CANNIBAL TERROR Movie and DVD Review

CANNIBAL TERROR (1981)

When two bumbling crooks and their prostitute friend hatch a plan to kidnap the young daughter of a car manufacturer, they think their money troubles are all over. But, these crooks can’t even get a simple kidnapping right, and when their plan falls through, the trio pull a few favors and quickly cross over into the next country to hide out, taking the little girl with them. There’s only one problem - the cottage they’re hiding out in is right on the border of cannibal territory!

Though the crooks think they’re safe, tension mounts no doubt due to the fact that Mario rapes Manuela, the wife of the cottage’s owner. Manuela’s husband deals with Mario in his own special way, while the other two race into the jungle. On their trail though, are the parents of the little girl and the tribe of cannibals who have picked up their scent. As the chase turns into free-for-all battle for survival, the only question remains is who will be lucky enough to simply die and who will become the next sacrificial meal of the cannibals?

For bottom-of-the-barrel EuroTrash sleaze looking to cash in on a horror fad, look no further than this Alain Deruelle (directing under the pseudonym Allan W Steeve) French/Spanish co-production from 1981, as he tries to ride the coattails of Italian directors like Ruggero Deodato and his infamous CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. However, Deruelle proves that his abilities to mimic a genre to make a few bucks are even worse than Jess Franco at his worst. Interestingly enough, Franco was thought to be the true director of this movie for years.

The cannibal sub-genre is a particularly nasty offshoot in the realm of horror, and lends its perverse violence, often times demeaning stereotyping and lurid acts of sexual depravity to those with an acquired taste. And that is when the genre is done right. When done as a poorly cobbled together cash-in such as CANNIBAL TERROR, the results are a mixture of unintentional humor and boredom, interrupted ever so briefly with moments of stomach-turning disgust.

Here, the laughter starts from the first scene with abysmal acting from everyone involved, magnetized by the canned and nearly-emotionless English dubbing, but really gets the guffaws rolling with the introduction of perhaps the worst depiction of cannibals the screen has ever seen. These cannibals, who for the most part are pasty white Europeans with sideburns, flowing locks of hair, and beerbellies who have painted their faces and can barely contain their giggles as they hoot and holler and dance around endlessly. Rather than try to exploit their “savage rituals” a la MONDO CANE, here it amounts to nothing more than a ridiculous updating of white guys pretending to be Indians in old Hollywood westerns.

Now the highlight, if one can call it that, of any good cannibal films is of course the visceral display of flesh eating. Derulle’s version of that is to substitute a pig’s body for that of human, drape some clothes over it, and let a few extras tear it apart. We get two scenes of this grotesque barbarity, as a few fellows pull at and pretend to eat the organs of some piggy. Its a bit revolting, until you notice their smiles, as if it say, “look at us, we’re cannibals!” It is impossible to take anything even remotely serious after that.

The rest of the film amounts to a few brief glimpses of nudity thanks to exploitation mainstay Pamela Stanford (BLUE RITA, GIRL SLAVES) in one of her final roles, lots and lots of walking, a few clips of jungle stock footage, and a rollicking African beat inspired soundtrack. In fact, there’s just enough footage of interesting and exciting scenes to be able to cut together a trailer that (as is often the case) promises much more than is ever delivered.

It is a sure bet that if CANNIBAL TERROR had not been labeled a Video Nasty and briefly banned in the UK during the mid-’80s, the film would have long ago disappeared into obscurity. But now, thanks mostly to this infamous list it has lived on, and now the movie has finally been restored to all its uncut “glory” by Severin Films for its US DVD debut, where it will surely continue to provide laughs for a whole new generation of gut-munching fanatics.

The DVD provides an anamorphic widescreen transfer of an uncut print, and has been remastered in Hi-Definition, though the quality varies from one scene to the next, and even one cut to the next. The sound retains glaringly obvious of its dubbed roots. The special features include a deleted scene, which is just a short clip of Pamela Stanford dancing around topless that should have been reinstated into the film and the theatrical trailer featuring a priceless voice-over, especially when the announcer exclaims “Cannibal Terror!”

For genre enthusiasts this is worth a precursory glance just for the sake of curiosity and mocking, and for those that absolutely positively have to own every Video Nasty. For the rest, there is nothing to see here.

People Waiting to Be Cannibalized... aka Greatest Spam Email Ever

Today is one of my rare "first person" postings as I share the most fantastic spam email I've ever received:

my name is mr james i am a black american based in nigeria i have been a cannibal gent for the past 4 years i transport blacks from africa to every coutry with assurance i have so many people who are tired of life so all i have to do is just for me to advise them to be canniblised and they alway agree all so all you have to do is just for you to send there money for visa which is very little and all you jut have to do is just wait and recieve them with honor

thanks regards
jamesmark shipper

I really just have no words. How can you comment on perfection?

