European Horror: Gothic & Pasta Splatter to Exploitation Schlock

[venoms5]

This is an article on various Italian genre cinema I did some time back. It needs to be updated but I post this version of it to see if there's any interest in this type of genre. Some reviews to follow...

ITALIAN HORROR-EXPLOITATION CINEMA KINGS

The Italian cinema of the Fantastique, for me anyways, was born with Mario Bava and his superb 1959 b/w film LA MASCERO DE DEMONI aka THE MASK OF SATAN aka BLACK SUNDAY. It captured the look and feel of the recent spate of horror releases from Hammer Studios only in haunting b/w which I feel is part of this films power. Bava's use of the camera and atmosphere on an extremely limited budget is a testament of his abilities in fantasy cinema (someone once remarked Bava could make a feature out of a couple of boulders and some fog and make it look better than bigger budgeted fare). The storyline is very simple-revenge from beyond the grave,a concept that would be repeated in dozens of films to follow but Bava injected so much atmosphere and dark fairy tale qualities that make this film stand out.

Some of the most haunting images are the carriage ride through the forest, the evil brother of the witch Asa crawling out of his grave, the scene where he meets one of the characters by a stream; the fog seemingly following him, the scene where Barbara Steele is flanked by two big dogs at the cemetery gates, etc... Much of the gore and hints of necrophilia were removed for the US release in 1960. It was a hit and more Bava films were to follow and as usual with foreign films, cinematic racism took precedence (as it still does today).

Bava's THE THREE FACES OF FEAR aka BLACK SABBATH (the band took there name from the US title of this film) featured Boris Karloff as a host of sorts (in the italian version anyway) spinning three tales of terror. Karloff featured in the second episode THE WURDALAK, a masterpiece of horror storytelling dealing with vampirism contains some of Bava's most nightmarish imagery (saving the best for the third story). The third tale A DROP OF WATER, is hands down one of the creepiest thirty minutes you're ever likely to see. A young woman steals a ring from a dead woman's finger and she comes back for it. The first tale THE TELEPHONE is an early example of a giallo and contains hints of lesbianism.

For its US debut, the newly christened BLACK SABBATH had the stories rearranged and new scenes shot for the TELEPHONE episode to make it more of a supernatural story and eliminating the lesbianism angle altogether. The Karloff intro and outro was also removed. The Italian version available from Image is the preferred viewing experience for this classic.

Bava's PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (aka too many to mention) was partly inspiration for Ridly Scott's ALIEN and for the time was quite impressive for an Italian sci-fi horror film as they just weren't done during that time. A ship receives a distress signal from another that has crashed on an unknown planet. Once there, the crew finds the ship but everyone is dead. Turns out disembodied spirits want there bodies to find a suitable planet for survival. The ending was lifted from a famous Twilight Zone episode. The bit that was used in ALIEN was a scene where the crew finds some ancient alien skeletons in one of the wrecked vessels.

NOTE: Another film that makes ALIEN seem a downright rip-off is the 1958 American film IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE.

Bava continued making films such as BARON BLOOD, ROY COLT & WINCHESTER JACK, HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD, THE WHIP & THE BODY, KILL! BABY, KILL!, BLOOD & BLACK LACE (the first giallo), BAY OF BLOOD (Christopher Lee, a fan of Bava who also starred in several of his films walked out of this film calling it distasteful) WHAT!, and INFERNO as a cinematographer was his last cinematic contribution. His son Lamberto, although nowhere near as accomplished as his father made many films including MACABRE (1982), MONSTER SHARK (starring Gianni Garko!) and his most famous, DEMONS (1985) among others.

In 1969 another horror filmmaker hit the scene with a film entitled BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE that was a hit and jump-started the giallo genre named from the yellow covered pulp novels in Italy.Dario Argento ruled the genre with titles like FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET, DEEP RED, SUSPIRIA and OPERA to name a few. The genre became so popular many other directors jumped on the band wagon like Lucio Fulci's DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING and A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN, Sergio Martino's THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARD, and YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED DOOR AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY.

Some other noteworthy titles are BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA, THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE (starring Anthony Steffen-even George Hilton did some of these) HER BODY SHOWS SIGNS OF CARNAL VIOLENCE, WHAT ARE THESE STRANGE DROPS OF BLOOD ON THE BODY OF JENNIFER? and on and on...

During Italy's fantasy boom that featured Gothic horror and the peplum genre (which had Italian and American born stars as well as a few Mae West acolytes) which bore such stars as Steve Reeves, Alan Steel, one time TARZAN Gordon Scott, Dan Vadis, Kirk Morris, Michael Forest, Gordon Mitchell and Richard Harrison. The peplums eventually transformed into the Spaghetti Western genre and a handful of these stars made the transition. The giallo, the zombie subgenre and the extremely graphic cannibal subgenre came next, then around 1980 Italian fantasy cinema began producing carbon copies of successful American films.

The first example of this would probably be Enzo Castellari's EL ULTIMO SQUALO aka THE LAST SHARK (aka GREAT WHITE during its brief US theatrical run) Castellari's film was so close to Spielberg's that Universal got a court injunction to remove the film from theaters and never be shown in the US...ever. The film starred James Franciscus and Vic Morrow in the Brody and Quint roles respectively. The only difference is the Italian film is much bloodier and the shark changes size from scene to scene-one moment it's gigantic then it's much smaller. Real scenes of various sharks are also utilized. There is also a scene where the shark pulls a helicopter into the water. More Italian shark pictures followed including 1984's DEEP BLOOD from Joe D'amato and 1995's CRUEL JAWSfrom Bruno Mattei.

NOTE: MONSTER SHARK 1984, KILLER CROCODILE 1988 and KILLER CROCODILE 2 '89 from special effects wiz Gianetto de Rossi were similar takes on the JAWS storyline.

The 1979 Australian film MAD MAX started a LONG string of Italian rip-offs that include WARRIORS OF THE WASTELAND, THE NEW BARBARIANS (both Castellari), 2020 TEXAS GLADIATORS (D'amato), ENDGAME (Fulci, whose plot was ripped-off in the American film THE RUNNING MAN directed by Paul Michael Glaser from STARSKY & HUTCH! Talk about role reversal!) EXTERMINATORS FROM THE YEAR 3000 and THE LAST EXECUTIONER to name a few.

There was even a couple of hybrids mixing ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and THE WARRIORS. Castellari's 1990:THE BRONX WARRIORS (with Vic Morrow just before the TZ tragedy) and its sequel ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX (with Henry Silva)and Sergio Martino's 2019:AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK. Many of these films had two things in common-Fred Williamson and George Eastman aka Luigi Montefiori (who also scripted many of the films he starred in).

