EATEN ALIVE: CANNIBALS MEET RELIGIOUS FANATICS

I’ve never been a huge fan of the cannibal movies that were made for some time by Italian directors in the 70s and 80s. My first exposure with them if I’m not mistaken was MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY and it didn’t make a lasting impression on me. The fact I’m not sure if that was the first one I saw should show that. Later I saw the infamous CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST which again didn’t impress me. It wasn’t until I saw THE GREEN INFERNO that I found a cannibal movie I actually enjoyed and that’s saying something since I’m not an Eli Roth fan. Having the chance now to see EATEN ALIVE I can now say I’ve seen two films in the genre I felt were good.

The movie opens at Niagara Falls of all places as a native from Borneo kills a man with a blow dart. Move to New York and he does the same again, first killing one man and then getting hit by a truck after killing a second. The police investigating the deaths contact Shelia Morris (Janet Agren) when a roll of 16mm film is found on the Bornean. On the film is footage of her missing sister Diana (Paola Senatore). Professor Carter (Mel Ferrer), who she contacts for help, tells her that Diana appears to have run off to join a cult located in New Guinea. Of course she heads out to retrieve her sister.

Hiring a local mercenary named Mark Butler (Robert Kerman) to help her save her sister she learns about the cult. Led by the charismatic Jonas (Ivan Rassimov) the cult is a pain worshipping cult who follows his every command. As the pair travel upriver they are attacked by a group of cannibals who capture their guide and cut him apart to feast on. Avoiding capture themselves they are captured by the cult and taken to their compound where they are welcomed.

Diana pledges allegiance to Jonas but secretly wants to escape. Unfortunately Shelia falls under his spell and wants to stay. Even though she learns that the three men who we saw die in the beginning were ex-cult members who escaped she still feels that Jonas is a leader worth following. Whether Mark and Diana can convince her to leave or not, whether the military will come in to rescue cult members before they can commit mass suicide and whether or not the cannibals just outside the compound can satiate their hunger is left to be seen before the end of the film.

Movies in this genre were known for two things. The overflowing amount of gore they put on display and the inclusion of numerous scenes of actual killings of animals interspersed throughout the films. The success of films like MONDO CANE (1962) that showed shocking scenes like these but milder piqued the curiosity of film goers at the time and their inclusion in these films drew the ire of censors and the dollars of movie goers. This film offers plenty of those moments. A battle between a mongoose and a cobra while bets are placed, a python grasping a dying monkey who tries to escape, the beheading and gutting of a live alligator are just some of the moments included here.

The gore moments are memorable as well for fans of special effects and those gruesome moments. Breasts being sliced off and eaten, a penis sliced off, guttings and more are on display in glorious color with plenty of dripping red fake blood and meaty looking flesh left behind where incisions take place. The cannibals are seen eating their kills, pulling out guts in from their victims, scenes that would stun a few years later in DAWN OF THE DEAD but were clearly shot for films like this one.

What sets this movie apart from many in the genre is the amount of storytelling going on here. Most have some scientists searching for some miraculous jungle cure or sociologists looking for lost tribes in these films. The combination of cannibal movie with a Jim Jones/Jonestown style story offers something different here. The depth of story is far from what you’d normally expect.

In addition to that the sets look much better than most. It was money well spent, especially the village where the cult is set up. While not as elaborate it made me think back to the city Marlon Brando’s Col. Kurtz was set up at in APOCALYPSE NOW. They did a great job here on those sets.

But let’s not that forget that deep down this is an exploitation movie. That means you’ll not only see plenty of blood being spilled but a decent amount of exposed flesh as well. Ceremonies in the camp tend to have topless females walking about. Shelia at one point is painted in gold. When attacked by cannibals clothes are the first things to go. A woman whose husband is killed is raped by his brothers to determine who she marries next. And as punishment one woman is sodomized by the main bad guy guard, Karan. If you go by drive-in critic Joe Bob Brigg’s staples of drive-in movies the film features all three necessary items: breasts, beasts and blood.

The movie was directed by Umbert Lenzi, a famous director on the Italian scene who made a name for himself directing police dramas, horror films and at least three of the most famous cannibal films in the genre: THE MAN FROM DEEP RIVER, this film and CANNIBAL FEROX. In an interview included in the extras he notes that many credit Ruggero Deodata as the inventor of the Italian cannibal film for his CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST this film was actually released before that one. 

I’ve been singing the praises of Severin for several films they’ve just released and I’ll have to include this one as well. This is the first time the film has been remastered for hi-def and it shows it. The film looks much better than one would expect for what they had to begin with. In addition to that they’ve included plenty of extras that when combined run longer than the actual movie itself. Included are WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE the interview with Lenzo, ME ME LAI BITES BACK a documentary on the actress who was known as the Queen of Cannibal Moves, THE SECT OF PURIFICATION an interview with production designer Antonello Geleng, archive interviews with Ivan Rassimov and Robert Kerman and a 2013 Q&A with the late Lenzi at the Festival of Fantastic Films, UK.

Lenzi fans will want to have this version of the film in their collection. Horror fans and cannibal movie fans should grab this one up as fast as possible. Those who are curious about the films would do well to start with this one as it not only offers up everything the genre had to offer but has plenty of story as well. It’s not a movie that the squeamish will want to watch but if you love horror like this by all means give it a try.

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