Fans of horror films are unlike any other type of fan out
there. Sure, Lady Gaga may have flooded reviews of VENOM with negative reviews
in hopes of increasing the box officer for her just released A STAR IS BORN but
that will die off in no time flat. Horror fans will stick with a movie through
thick and thin. They will seek out copies of movies that haven’t even made
their way to disc yet purchasing bootleg editions and glorifying in their
scratched and chopped up copies. So when those movies finally make their way to
a decent version it becomes a cause to celebrate, to revel in. They go wild
with excitement and rush to pick up the new version in order to own that clear
cut film the way it was intended. My guess is such will be the case with
Severin’s release of ANTHROPOPHAGOUS.
Let me start by saying the term itself is an actual word
referring to those who eat the flesh of others, cannibals. With that in mind
odds are you’ll know what you’re about to watch. The film opens with a couple
walking through a village and down to the beach. The girl does swimming while
the young man slips on headphones making him completely unaware when she is
dragged under and blood fills the water. It isn’t long before he’s attacked as
well.
Quick cut to a group of vacationers about to board a boat
and head off to their vacation retreat. They meet a young woman named Julie
(Tisa Farrow, sister of Mia Farrow) who asks for a ride to a nearby island
since she missed the boat going there. They agree except for Carol (Zora
Kerova) who senses danger which is confirmed when she does a tarot card
reading.
When they near the island most of the group heads out to
explore and meet Julie’s friend with the exception of a sailor on the boat and
Maggie who is pregnant and in no mood to walk around. While the group is gone
the sailor is killed and Maggie abducted.
The group finds no one on the island with the exception of a
woman they spot in a window. When they look through her apartment they find a
corpse that appears partially eaten. Going back to the beach their boat has
drifted offshore so they decide to wait until morning when the tide will bring
it back in. Staying at Julie’s friend’s house they discover no one there. That
is until they find Henriette, the blind daughter of Julie’s friend, hiding in a
vat of wine as she attacks them. She rants about a killer lose on the island
who smells of blood.
There is definitely something afoot here and between the
lack of people alive on the island and the title of the film the odds are you
will know by now what that is. If not then by all means give this movie a look
and find out for yourself.
I first saw this movie years ago when managing a theater in
Indianapolis under the title THE GRIM REAPER. At the time I thought it was
terrible and the makeup used on the main character I often called oatmeal
makeup. Watching it now I see that the makeup wasn’t nearly as bad as I
remember but at the same time it doesn’t live up to the makeup found in say
George Romero films. Still the gore effects here, and trust me there are plenty
on hand, are for the most part well done and gut wrenching, figuratively and
literally.
What I was surprised by this time around was that the story
seemed better than I remembered it. Yes there are plenty of coincidences that take
place to set up how this group gets to the island and what takes place after
and the thought of a killer on the lose that an entire island couldn’t stop
seems a bit outlandish but this is an Italian horror film and the laws of
reason don’t always apply here. Instead the story presents a decent mystery to
be solved with bodies stacking up one after the other until a solution can be
found.
The film was banned in at least one country and for those
easily offended there is one scene in particular that will disturb you for some
time once the film ends. Suffice to say it involved Maggie and take it from
there. If that sort of thing bothers you then this movie is not for you. But
there is a legion of fans out there who love this film and consider it one of the
best director Joe D’Amato ever made. For others in spite of the fact he
directed over 197 movies that’s not saying much. But he does have his own
following who will flock to this film.
Severin has shown how dedicated they are to providing the
best quality product when it comes to this feature. With a 2k scan from a 16mm
negative the movie has never looked better. It even looked better in this
blu-ray version than it did on the big screen when I saw it the first time. In
addition to that they’ve loaded it with some interesting extras fans will
enjoy. These include DON’T FEAR THE MAN-EATER an interview with star/writer
Luigi Montefiori aka George Eastman the star/monster of the film. THE MAN WHO
KILLED THE ANTHROPOPHAGOUS an interview with actor Saverio Vallone, CANNIBAL
FRENZY an interview with FX artist Pietro Tenoglio, BROTHER AND SISTER IN
EDITING an interview with editor Bruno Micheli, INSIDE ZORA’S MOUTH an
interview with actress Zora Kerova and trailers for the film.
Fans of Italian horror films need to make a point of picking
up this movie. Images have flooded fan sites for years and the movie, as I
said, has a built in fan base waiting for a release that looks as good as this.
Pick it up and make a point of sending a heartfelt thank you to Severin for
releasing what is by far the best version of the movie available.
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