These films were very inexpensive to make and had little to recommend them apart from lots of explosions and gore. The Martino film 2019:ATFONY is probably the best of the post nuke genre as it is called by fans. Hack filmmaker Bruno Mattei even combined the post nuke with horror and created the fan fave (although not one of mine) RATS:NIGHT OF TERROR. One of the most laughably bad movies ever made with cringe inducing dialog and white mice painted black, the filmmakers try desperately to make them appear vicious although there are a couple of nasty scenes. The ending, which gets a lot of flack, (although I think it's pretty cool) is similar to PLANET OF THE APES....

Mattei, who often used the pseudonym Vincent Dawn on most of his films, is considered by many to be a hack director and in interviews he more or less agrees with this notion. Truly all the films I have seen of his are not good movies but have a charm about them that makes them enjoyable exercises in cinematic badness. My favorite Mattei film and according to Mattei himself, a favorite of many, is HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980) aka ZOMBIE CREEPING FLESH aka VIRUS aka NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES (US release title not to be confused with the Joel Reed stinker of the same name). The storyline borrows liberally from Romero even using the same Goblin score from DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) as well as a cue from BEYOND THE DARKNESS, the best film from Aristide Massachessi, alias Joe D'amato.

In HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD a scientific facility has come up with a cure for world hunger-simply eat the dead! A gas leak (shades THE CHINA SYNDROME) causes the workers and scientists to turn into flesh eating zombies. A SWAT team is sent in to clean up the mess and encounters zombies at every turn. Atrocious dialog, hilarious scenes of over acting, lots of nature footage and generous helpings of gore make for a great camp classic.

Claudio Fragasso, who in a recent interview claimed he only does important movies now, said that this film was originally much more ambitious until the budget was cut in half. Fragasso also says Mattei did not like shooting gore scenes and they were shot by Fragasso in this and all there other collaborations. Incidentally, Fragasso also directed MONSTER DOG with Alice Cooper, the hilarious TROLL 2 and AFTER DEATH aka ZOMBIE 4.

NOTE: Bruno Mattei also directed the hilariously bad and must see film ROBOWAR, an exact copy of PREDATOR. Reb Brown (YOR-HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE) plays the Schwarzenegger role. The movie is so incredibly awful it's difficult to decipher whether it's a comedy or serious action picture.

Mattei also finished ZOMBIE 3 when original director Lucio Fulci fell ill. According to many conflicting stories (the actual story may never be known) Fulci was disatisfied with the footage he already had and walked away from the film as he did not want to do the film in the first place. Fragasso says Fulci was sick and thought he had shot a full feature when in actuality he only had around 45 minutes. So Fragasso got Mattei to finish the film.

Watching the film now there is very little that looks like the work of Fulci. Although the film does have some good bits throughout, it's still a mess and another example of Mattei's "so bad it's good" school of filmmaking. Future director Deran Sarafian (ALIEN PREDATORS, TERMINAL VELOCITY, GUNMEN) stars. Mattei is still at it today having done two cannibal movies CANNIBAL WORLD (2005) and another whose title escapes me and SNUFF TRAP (2005).

With the Italians jumping on the bandwagon with carbon copies of hit hollywood films, three subgenres are strictly Italian creations-the zombie film, which Romero made his own with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Then, with DAWN OF THE DEAD a worldwide success, particularly for an unrated movie, the floodgates were opened for the cash-ins. But the Italian zombie films were unique in that they added supernatural elements absent from the American counterparts.

Examples of this are Fulci's classic ZOMBI 2 (known as simply ZOMBIE in the US. DAWN OF THE DEAD was called ZOMBI in Italy and Fulci's film was an unofficial sequel of sorts), Mario Bianchi's BURIAL GROUND (known in Italy as NIGHTS OF TERROR and also ZOMBI 3-confused yet?), Jorg Grau's classic LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE, and Fulci's CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (known in the US as THE GATES OF HELL), THE BEYOND and HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY are some examples.

In Fulci's CITY OF THE... a priest hangs himself in a cemetery thus opening the gateway to Hell in the town of Dunwich. A town I believe is featured in some of HP Lovecraft's stories. Christopher George and the beautiful Catriona MacColl star. There is a great scene where one of the characters is thought dead and buried alive. Chris George takes a pick axe to the coffin and the spike narrowly misses her face each time he plunges it down.

Giovanni Lombardo Radice also has a supporting role. Radice, known as John Morghen in the States, despises having appeared in horror films although he has nice things to say about Fulci and Michele Soavi, he has nothing but contempt for Lenzi and Deodato. He is probably the most abused actor in Italian horror cinema. His horror credits include HOUSE BY THE EDGE OF THE PARK for Deodato, APOCALYPSE DOMANI or CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE for Margheriti, CANNIBAL FEROX aka MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY (banned in 31 countries!) for Umberto Lenzi, GATES OF HELL for Fulci, THE SECT, THE CHURCH and STAGE FRIGHT for Micheli Soavi. I think he even plays an evil priest in the OMEN remake but I haven't seen it.

Fulci's ZOMBIE, which reportedly made more money than DAWN OF THE DEAD, took the Zombies back to their roots and used voodooism as the means for their resurrection as opposed to the hinted at Venus probe crash from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. There is a famous scene (two actually) where Olga Karlatos suffers severe eyeball trauma when she is pulled through a door and a wood splinter pierces her eye in super close up. Another great scene has the beautiful Auretta Gay scuba diving in the nude and encounters a great white and a flesh eating zombie! The zombie and the shark end up battling it out with both having chunks removed. British actor Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, fan Fave Al Cliver and Tisa Farrow (Mia's sister) star in this highly recommended and one of the greatest Italian horrors.

Other Zombie pictures followed- Umberto Lenzi's NIGHTMARE CITY aka CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD stars Hugo Stiglitz and Mel Ferrer. A cargo plane lands and crusty faced zombies emerge wielding knives, machetes and guns. This is also the first film to feature running zombies. There are many action scenes as Stiglitz and his wife attempt to escape the city and encounter zombies everywhere. The creatures attack an airport, a military installation, a dance studio, hospital and amusement park. The gore was provided by the busiest effects man in Italy at the time Gianetto de Rossi. A typically mean spirited and misogynistic Lenzi movie. The R2 special edition has a hilarious commentary track by Lenzi where he pats himself on the back for the films duration.

Enzo Castellari's father Marino Girolami even got in on the Zombie bandwagon with ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST aka ISLAND OF THE LAST CANNIBALS aka QUEEN OF THE CANNIBALS aka DR. BUTCHER M.D. (US title). This particular film combined the zombie and cannibal film subgenres. Ian McCulloch stars again along with the gorgeous Alexandra Delli Colli and Donald O'brien as the evil doctor.

