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Reviews
Cannibal ferox (1981)
OUT OF CONTROL!
This is by far Lenzi's best flick. A college student(Lorraine De Salle), her brother and a girlfriend(Zora Kerowa) go to South America to prove that"cannibalism doesn't exist and for that matter has never existed." I'm not making this up De Salle's character actually says this. Hasn't she ever seen a National Geographic or something? Anyway, they encounter a couple of scoundrels led by Giovanni Lombardo Radice, who is a coke fiend maniac hiding out from the mob after ripping them off for a hundred grand. He convinces the college kids to help them escape the jungle from the cannibals who are hot on there trail. All kinds of graphic splatter on display here: machete emasculation, eyeball skewering, machete craniectomy with requisite brain scarfing, disembowelment followed by ravenous innard consumption, a woman is hung through her breasts with meathooks hanging on ropes which are suspended from a wooden scaffolding and so on. My mom bought me this video from the now defunct Deep Red video catalog for my 14th birthday, and man I was blown away, my mom only watched it once and made me promise not to watch it around her again it tweeked with her brain so much. To that point I had only seen Zombie, Dr. Butcher, and Demons as far as Italian gore films were concerned and this was a standout. Today at the age of 28 this movie still packs a wallop, even if it isn't the kick in the balls that is Ruggero Deodato's masterpiece Cannibal Holocaust. Hardcore gore for fans of the extreme cinema.
Mangiati vivi! (1980)
one of Lenzi's best 3 movies!
This movie is a classic. Umberto Lenzi has made numerous movies about all kinds of things but the only good ones are Cannibal Ferox, Nightmare City(well maybe that one isn't a classic, but it is a cheese classic) and Eaten Alive. This one stars former porn actor Robert Kerman,Janet Agren,the beautiful Me Me Lai, Ivan Rassimov, and Mel Ferrer. Agren's character goes to some south east Pacific island to try to find her sister who ran off with a cult to the island. There she hooks up with Kerman's character and they head off into cannibal territory searching for her sister. When they find her she is brainwashed and all messed up in the head by Rassimov's character who is an entertaining Jim Jones type cult leader. They are caught up in a web of craziness as the fight for there lives against the cannibals and the cult. Rape, nudity, sex, and loads of grue: beheadings, entrail removal,cannibalistic mastectomy with a knife, dong chopping, animal violence, a guy gets his ear cut off and eaten in brutal detail and so on. Fans of gore, cannibals, or Italian exploitation should view this classic cannibal movie. In my view it comes in after Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox and Jungle Holocust in that order.
Ultimo mondo cannibale (1977)
Jungle Holocaust is a classic of the genre.
Ruggero Deodato's first foray into cannibal land is a really well done piece of violent adventure exploitation cinema Italian style. A plane crashes on a runway in a jungle clearing leaving the occupants stranded for the night. One of them gets picked off by cannibals when they leave the safety of the plane to take a leak. When morning comes they go to search for the first victim only to become lost. All types of awful stuff happens: ants reduce a tied up natives arm to bone and gristle, liver extraction and devourment, entrail removal and subsequent filling of the hollow cavity with hot stones for proper cooking, decapitation, animal mutilation, etc. Good cast with: Massimo Foschi, Ivan Rasimov,and Me Me Lai. Considering this film was shot entirely on location in the jungle on the island of Mindanao, Malaysia it is exceptionally well crafted. One of the best of this type.
Hei tai yang 731 xu ji zhi sha ren gong chang (1992)
super sick remake of men behind the sun, kind of.
I honestly don't understand how someone could like Men Behind the Sun but not like this film. Although inferior in some ways, it is extremely devastating. We are treated to brutal extended autopsy, Arms being stripped of flesh,an autopsy on a living guy that looks suspiciously real(they remove his heart as it beats and when they cut him open it bleeds for real, exuding out of the fat and tissue layers)decapitation, dismemberment and more. I have read reviews for Guinea Pig:devils experiment wherein the reviewer states that he believed it to be real snuff, come on now.This flick has more realistic slaughter than the first Guinea Pig. This film uses real corpses for all the effects and the living autopsy scene is brutal. the only way i figure they did it without actually killing a guy is if they filmed a heart surgery or cleverly slaughtered a pig disguising it as a human. Don't believe the bad reviews. This movie is sick and deserves more credit.
Dèmoni (1985)
the only lamberto bava film that is good
Demons rules. You have Argento as producer, the only way this film could be good with Lame-berto Bava. I have never seen a good flick from this guy, but I tell you this movie kicks major butt! Demons run rampant in a theater that is sealed up with the patrons locked in. Madness and gore ensues as people are shredded, have their eyes gouged out,a demon pop out of a girl's back a guy goes on a demon splattering rampage with a sword on a dirt-bike,pustules burst on an infected woman's face, and much more. There is a black pimp who has some of the funniest lines these ears have ever heard. An all out gorefest. If you are a fan of extreme film this is required viewing.
Apocalypse domani (1980)
Antonio Margheriti
Cannibal Apocalypse(U.S. title) is the only Margheriti film that is ultra-violent. I am not a big fan of the gothic Italian cinema, though he is regarded as a master of this genre. I have seen an interview with him where he states he didn't want to make this film as violent as it is. He claims that was the producers desire. Although not as gruesome as the third world italian cannibal film cycle( the whole film takes place in Atlanta, GA)there are scenes of exreme violence: eye gougings, face smashings. throat ripping, and a huge hole blown through the torso of John Morghen. Features John Saxon of Enter the Dragon Fame.Italian gore freaks take note.
Buio Omega (1979)
d'amato's best non-porn cinematic effort
This flick is a fun watch if you appreciate the Italian gore cycle of the late 70's-early80's. basically this guy's girlfriend kicks the bucket so he does what any self respecting guy would do, he digs her up and preserves her for later use! highlights include: a stoner chick getting her nails ripped out w/ pliers, then hacked up and reduced to sludge in a bathtub full o' acid/ a graphic psuedo-autopsy at the hands of her taxidermist boyfriend/some cannibalistic throat biting/eye gouging etc....I am only familiar with buio omega and anthropophagus as Joe D'Amato's only non-porn films I'd have to say this one is better than anthropophagus. if you like twisted flicks you should check it out.
La montagna del dio cannibale (1978)
best Sergio Martino movie ever
This is the least violent Italian cannibal movie next to the practically goreless Man From Deep River. However it is still a worthwhile endeavor though. Playing like an Italian rip-off of an Indiana Jones movie(though it precedes Raiders by at least five years) this movie has most of what makes a third world cannibal film: beheading, gutting, animal torture/killing,graphic castration, and if you get a hold of the Anchor Bay release there are added scenes from the directors personal archives of a jungle woman masturbating, and a native getting it on with a pig. These scenes somehow enhance the movie, I don't understand why they cut these scenes out in the first place. Though not as out of control as Cannibal Holocaust or Eaten Alive, this film is required viewing for Italian cannibal fans. Gorehounds beware: Although Martino's giallo Torso has it's moments all other films by this guy suck. Especially Screamers aka Island of the Fishmen. This film should be avoided unless your into total cheese even lamer than Bruno Mattei's Rats: night of terror.