerous Italian gut churners such as ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS, you can hardly expect it to be anything else and you won't be disappointed. However apart from the gore there are some fun action sequences, the best being where Warbeck lets loose with a flamethrower, an attack on a boat or a scene where a man tries to get a coconut while bullets fly around him.

David Warbeck is the all-round hero in this film. Obviously not the man you immediately think of when it comes to war (let's face it, he was no Sylvestor Stallone), Warbeck acquits himself in the role well, and his gruff officer is both masculine and charismatic. He's one of those guys who you just know will survive until the final credits. Along with battle-scarred Warbeck is Tisa Farrow as the obligatory love interest. Farrow looks a lot different here and while she's not much of an actress - bless her - she's still fun to watch in an enjoyably bad way. Two tough black guys provide the muscle, one of them being Bobby Rhodes (DEMONS), who once again is a macho guy who is killed quickly and violently, much like in all his films. The other black guy has his leg shot off (shown in explicit detail) and is burnt alive while going crazy. I guess it's pretty lousy being the black guy in horror films, because they always end up dying violently. Even Blade took a beating before the final reel.

Lots of slaughter and explosions help to move things along quickly, as well as a decayed corpse hanging from a tree (with the guts hanging out, lovely) and a dangerous tree trap so beloved of the Italian cannibal genre which impales a man in a bloody fashion. However the most memorable moment involves Warbeck being immersed in a half-filled cage in a river, and then attacked by dozens of hungry rats while his cellmate, grey-skinned and covered in bites, sinks beneath the depths. It's a riot if you like Italian cinema.

David Warbeck takes on Charlie in THE LAST HUNTER with only his .45 automatic, and comes pretty close to winning the entire war without the need for a helmet, combat gear, supporting troops, spare ammunition or even his shoes, for that matter.

Dispatched on a mission so secretive that even the audience isn't sure exactly what he is supposed to be doing, Warbeck prowls into the Heart of Darkness of the Philipino locales used for filming (some of which have nicely trimmed grass that reminds me of the grounds of a hotel I once stayed in) dragging Tisa Farrow out of harm's way, encountering a secret Party Bunker populated by stoned Yankee soldiers just waiting for something worth raping to come along, and finding himself in the middle of a romantic triangle sub-plot that seems like an attempt to resurrect the power of Sergio Leone's use of the same from FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE, which featured Warbeck in it's flashbacks.

The difference being, of course, that DUCK YOU SUCKER's flashbacks served an integral role in telling that movie's story. Here they are a plot device used to set up the film's gag inducing climax showdown, the least of which is said the better. No B grade war movie cliché button goes unpushed, with the added early instance of Americans killing other Americans added to the mix. There is even an over-the-top comedy sequence where a scurrilous Yankee soldier is forced to atone for his misdeeds by donning a bright red baseball hat and dodging enemy fire while running to get a coconut for his superior officer that is right out of "Gilligan's Island" imagery -- including the coconuts -- and I say that with affection.

It's also descriptive of what the whole film amounts to, which is an overtly graphic "real life" cartoon about Vietnam for grown ups that lacks any sort of sub-textural depth. The movies it plundered for material to lampoon or exploit (THE DEER HUNTER, APOCALYPSE NOW, THE BOYS IN COMPANY C) all had greater reasons to see them that went beyond what you saw on the screen. THE LAST HUNTER is, by contrast, all surface material, and about the most insightful thing you might learn is that when guys get sprayed by a flamethrower they dance around & scream for a bit before dying. But as far as seeing revolutionary images or gut wrenching social commentary, forget it. Margheriti may have gone into the project with an anti-war message in mind but quickly falls into the trap that Goddard spoke of when stating that it is difficult to make a movie about war without glorifying it. Warbeck looks like he's having a pretty damn good time, even going so far as to not board the rescue chopper flown in during the closing scene, falling back into the jungle shirtless, brandishing his .45, and none the less the wear for having ran around for a half an hour without any shoes on. My only wish is that Margheriti would have committed to what he had started by having Warbeck then shoot the chopper down, though that would have been a problem to explain come time for TIGER JOE, the unofficial 1982 made continuation of the story.

The principal weakness with THE LAST HUNTER is two pronged: It has achieved a reputation as being this sickening, exploitational parade of garbage, yet it's excesses & story ideas both have been far surpassed by the films about Vietnam which came after it (check out 84 CHARLIE MOPIC for a movie about a special ops platoon behind enemy lines that will leave you speechless). And it's weak narrative structure reduces the action into a string of moments that while having an undeniable visual power, don't really serve to tell a story populated by people that the viewer comes to care about. Unlike Marghertiti's YOR HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE, the film does not resonate on a level where one believes in the people, places and events shown, and the movie becomes a Geek Show. One waits to see the good stuff, and in 1980 the images may have been outrageous, but other than watching Warbeck club a grass snake & a bunch of rats swarming over him in a Tiger Cage scene there isn't a whole lot here that is really too offensive.