Originally Castellari was asked to do this film but passed as horror was not his thing. The plot is similar to Fulci's ZOMBIE even featuring some of the same actors and similar locations. Basically, O'brien is working on creating a new race of beings and uses the cannibals to ward off interlopers. Delli Colli saves the day at the finale (you must see it to fully appreciate). The incredible gore effects were done by Maurizio Trani who also did the effects for the zombie mummy hybrid DAWN OF THE MUMMY (1981).

The cannibal subgenre is unique to Italian cinema rivaling the Italian Nazi subgenre of films in sheer tastelessness. Lenzi and Deodato for years had argued over who had actually started this genre but it was Lenzi who planted the seed with MAN FROM DEEP RIVER (1972) aka DEEP RIVER SAVAGES starring Ivan Rassimov and Me Me Lai, a Thai actress whom I believe was also a singer. However, Deodato got the ball rolling with THE LAST CANNIBAL WORLD (1976) aka JUNGLE HOLOCAUST...and the ball got bigger and couldn't stop with the release of one of the most vile and notorious films ever made-Deodato's CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979).

Such is the case with Joe D'amato's ANTHROPOPHAGUS: THE BEAST (1979)aka THE GRIM REAPER aka MANEATER aka SAVAGE ISLAND. In it, a boat load of vacationers including Tisa Farrow (ZOMBIE) and Zora Kerova (CANNIBAL FEROX) go to a Greek Isle only to find it deserted except for a woman seen wandering around the village. Turns out the killer (played with gusto by George Eastman) years earlier was lost at sea with his wife and son. He kills and eats them to survive. He is then stranded on the island where he ultimately kills and devours the locals. The same fate awaits the vacationers. They find a young blind girl who can smell the killer when he is near.

The movie is slow in places and doesn't really get going until the final 30 minutes. The film was severely truncated in the US removing two scenes. One in particular caused quite a stir involving Eastman removing the unborn child from future soft core porn actress Serena Grandi while simultaneously strangling her. He then eats the fetus while her husband watches helplessly in the background before expiring from a fatal knife wound.

The other scene involves Klaus (the name of the killer) feasting on his own innards after being disemboweled with a pick axe during the final moments. The movie was a modest success in Italy and D'amato and Eastman returned the following year with a semi sequel ABSURD aka MONSTER HUNTER. The sequel is more of a HALLOWEEN rip off with lots of gore added.

[venoms5]

THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH 1964 aka I LUNGHI CAPELLI DELLA MORTE

Barbara Steele (Helen/Mary Karnstein), George Ardisson (Kurt), Halina Zalewska (Elizabeth Karnstein), Umberto Raho (Von Klage), Guiliano Raffaelli (Count Humboldt), Nello Pazzafini (Monk)

Adele Karnstein is condemned to burn at the stake for suspicion of witchcraft as well as the murder or Count France, the brother of Count Humboldt. Soldiers search for Adele's oldest daughter, Helen Karnstein, also suspected of witchery. She secretly enters the room of Count Humboldt and begs for her mother's freedom proclaiming that she is in fact innocent and that someone else murdered the Count; someone living within the castle. Humboldt promises to delay the burning should Helen give her body to him. She does, but the execution is carried out anyway. As she burns, Adele promises that a plague and a curse will befall the castle of Humboldt and the villages around it. Helen tries to escape but is caught and murdered by Humboldt. Years later a plague indeed penetrates the castle laying waste to the surrounding villagers. Count Humboldt, now riddled with fear and sickness, along with his son enter the chapel during a violent thunderstorm to hear passages from the bible. At that time, a lightning bolt strikes the tomb of Helen Karnstein cracking it open. Suddenly, the doors of the church swing open and a mysterious woman enters; a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Helen Karnstein. Thus begins the vengeance of the witch.

THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (1964) is a nice companion piece to Margheriti's other B/W Gothic horror romp, CASTLE OF BLOOD (1963). Owing much to the style of Mario Bava and his big hit THE MASK OF SATAN (1959; and not forgetting Ricardo Freda's I, VAMPIRI from 1956 which Bava also worked on), Italian Gothic horror of the 1960s had a flair that could stand with the best of Hammer Productions in England. Like the Gothic horror films emerging from Mexico around the same time, the most foreboding and intrinsic entries were often the B/W features.

THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (1964) has a number of atmospheric sequences that adds layers of dread that possibly would be lost had the film been shot in color. The scenes in the musty tombs, the opening execution as Adele makes her way around the elaborate maze of wood and twigs; the fire engulfing them around her till she climbs a large cross itself becoming consumed by the surrounding flames. Possibly the best sequence in the entire movie is where Humboldt and his son make their way to the church during a violent storm. Humboldt, realizing an innocent woman was executed, is near death. When the priest says "On the day of judgment, the dead shall return to life...", the doors swing open and a strange woman enters amidst thunderclaps, flashes of lightning and pouring rain. Humboldt shudders in horror then dies. Another nice bit occurs earlier. When Humboldt learns who murdered his brother, he descends the stairs of his castle to the catacombs below to beg forgiveness from the remains of Adele. Her corpse begins to move as if it breaths. Humboldt runs away fearing she has returned from the dead. We then see that the movement is from a group of rats gnawing away at what little morsel can be had from the skeletal remains.

After the 40 minute mark, the film slows down its pace a bit when Mary (Steele), the strange woman who entered the church on the night of Humboldt's death, enters the picture. Kurt, having forced Elizabeth Karnstein to marry him, now lusts after the young and beautiful Mary. But for the Nobleman to be caught in an adulterous affair is punishable by death. A plan is put into effect to murder Elizabeth by drugging her long enough to bury her alive then return her body to her room. The supernatural elements are still present (albeit in a spooky soap opera sort of way) but not to the effect seen in the first third of the movie. During the final 10 minutes, the horror returns and culminates in a suitably shocking and interesting version of poetic justice that recalls the later THE WICKER MAN (1973).

All the necessary ingredients to make one of these spooky oldeworld horror films is on hand here--a wrongful death/burning of a witch, the eerie castle, hidden passageways, ghosts and like MASK OF SATAN (1959), there's a hint of necrophilia present. When it turns out that Elizabeth is apparently alive leading Kurt to believe that she is a ghost returned to take revenge on him, he begins to slowly descend into madness. But the real phantom is closer than he thinks and all is revealed during the final moments.

Barbara Steele was a striking beauty with an unusually sensual face. According to the booklet that came inside the DVD keepcase, Steele exposes one of her breasts during one of the love scenes. However, during the scene, a cut takes place just before Ardisson covers Mary's face with her hair before ripping her top away. It would seem to be a stand in as you never see Steele's face during this brief scene. Having turned her back on Hollywood at the time, she turned to Italy and made a nice career in Italian horror for a number of years before returning to America where she got little work mostly in the horror or fantasy field. Her best is undoubtedly her dual role in the groundbreaking THE MASK OF SATAN (1959) followed by Roger Corman's THE PIT & THE PENDULUM (1961) and subsequent Euro horror such as THE HORRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK (1962), the aforementioned CASTLE OF BLOOD (1964), THE FACELESS MONSTER (1965) and TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE (1965).