THE LAST SUPPER (2005) Movie Review

THE LAST SUPPER (2005)

Doctor Yuji Kotorida is a charming and chanting plastic surgeon, who is known as "God's hand" for his work he does on celebrities, and has recently been the subject of a TV expose. The expose coincidently enough, is even done by Saki, a former patient of his. But life wasn't always grand for Yuji. At one time, he was an awkward and introverted student, taken in at his current job as a lowly assistant. But one night, when he took home a small pouch of a woman's recently removed fat and cooked it up to eat, he felt something he had never felt before. He felt fulfilled.

Yuji quickly graduated to the eating the flesh of a woman, when he discovers a housewife in the woods who had recently hung herself. Yuji, using his expertise with a knife, creates meal sized portions and makes sure to eat part of her every night. His personality change to the suave gentleman he currently is grabs the attention of all the staff, who become infatuated with him. On a journey to Hong Kong for a convention, he discovers he is not alone, when he is drawn into a secret dinner society that dine on freshly killed women. Back home, Yuji takes Saki up on a dinner invitation, and breaks his rule about seeing patients. With his hunger growing more ravenous by the day, he must decide if Saki will become his guest of honor at dinner.

Snuggly planted deep between THE UNTOLD STORY and HANNIBAL, writer/director Osamu Fukutani adapts the book by Kei Oishi that some called "unfilmable." Here, a sensuous and almost erotic element is added to the cannibal genre, that save for Thomas Harris' novels and subsequent films, is usually regarded for its outrageous gore and exploitative traits. But don't let the way that Yuji sees his cannibalistic ways - he sees his daily meals as the equivalent of having intercourse once a day - fool you. There is some grotesque and stomach churning violence here. Though the actual killings by decapitation are somewhat hokey, the dismemberment of the bodies are anything but. Fukutani's dedication to realism here verges on material that would be at home in the GUINEA PIG series. Fukutani's use of sound effects, especially the squishy sounds of entrails and the grinding of the bone saws, are down right hair raising.

There is also an element of humor found here. Granted, this is the darkest kind of humor that only coroners and crime scene investigators laugh at to keep from going insane, but it is there. The finest example is when Yuji on several occasions tells his soon to be victim that he wants to eat them. This is at the height of a sensual massage, and while Yuji is thinking one thing, his female companion is thinking something quite different. Several guests at Yuji's apartment are also treated to his "special meat". These scenes, which feature close up shots of his cooking and shows off the masterful presentation of the finished dish, are some of the best sequences in the film. The way that Fukutani sets up these scenes may have vegetarians in the audience particularly glad for the culinary choices, but carnivores watching may find themselves oddly attracted to the idea of sampling the forbidden.

As with any film that is essentially a single character study, the actor filling Yuji's shoes has a great responsibility to carry the story. Masaya Kato, does a quite believable job as Yuji. Even as he performs the most inhuman and unspeakable crimes of modern society, he comes off as sympathetic and charming. The fact that his kills are instantaneous and without malice make the character more easy to stomach. He does not give off any sense of hatred toward woman. Quite the opposite, Yuji's happiness and content as he dines is almost a salute to women, though in a most garish and twisted way. He feels empty and incomplete without a woman.

Though the climax of the film gets a bit out of hand, it seems out of character for the Yuji we have grown to know during the movie. This may be partially to blame for its transition from book to screen, which must condense the storyline to fit into a reasonable timeframe, and thus loses part of the evolution of Yuji. It is a little over the top, and comes too quick to fully enjoy as the main course it should be, as if the film needed to be over at that exact moment. It does however include a most satisfying brief scene that brings Fukutani's power of suggestion to a delicious crescendo that will make you want to want to cook your own food for the rest of your life.

PAPAYA: LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS Movie Review

PAPAYA:
LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS (1978)

In the Caribbean, Vincent, the designer for a nuclear power plant that is being built on a small island, along with a reporter named Sara who is on vacation, cross paths, and their past desires for each other are rekindled. This passion is doubled when a local native named Papaya takes them on a journey of uninhibited sexuality as she tries to persuade Vincent not to build the power plant, and becomes filled with lust for Sara. Vincent and Sara also become witnesses to a secret yearly voodoo ceremony in Papaya’s village. While Sara becomes a strong believer in Papaya’s cause, Vincent holds steady on his determination to build the plant, and the villagers have to make a decision as to what will become of the unwelcome presence of the white man.

Read my full review at The DVD Lounge!