So I dunno. THE BOYS IN COMPANY C was a satirical farce meant to elicit genuine laughter at the conventions of war. Here the laughter is more at the outrageousness of Margheriti's appropriation of the same yet without the meaning. If the idea of watching David Warbeck torch a horde of Gooks with a flamethrower is your idea of a good time, the movie will deliver. On that plane of thinking, THE LAST HUNTER is a classic in every sense of the word, though it may be a classic in bad taste, and lacking the sort of joyful, stupid, gleefulness found in other Margheriti films like YOR and KILLER FISH. I worship Margheriti's work and can live with the thought that this one didn't really work for me.

But I will opine that if we'd had a couple of dozen David Warbecks running around 'Nam with their .45s and kicking ass, we probably would have won.

David Warbeck ("The Beyond") stars as Captain Morris, an officer in Vietnam who agrees to head behind enemy lines to destroy a radio tower that has been broadcasting anti-American propaganda. A couple of people join him on his journey, including a weary photojournalist (Tisa Farrow, "Zombi 2") and a small commando squad, including Sergeant George Washington (Tony King, "Report to the Commissioner") and a soldier named Carlos (Bobby Rhodes, "Demons").

Directed with verve by Antonio Margheriti, whose career spanned a few decades and many efforts in different genres, "The Last Hunter" offers interesting material and deserves some respect for at least attempting to look at the horror and futility of war. It gives us a portrait of men in the military who are doing their best to cope and to amuse themselves. While not carrying the same dramatic weight as something like "The Deer Hunter" or "Apocalypse Now", it has its potent moments, especially towards the end when Morris is imprisoned and attacked by river rats. Its action scenes are certainly first rate - there's lots of gunfire, plenty of explosions, and some very enjoyable gore that's sure to turn off more squeamish viewers. On-location shooting in the Philippines also adds a substantial amount of atmosphere, even though "The Last Hunter" mostly takes place in the daytime.

It can boast a trio of charismatic performances from Warbeck, King, and Rhodes, and Farrow offers an engaging presence as a civilian who's a fairly tough cookie. Other familiar faces in the cast include Margie Newton ("Hell of the Living Dead"), John Steiner ("Tenebre"), actor / stuntman Massimo Vanni ("Zombi 3"), and Luciano Pigozzi ("Yor: The Hunter from the Future").

More than mere exploitation, "The Last Hunter" both begins and ends effectively, ultimately leaving us with a sinking feeling in our guts.

Seven out of 10.

Once again, Antonio Margherreti manages to take Italian exploitation to another level, just like he did with Cannibal Apocalypse. The Last Hunter has it all: great cast, plenty of gore, funky soundtrack. It might be derivative of the Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now but you don't have to sit through an hour and a half of a wedding in order to see David Warbreck torching folks with a flamethrower! First off, the cast is packed with Italian B-Movies stars: David Warbreck (The Beyond), Tisa Farrow (Zombie Flesh Eaters), Tony King (Cannibal Apocalypse), John Steiner (Tenebrae), Bobby Rhodes (Demons), Margit Newton (Zombie Creeping Flesh) and Massimo Vanni (Street Law). Each actor is given their own space within the movie to do their bit and they all come through - King's last stand against the Vietcong, Steiner's insane captain, Massimo Vanni's usual stunt fuelled antics, and through it all, David Warbreck laying wasted to half of South East Asia.

Still, Margherreti's no fool. There's a grim air to the film, as each exploitative element is nicely contrasted by a blast of grimness, especially the radio broadcasts telling the GIs to go home to their spouses. Plus, the ending is either really poignant or completely daft, depending on your mood at the time.

Don't be put off by the non-horror story line - The Last Hunter is another essential film for the collection.

The Italian exploitation industry is one of the joys of my life because just when it feels like you're running out of films from one genre, you find another one to fall in love with, often with many of the same directors, writers and actors. Can't find any new poliziotteschi you love? Get back into giallo. Nothing in peplum for you? Dive into post-apocalyptic or Westerns or commedia sexy all'italiana.

Or how about a war movie, much less one influenced by what's been happening in Hollywood, like The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now?