Antonio Margheriti was a versatile talent whose stamp covers most all genres. His favorite being the cinema of the fantastique, he also helmed a number of Italian Sci-Fi pictures and sword & sandal adventures such as HERCULES, PRISONER OF EVIL (1965), a lesser entry in the peplum/fusto genre that is actually part of the Ursus series of films but the title was changed for US distribution. This film had elements of horror as well featuring a sorceress who turns men into werewolves. Margheriti also delivered a somewhat mediocre, but lively film in the Italian cannibal subgenre with CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE (1980) starring John Saxon, Tony King and John Morghen about a deadly virus brought back from Vietnam. When bitten, the effect causes the victim to crave human flesh. The ragtag group of cannibals are pursued by the police armed with flame throwers and cornered in the sewer system.

Margheriti peppers THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (1964) with interesting characters and situations and although the action slows down a bit during the last half, the suspenseful second half benefits from these interactions. The film is also enhanced by a hauntingly beautiful score that reminds me a lot of the later score for Hammer's LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1971). Recommended for Barbara Steele fans and those who enjoy older horror films with Gothic trappings. The ghoulish ending is foreshadowed around the 70 minute mark even though you can pretty much guess how the twist is going to play out at the end but it's still a good, gloomy trip getting there.

This R2 DVD from Raro contains both the Italian and English audio track. One brief snippet of film apparently wasn't dubbed in English and there's no audible dialog present on the English track. The only reason you see any mouth movement is that Ardisson is visible in a large mirror and he is mouthing some dialog to Steele. No subtitles are offered. Two interviews are also on the disc, one with Margheriti's son, Eduordo and another with writer Antonio Tentori. The booklet inside the DVD keepcase has both Italian and English text.

[venoms5]

THE BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA 1971 aka 'LA TARANTOLA DAL VENTRE NERO

Giancarlo Giannini, Claudine Auger, Barbara Bouchet, Barbara Bach

Beautiful women are being murdered by an unseen killer by injecting his victims with the venom from a rare species of wasp. The women are paralyzed and must watch helpless as the murderer mutilates their bodies. Inspector Tellini's dedication to his job as well as capturing the killer brings about danger to his personal life as the killer eventually targets his wife as his next victim.

One of the more well known entries in the Giallo genre; Although I enjoyed it, I can't help but be slightly disappointed with the whole thing. The means by which the killer savages his victims is one of the more disturbing methods I've seen made even more creepy during a scene in which Tellini watches a film on a battle between a wasp and a Tarantula and learns what happens when the spider loses the fight. There isn't much gore to speak of save for the first murder but there is significant build up to each one most especially one sequence wherein Tellini desperately wants to speak with a suspect involved in a blackmailing scam that she may be the next victim. In fact, the killer is hiding out in another room in her apartment unknowingly to both her and the detective.

I guess with such a lurid title and the killers method of murder, I was expecting something a little more flashy in the gore department but taking the film as is, it's quite beautiful to look at with some striking compositions and shots with a few of them having a painterly quality about them. But considering the year in which it was made, the bloody violence hadn't crept into this genre yet. It is a bit slow going but the plentiful red herrings and the aforementioned beautiful photography not to mention the unusual and haunting score from Morricone make it a worthwhile film.

There wasn't as much Bouchet or Bach as I would have liked but the opening is undoubtedly the highlight especially when Bouchet gets up from the table and her glorious gluteus maximus is on display. I was a bit shocked when Barbara Bach was rather viciously butchered. You don't see anything but I was expecting her to not die in this film and her death scene was quite cruel even without any graphic gore on display.

All in all I liked the film but expectations dulled the experience for me a bit but with all the merits the film has going for it, I'm sure upon second viewing I will appreciate this movie on a whole different level.

[venoms5]

NIGHTMARE CITY 1980- aka CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD aka INVASION OF THE ATOMIC ZOMBIES

An airplane carrying passengers infected by a radiation spill turns them into raving, maniacal, blood-drinking crusty faced, hyper assed zombie killers who move from one city location to the next slaughtering everyone in their path. A few survivors try and make it out of the city alive amidst the zombie onslaught.

Umberto Lenzi’s zany zombie favorite was the first film of its type to feature running zombies. They also take up blades, machine guns and anything else they can get their hands on to kill people with. The most energetic zoms to grace the screen pre-28 DAYS LATER (and many argue those are not zombies in that film). Some may even say that there are not zombies in this film, but none of that really matters as Lenzi keeps the film rolling from one great set piece to the next. Some of it is a bit silly but the film is so full of action and sleazy violence that its shortcomings are overlooked.

A very cold, mysoginistic and brutal movie. Like many of Lenzi's movies, it makes one wonder if, like Fulci, Lenzi bore some distaste towards women. The most vicious scenes of violence are all committed on females here with a couple of breast sliced off, eyes gouged out, heads blasted away and throats slashed.

Only Hugo Stiglitz threatens to bring it all down but Lenzi pours on the gore and violence so thick you don't have time to be affected by Stiglitz's half-hearted performance. Lenzi did not want to use him but had no choice in the matter. Mel Ferrer is on hand as the military General trying to get the situation under control. Ferrer must have enjoyed going overseas as he put in numerous appearances in many Italian horror and adventure films. It would be interesting to know his thoughts on working with Lenzi.

Over the course of this action packed film, zombies over run a major city attacking an airport, dance studio, hospital, military installation, etc. Hugo Stiglitz and his wife try and make it out of the city alive as most are either dead or evacuated. For the zombies, Lenzi sticks with the tried and true method of stopping them by shooting them in the head. Even though the plentiful effects are not quite up to Giannetto de Rossi's usual standards, he packs as many of them into the films running time as possible. The look of the zombies is very unique and different if seeming crude, but is effective given the story machinations of how the people came to be blood-starved killers in the first place.

A lot has been made of the films ending. I've never had a problem with it and thought it was quite spooky when I first saw the film back in the 80s attracted to the gory VHS cover from Continental (who had the most gruesome covers imaginable). Many fans say it's weak and a cop-out. I don't see how. I mean the ending fits with the films title. How would they have it end? It was quite nerve jangling to see Miller's wife plummet from that ferris wheel.

LOTS of action and gore. Another great one from Lenzi and I'm sure everyone here has already seen this.

[venoms5]

THE LAST HUNTER 1980 aka L'ULTIMO CACCIATORE

David Warbeck, Tisa Farrow, Tony King, Bobby Rhodes, Margit Evelyn Newton

Warbeck is in Vietnam on a mission to destroy Vietcong radio towers where he meets up with a small band of soldiers and a reporter. Along the way, they encounter numerous obstacles including booby traps and deserters as well persistent Vietcong resistance.

Margheriti's grim war opus begins on a high note and ends the same. Some very nice miniature work throughout including the opening destruction of a military base and some pretty good remote controlled helicopters passing through massive explosions at the finale. The film is very gory and extremely violent. It's all non-stop blood, guts and explosions until the halfway mark where the film ventures into DEER HUNTER and APOCALYPSE NOW territory. It doesn't remain there long however as it's back to gore and guns shortly thereafter.

I wasn't really expecting much but was pleasantly surprised at how efficient the film was. Obviously Margheriti didn't have a huge budget but that's the beauty of these movies is that the filmmakers have to take alternate routes to hold audience interest and be creative with what they have to work with. Sometimes this makes a film more ambitious than a film with 3 or 4 times the budget.

Lots of great scenes are found here. The scene where the Vietnamese attack with an explosive trap, the opening raid grabs your attention from the start and a nifty scene where Warbeck is put into a cage submerged in the river filled with hungry rats is a keeper.

Former blaxploitation star Tony King is memorable as Washington and has a pretty spectacular demise and it was nice to see Bobby Rhodes again from DEMONS 1 and 2 show up here as Washington's friend. Also Margit Newton from HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD shows up at the conclusion in a scene that makes little sense.

The picture quality is excellent although there is evident wear from time to time and the sound is very good and clear. The extras are a featurette with Eduardo Margheriti who also plays one of the American soldiers in the movie. Apparently Dark Sky's print came from a French source as the opening title is French if I'm not mistaken.

A great Italo exploitation movie and I'm sure many here have seen it already but Margheriti shows how adept he can be at action in this movie. He had already directed action scenes in some of Leone's movies and save for one shot, all the miniature train scenes in DUCK YOU SUCKER! A great talent, I wonder what kind of film he could have done had been given the kind of budgets Leone was given. Either way, there's always THE LAST HUNTER.

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FLAVIA THE HERETIC 1974 aka FLAVIA, PRIESTESS OF VIOLENCE

Florinda Balkan

In 17th century Italy, a young girl sees her father massacre a group of people supposedly against the church. After bearing witness to this event, Flavia's father has her imprisoned inside a monastery where, after seeing many atrocities committed by men, Flavia develops a hatred for them and later joins a Muslim warrior in his fight against the Christians.

What an interesting movie. An amalgamation of historical epic and exploitation motifs, the film is probably the most gorgeously photographed film of its kind I've seen. The landscapes and countrysides are perfectly captured and are beautifully captured on Synapse's remastered DVD.

Balkan is excellent as the rebel nun/freedom fighter Flavia. She exudes a strong, liberated presence equal to any man. Through the course of the film we witness her gradual change from a believer in the church to questioning it's methods and agendas as well as her own personal beliefs.

There is a lot of gore in this movie but it is not necessarily an exploitation film per se although it contains elements of the nunsploitation movies only it doesn't quite go as far as some of those films do. Aside from its historical trappings, there are a number of gruesome moments such as victims being executed from large spears slowly shoved up their rectums, rape, nipple slicing and a cringe inducing skin flaying at the end are reason enough to check it out. Any fan of Italian sleaze should see it although don't go in expecting a non-stop blood and nudity fest as this one is much more than that. In fact, the absolutely professional sheen Mingozzi displays here is somewhat at odds with the scenes of extreme violence. A nice change of pace for Italo horror fans.

[venoms5]

HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE 1972

Paul Naschy, Maria Elena Arpon, Rosanna Yanni, Maria Perschy

Gotho, an abused and very sad man who also happens to be a hunchback is in love with a young lady (Arpon). She is terminally ill and Gotho stays by her side all through the day. After she succumbs to her illness, a scientist claims he can bring her back to life if Gotho would help him in his experiments by supplying him with cadavers. The scientist creates a monster out of a vat full of viscera. Realizing the mad doctor has no intention of bringing his loved one back from the dead, Gotho destroys the lab and struggles briefly with the creature before both fall into a vat of acid.

Considered to be Naschy's masterpiece, the film is visually striking, but like so many other Spanish horrors, the narrative is muddled and bewildering. Naschy is excellent in the role of the hunchback Gotho and the scenes where children throw rocks at him or he is verbally abused by adults are quite poignant. The big problem is that Gotho is too quick to lop off someone's head or sever limbs from torso's to feel very much sympathy for him. At the outset you see Gotho slicing off limbs from dead cadavers in the morgue he works in. These scenes are at odds with the ones that are supposed to create compassion for his character. If the film had only built up to the gory acts through Gotho's numerous scenes of ill-treatment at the hands of his persecutors, the film would have been more powerful and the characters more involving. But then, this is an exploitation movie and it definitely delivers the goods.Naschy did in fact win several awards for his performance beating out actors like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing at various film festivals.

Naschy talks of Lee on the commentary track exclaiming how unapproachable he is/was, and that he hates to talk about his many incarnations as Dracula. Maybe he did then but I don't believe so now. Lee was, a few years back, at a FANEX convention in Baltimore where he stayed long after the place closed to converse with fans. Naschy doesn't speak very kindly of him. An interesting note also on the commentary track, Naschy talks about Lee's involvement in heavy metal bands. He says he's touring with two one being my absolute favorite metal band, MANOWAR. I did not know of his involvement with MANOWAR, but Lee has collaborated on two albums with the Italian metal band RHAPSODY now known as RHAPSODY OF FIRE.

Getting back to the movie, the set design is exquisitely gothic and suitably nasty. The score, although extremely repetitive, is quite good. There is also plentiful gore. More than the usual Spanish horror movie although I understand Naschy's THE MUMMY'S REVENGE (1973) is also loaded down with gore. The effects are also good for the time. One scene in particular revolves around Gotho actually cutting away on a real corpse. Naschy says in the commentary that he was given permission to sever the head by the morticians but he could only do one cut before becoming queasy. Another scene that is most talked about involves Naschy being attacked and bitten by live rats. The scene cuts rather quickly so it is difficult to see anything but Naschy did have protective clothing on and had to be vaccinated afterwards. Not only relegated to Italian cannibal movies, animal cruelty extends here as the rats in this sequence are burned alive by Gotho with a torch.

Rosanna Yanni, who was also in Naschy's splendidly gothic, but nonsensical COUNT DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE (1972), is involved with Gotho in a minor "romantic" subplot that is never really explored although a sequence involving the two making love revealing Gotho's paper mache hump is missing from this version, supposedly no longer in existence. Purportedly, dupes of this title contain this scene. Sadly, we do not get a glimpse of Yanni's assets here as you do in the former film.