Antonio Margheriti (AKA Anthony Dawson) started his directing career making science fiction films like Space-Men and Battle of the Worlds before moving on to what was hot next. Peplum, with The Golden Arrow, The Fall of Rome and Giants of Rome made over the next three years. If there's a genre, Margheriti worked in it, like horror (Castle of Blood, The Long Hair of Death, The Virgin of Nuremberg, The Unnaturals), Eurospy (Bob Fleming... Mission Casablanca, Operazione Goldman), Western (Take a Hard Ride, And God Said to Cain), more science fiction (Wild, Wild Planet; War of the Planets, Alien from the Abyss), giallo (The Young, the Evil and the Savage; Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye), comic books (Mr. Superinvisible, Yor Hunter from the Future), cannibals (Cannibal Apocalypse) and even Raiders of the Lost Ark remake remix ripoffs (Hunters of the Golden Cobra, The Ark of the Sun God).

If you could shoot it, Margheriti did it. He was quick, he was cheap and often, he's pretty incredible. Not always, but more often than not.

And this is one of his war pictures.

Saigon isn't a fun time to be alive for an American soldier. Captain Henry Morris (David Warbeck) is introduced in this film when he watches his friend shoot another soldier in a brother and then turn the gun on himself. After that, Captain Henry is given a mission. Fly into Cambodia and shut down a radicalized radio station broadcasting Viet Cong messages. He'll have nearly no help other than a few soldiers. And after years at war, does he even care anymore?

The soldiers under his command include Sgt. George Washington (Tony King) and Carlos (Bobby Rhodes). They barely make it into the jungle when traps shred one of the men nearly in half and later, water snakes emerge and make a meal of another. Italian wartime isn't pretty. That's why this movie is on Section 3 of the video nasties list.

As the men make their way through the jungles of the Philippines, they're joined by a photojournalist named Jane Foster, played by Tisa Farrow. Remember what I said earlier about finding people across genre? Ms. Farrow showed up in just a few Italian movies, but all are memorable and each is in its own genre: slasher (Antropophagus), zombies (Zombi), this war film and one that crosses into both giallo and the poliziotteschi (Strange Shadows In an Empty Room).

There are also some crazy moments along the way, including Major William Cash (John Steiner) having a secret cave base that has a full bar staffed by Luciano Pigozzi, as well as an array of porn mags and working pinball machines. Cash's favorite music is the sound of gunfire and he barely stops his men from assaulting Foster when she tries to get a beer. His quick thinking is to send one of them across enemy lines to steal a coconut from a tree while being shot at.

There's a reason for scenes like that. According to the documentary Margheriti and The Last Hunter, the man known in America as Anthony Dawson didn't want to make a political film for or against the Vietnam War. He just wanted to make a movie that was 100% behind one thing: being entertaining.

In Italy, this was released as Cacciatore 2, as The Deer Hunter was called Il Cacciatore. The only thing this movie has in common with its inspiration is Vietnam and it's more of a ripoff of Apocalypse Now as it was shot in the exact same locations and dealt with the same issues that Coppola dealt with except with a much, much smaller budget.

Throughout the movie, Morris keeps thinking back to New York City and that girl back home, who is played by Margie Newton (Aphrodite from The Adventures of Hercules, the painted-up Lia Rousseau from Mattei's Hell of the Living Dead). As they get closer to that anti-American radio tower and the voice of the Tokyo Rose-style woman telling the U. S. soldiers just to lie down their arms as we hear easy listening tunes and Viet Cong kill the drugged out and hazed American boys, we come to realize that this love waiting at home and the one Morris has to kill are one and the same, which is an astounding coincidence but says a lot about the end of U. S. innocence in the 1970s.

Over the score by Franco Micalizzi, whose song "The Puzzle" will be familiar to fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm, we get a great ending, as Morris gets Foster on the last helicopter out of Hell and just kneels as the napalm starts to rain down, a visual similar to Platoon six years before that movie would be made.

Cynical Captain Henry Morris (well played with mucho macho aplomb by David Warbeck) takes an assignment to go behind enemy lines in order to destroy a Viet Cong radio tower that's broadcasting demoralizing anti-American propaganda to US troops. Photojournalist Jane (an appealing portrayal by the fetching Tisa Farrow) and a motley squad of soldiers assist Morris on his desperate mission.

Director Antonio Margheriti keeps the entertaining story moving along at a constant quick pace, maintains a harsh gritty tone throughout, delivers a handy helping of gory violence, and stages the rousing action set pieces with considerable skill and brio. Moreover, this film earns extra points for its fierce anti-war stance which comes complete with an uncompromising downbeat ending. The excellent cast of familiar Italian trash cinema faces helps a whole lot: Tony King as the smooth George, Bobby Rhodes as the rugged Carlos, Margit Evelyn Newton as the bitter Carol, and, in an especially bravura turn, John Steiner as the unhinged Major Cash. Dardano Sacchetti's derivative script copies both "The Deer Hunter" and "Apocalypse Now" with merry slavish abandon. Franco Micalizzi's funky-throbbing score hits the get-down groovy spot. Ricardo Pallottini's slick widescreen cinematography provides an impressive glossy look. Good low-rent fun.