Maria Perschy is wasted here and has little to do. Maria Arpon, Virgina in TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD, also has little to do here as Gotho's doomed love interest. She's only in the movie for a brief time other than playing a corpse the remainder of the film. She was apparently a trouper allowing the rats to crawl all over her face and body during the catacombs scene where the rats descend on Gotho.

The scientific jargon makes little sense and it's never made clear why the mad doctor wants to make a creature out of a tub full of guts in the first place. This bit of the storyline is very similar to FRANKENSTEIN and it was not unusual for Naschy to combine various monsters from the old Universal movies he loved so much. In fact, the monster itself looks remarkably similar to the one seen in the nutty Shaw Brothers exploitation classic THE OILY MANIAC (1976).

Naschy is still appearing in movies today and like Lee having appeared as Dracula more than any other actor, Naschy has played a werewolf (and Polish!) more times than anyone else. His movies may be wildly illogical but Naschy obviously has passion for what he does and his performance here is one of the best he ever delivered.

[venoms5]

ANTHROPOPHAGUS 1979 aka ANTHROPOPHAGUS THE BEAST aka THE GRIM REAPER aka SAVAGE ISLAND

George Eastman, Tisa Farrow, Zora Kerova, Serena Grandi

Vacationers are stranded on a desolate Greek Isle and are stalked by a flesh eating madman who stalks them one by one. It is soon discovered exactly who the maniac is and how he came to be on the island.

Joe d'amato does a sort-of slasher movie with this infamous horror flick that isn't quite as good as its reputation. I've always enjoyed it, but I find it hard to recommend it to anyone save for curiosity value. Too many slow stretches between the action even though the film picks up towards the end, it still has some seriously creepy moments. One of the best sequences is when the group stumble on a young blind girl who claims she can SMELL him coming. During a thunderstorm, she screams. When the others come upstairs and enter the room, she yells that "He's here, he's HERE!" As the people exit and close the door there's darkness. Then lightning flashes and you can see he was hiding behind the door the whole time!

Another bit deals with the controversial scene where the killer rips Grandi's unborn child from between her legs. It's understandable why such a scene would cause such a stir (I believe in Britain, censors thought this was snuff footage) as it is quite tasteless although you never really see him eat the fetus, you do see him bite down on it. In the trailer this scene is shown from a different angle that actually reveals a tad bit more footage. Supposedly this sequence was removed from US prints but in a review back in 1979 from the (in)famous drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs, he mentions this and a later scene that was also supposedly trimmed. Perhaps theatrical prints were complete but cut for the video release? Or maybe some prints got out uncut? I don't know for sure.

The other scene that was removed at least for the US video release under the title THE GRIM REAPER (Great box art, BTW) is the final shot where the killer is stabbed with a pickaxe. His innards spill out and he then proceeds to chow down on them! In the video version, you see him stabbed then cut to him falling over cue THE END.

The effects in the film aren't that great but are serviceable for what must have been a very small budget. Actually, Eastman confirms this in the interview on Media Blasters 2 disc set. There's an axe in the head, a head in a bucket, a scalp is ripped off and a hanging among other things. Nothing overly special but Eastman brings a fervent voraciousness to the role and is clearly the best thing about this movie and the one aspect that holds it all together and the only reason to sit through the film.

The music in the original film is very pedestrian and uninteresting save for maybe one or two cues. In the US video version, the original score is supplanted by creepy stock music that can be heard in old TWILIGHT ZONE episodes, the films KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (1977), THE DARK (1979) and briefly in ALLIGATOR (1980). I actually prefer the music in the US cut as it definitely sets the mood much better than the humdrum original.

For some odd reason the first scene is all in German until after the second kill. In the US tape, this bit is in english. I assume the elements they had lacked english dialog for this opening sequence. This scene is interesting as well as it sort of sets the story up like the killer might truly be a monster. With the first kill recalling JAWS and the POV shot of something emerging from the ocean blood dripping onto the wet sand, an impression is given that this thing may not be human.

Another creepy story conceit is the appearance of an old woman who wanders around aimlessly never acknowledging when anyone has spoken to her. Also the seemingly abandoned villa. Everyone seems to have vanished without a trace. Director d'mato sets the film up very well and is successful in certain areas but the near endless parading around by the cast members seems to go on for what seems like an eternity. With some of this trimmed down, the film could possibly flow better.

On the interview with Eastman and Kerova, it seems to be quite a laidback affair, although Eastman seems embarrassed to be still talking about this movie. Kerova, who looks more beautiful now than she did at the time of the film, seems to enjoy the attention the film has gotten. A bit more in depth discussion on this film would have been nice. There's also a continuation of a Joe d'amato documentary that covers his career and not this film in particular. An audio commentary would have been great. I'm sure judging by Kerova's enthusiastic responses, she would have gladly participated in one.

The sequel, ABSURD (1980) is a bit better and is a far gorier version of HALLOWEEN. It's unrelated other than the fact that it shares the same crew. As it stands, ANTHROPOPHAGUS is an enjoyable movie whose notoriety is more intriguing than the actual film itself.

[venoms5]

CRUEL JAWS 1995 aka JAWS 5

PLOT: See JAWS. Something about a Tiger Shark used by the Navy that escapes and begins eating tourists in a small oceanside town.

Wow! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water after you had seen all the crazy Italian JAWS rip-offs, Mattei strikes back with this really bad, but sometimes fascinating Italo shark flick. And when I say fascinating, I mean in the literal smorgasborge of swiped footage from a menagerie of other US as well as Italian(!) shark movies utilized to tell the story here. The first half of the movie quite surprisingly, considering this is a Mattei movie, isn't very interesting at all. It does pick up steam during the second half however. The swiped footage from JAWS and JAWS 2 is very minor as it's used with fairly quick cuts and it's possible if you haven't seen those movies too much, you may not even notice.

I am often baffled as to why the Italians would make such films so close to the US originals knowing full well that they could never infiltrate the US market whether it be theatrically or on the home video market. They seemed content with continuously making these kinds of movies. Their KILLER CROCODILE movies are often lumped into the same category as their JAWS clones but this should not be as the creatures involved are totally different. In fact, the Alligator movies didn't begin with ALLIGATOR (1980) but with the Thai import from 1979 entitled CROCODILE. A really bad movie about a giant ocean dwelling crocodile that did feature similar scenes to JAWS such as a crew taking to the sea to do battle with the monstrous Godzilla-sized crocodile.

Back to Mattei's movie, there is quite a lot of footage ripped from Castellari's own (too close for comfort) JAWS clone, THE LAST SHARK. In fact, I'd be curious to know if there was any original footage here at all. However, it was nice to see the Castellari footage looking so crisp and new as it is from this Japanese transfer.

It's interesting that the actors refer to the shark as a Tiger Shark when all the scenes involving the animal have a Great White onscreen. The acting is really horrible and is probably why I had nearly lost interest in the first half and wasn't paying much attention when the shark wasn't onscreen. There was one character who reminded me so much of Hulk Hogan. The resemblance was uncanny save for the guy being around 2 feet too short. He had the hair and the look.

Another interesting note is the proliferation of the already mentioned swiped footage. Not only did the makers re-use whole scenes, but dialog as well and also changing some lines slightly such as "We're gonna need a bigger helicopter..." And scenes not lifted are completely re-shot such as the boat scene from JAWS 2 where the girl dumps gasoline over herself before the stock footage of the explosion from JAWS 2 takes over. The most oddest choice of cinematic abduction is the use of music from STAR WARS(!) They didn't completely use the entire piece but there is enough of it there to let you know it's from STAR WARS.

Also I had heard back when this was coming out that it was a TV movie of sorts and I think it is listed in an Italian horror book of mine as a TV production. Possibly when theatrical play was not an option (as this is in widescreen) it was sold to television. The gore is minimal and as bad as Mattei's movies tend to often be, there's always something strangely compelling about them (except for RATS...it's difficult for me to make it through that one...) and as slow and dull as the first half is, I'd rather give this one another spin than sit through one of Sci-Fi Channels Shark ****ters of the Week. Nowhere near as fun as Mattei's HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD (I can watch that one over and over again...love that movie...) or as well made as his WOMEN'S CAMP 119, but the latter half yields some fun and it's a shame Mattei couldn't have wrangled some better actors although the Hulk Hogan look-alike provides some chuckles.

[venoms5]

NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF 1980 aka EL RETORNO DEL HOMBRE LOBO aka THE CRAVING

Paul Naschy, Julia Saly

Directed by Jacinto Molina (Naschy)

The Countess Erzebeth Bathory de Nadasdy is executed for her satanistic crimes along with her brother and Waldemar Daninsky. Flash forward several hundred years and three young women traveling in the Carpathians end up at a mysterious castle. One of the girls is a satanist who wishes to resurrect the Countess using the blood of her female companions as the sacrifice. Meanwhile, two graverobbers open the tomb of Waldemar Daninsky and remove the silver dagger from his chest bringing him back to life as well. Bathory plans to unleash the Devil unto the world but Daninsky does not wish to be her slave again and does battle with her in the hopes of freeing himself from his werewolf curse.

Naschy directs his eighth appearance as Polish wolfman Waldemar Daninsky in what is essentially a remake of WEREWOLF SHADOW (1972; aka WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN) and also re-creating scenes from some of his previous wolfman movies. What is interesting here is the amount of gothic atmosphere on display which definitely enhances the lackluster werewolf attack scenes; The weakest aspect of the film save for the finale. The scenes of Daninsky attacking various villagers are lazily handled but this is amended for the ending where the wolfman battles it out against Bathory.

The make up is very good this time out most especially for Naschy's wolfman character. The scene where the Countess is resurrected is an R rated re-creation of the same scene in DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966). As per most of Naschy's movies, he adds multiple monsters to this film, too including a Mummy/Zombie servant which is exactly like the one in WEREWOLF SHADOW (1970). Also repeated is the story conceit that only love can free Daninsky from his curse. This concept is present in a number of the other wolfman movies Naschy starred in.

Considering the wealth of recycled material on display, the only real reason to watch is for the gothic trappings and the cinematography as well as Naschy who is most always fun to watch. Another recurring problem here as in other Naschy films I've seen are the odd and often abundant plot holes that seem to crop up in regular interims. The scenery is enough reason to watch however and Naschy's fans are really the only ones who will enjoy and appreciate these films. The women are also beautiful and like the Hammer films, you get to see plenty of girls in their diaphanous gowns wandering creepy hallways.

Naschy counts this as one of his favorites and one of his best films. It did win several awards as well as accolades for Naschy's performance. Previously released in the US in a cut form under the title THE CRAVING, I saw the film years back on VHS and didn't care for it at all. Seeing it again now, it's much better but nothing overly special. It's never boring in the slightest and the moody theatrics give you much to look at, it's just that you've seen it before.

Daninsky was Naschy's favorite character and below are the Daninsky werewolf films. Sadly, one of them is believed to no longer exist...

LA MARCA DEL HOMBRE LOBO (1968; aka FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR)

LAS NOCHES DEL HOMBRE LOBO (1968; the only remaining remnants of the film are some stills)

LOS MONSTRUOS DEL TERROR (1970; aka ASSIGNMENT: TERROR)

LA FURIA DEL HOMBRE LOBO (1970; aka THE FURY OF THE WOLFMAN)

LA NOCHE DE WALPURGIS (1970; aka WEREWOLF SHADOW)

DOCTOR JEKYLL Y EL HOMBRE LOBO (1971; aka DR. JEKYLL & THE WOLFMAN)

EL RETORNO DE WALPURGIS (1972; aka CURSE OF THE DEVIL)

LA MALDICION DE LA BESTIA (1975; aka THE WEREWOLF & THE YETI)

EL RETORNO DEL HOMBRE LOBO (1980; aka THE CRAVING)

BUENAS NOCHES SENOR MONSTRUO (1982) Not Waldemar but Naschy plays a werewolf

LA BESTIA Y LA ESPADA MAGICA (1983; aka THE BEAST & THE MAGIC SWORD)

EL AULLIDO DEL DIABLO (1988; aka HOWL OF THE DEVIL)

LICANTROPO (1996; the return of the Daninsky character; aka LYCANTHROPUS)

[venoms5]

VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES 1972 aka LA REBELION DE LAS MUERTAS

Paul Naschy, Romy, Mirta Miller, Vic Winner, Maria Kosti

Directed by Leon Klimovsky

Bodies turn up missing from a morgue and murders baffle detectives. It all leads to a Satanist plot to gain immortality by an evil witch doctor using voodoo as well Thugee Indian ritualistic style slayings to accomplish his goal.

Delirious, confusing, hallucinatory and irrational describe this nutty Naschy movie. It's simultaneously awful but strangely alluring in it's complete disregard for logic and inability to focus on one idea for longer than a few minutes at the time before plopping another plot contrivance into your lap. The above synopsis is the best I could make out for this one as there are is always something going on on screen and even Naschy himself says in his excellent memoirs that he wasn't quite sure what he was thinking when he did this one. It is never boring, however. The character of Elvira played by Romy sums it up best with this dialog exchange at an 1:02 minutes into the film, "What's happening here?!! What's this all about?!!"

Naschy is the reason to watch though playing three roles here. One as the Indian guru Krishna(!), another as his scarred brother Kantaka and also as the Devil in a nightmare sequence that is unintentionally funny. In addition to the totally wacky storyline, the acting is pretty bad for the most part but again, the film is all over the place so this does not hamper the film at all only adding to the campiness of the whole affair. The music almost sinks the film though sounding like it was taken from a spy or detective movie. It's all jazz and seems woefully out of place especially in some of the murder scenes. But this too, adds unwittingly to the enjoyment to this unconventional zombie flick. There are some very nice moments as well. Mostly involving the make up.

One scene recalls Ossorio's TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD (1970) in a morgue in which a zombie rises from a slab covered in a sheet to kill an unsuspecting attendant with a soda can(!) no less. A very eerie decapitation scene is the highlight of the film in which Elvira (the dubber pronounces the name Elvira, but the subtitles say Elvire) encounters an old woman in a basement standing up smiling. As she approaches her, she nudges her shoulder then her head falls to the side!

Another scene recalls RETURN OF COUNT YORGA (1971) where two bumbling cops are beset upon by three zombie women in a graveyard. The zombies are controlled by a strange guy who wears an assortment of Halloween masks before each voodoo murder or Thugee styled murder scene. It's almost like there were two different movies being made at once-one the voodoo angle and the other a crime story which appear to be slapped together rather haphazardly. Apparently animal rights didn't exist in Spain either as there is a rather unsettling chicken decapitation during a Baron Samedi-zombie resurrection ritual.

Towards the end, Naschy attempts to explain the entire plot to Elvira but by then you're so numb by all the out-of-left-field shenanigans that making sense of the storyline at this point no longer matters. Then, to throw further kinks into the mix, a final revelation is revealed that seems tacked on at the last minute. The final credits are a hoot as well with pics of the cast matched to their names in big, bold red titles with an even more weird and psychedelic end credit music playing.

This may not be a very GOOD movie, but it is a very ENJOYABLE one and I'd watch it again before I'd sit through the recycled gothic horror of NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF (1980). Although WEREWOLF is the better movie, it's not quite as fun nor is it as original as VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES (1972). I highly recommend it to Naschy fans only as it probably won't appeal to casual horror fans nor will it appeal to fans of Romero or Italo zombie gut munchers. Fans of zombie cinema may get a kick out of it as well just don't expect any flesh eating zombies here. Naschy appeared in another zombie flick the following year entitled BEYOND THE LIVING DEAD.

[venoms5]

THE WEREWOLF & THE YETI 1975 aka LA MALDICION DE LA BESTIA aka NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST

Paul Naschy, Sylvia Solar

Directed by Miguel Iglesias Bonns

An expedition into the Snow covered mountains of Tibet to find the legendary Yeti turns into a nightmare as the group are set upon my castle dwelling bandits and their queen. Meanwhile, Daninsky is transformed into a werewolf after an encounter with two cannibal-vampire women. The expedition must contend with the bandits, the werewolf and finally, the Yeti during the closing moments of the film.

Naschy's eighth Daninsky role sees him in an unusual film yet again. This film has everything in a veritable monster stew and is filled with action. At least the way I remember it. I haven't seen the film since I sold the old Super Video VHS (kicking myself for that one now) but I was inspired to write a review of it after seeing two other Naschy films Halloween night. At the time it was my favorite Naschy movie and it still stands as a favorite although his HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE (1972) is ahead by a hair. The Super Video release was supposed to be uncut and it did feature numerous scenes of gore and plentiful nudity. I remember the skin flaying scene was troublesome for the UK release.

The plot again is a bit of a mess and the Yeti angle seems tacked on but then the original title makes no mention of the creature anyways. In the film, Naschy joins the expedition to find the Yeti only for he and his guide to become lost in a snow storm. The two end up in a cave occupied by two women. In a sex scene bordering on hardcore, Naschy has intercourse with both women at the same time. He later awakens to see the two women eating the remains of his friend. One of the female monsters bites him but he manages to kill them both. Inflicted with the werewolf curse, he begins snuffing out members of the search party as well as the mountain bandits who also have interest in the torture and murder of the mountain interlopers.

I remember one character impaled onto a spear in the snow from either his side or his buttocks and exiting his shoulder dying a slow death. When Naschy and his remaining party are captured, they are taken to the castle of the villains where the leader, a nasty sorceress of sorts, Wandesa, enjoys having her captives flayed alive. Naturally, Naschy and friends escape and some exciting fight scenes take place with Naschy in human form. Oh, there's also a magic red(?) flower that can cure the werewolf curse. During the final 30 second wrestling match with the Yeti, the young lady finds the flower and mixes it with her blood feeding it to Daninsky freeing him of the curse. Again, the notion of love saving the savage beast appears. This is also the only Naschy werewolf film where he doesn't die.

An enjoyable and rousing romp with a number of standout scenes. The sex scene for one is strong for the time and the inclusion of vampire cannibal women with the ability to turn a man into a werewolf(!) is a typically wacky concept generally found in Naschy's movies. The skin flaying scene is suitably nasty and the duel between Daninsky and the main heavy towards the end is quite exciting and well staged, at least I remember it being so.

I think this one has already been remastered and released on Spanish video so this is one title I'm really looking forward to although I imagine the graphic sex scene is more than likely missing from the Spanish release. BEAST & THE MAGIC SWORD (1983), one of Naschy's numerous Spain/Japan co-productions is also eagerly awaited and in his memoirs it's listed as his best werewolf picture.

I really loved NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST and despise the fact that I sold it years back along with the forgettable Naschy movie THE FURY OF THE WOLFMAN (1970) as well as numerous other OOP titles. Hopefully, a US DVD release of this isn't too far around the corner.

[venoms5]

HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB 1972 aka EL ESPANTO SURGE DE LA TUMBA

Paul Naschy, Emma Cohen, Vic Winner, Helga Line

***SPOILERS BELOW***

Alaric Du Marnac and his evil follower, Mabille are executed by decapitation for their alliance with the Devil and despicable crimes against humanity. Before Alaric is killed, he places a curse on the descendants of his brother Armand and another relative, Andre Roland. Centuries later, Hugo Du Marnac and a group of friends interested in his lineage, partake in a seance to speak with his long dead kin. They learn of the location where his decapitated head has been buried and dig it up. For Alaric to live again, his head must be rejoined with his body. Mabille, his wicked lover, is also resurrected and the two apostates unleash their revenge on the descendants of Marnac.

As in many of his other movies, Naschy plays multiple roles essaying three here. Naschy plays Alaric, Armand Du Marnac, the brother of Alaric and Hugo, the disbelieving descendant of Alaric. During the seance, odd things happen and Hugo passes them off as parlor tricks. His main interest in locating his devil worshipping relation is the rumored buried treasure. As in his other movies, Naschy shows little interest in his human performances reserving his vivacity for his non-human or demonic roles.

Calos Aured returns after directing Naschy in three other pictures in 1973 (among them BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL aka HOUSE OF PSYCHOTIC WOMEN and VENGEANCE OF THE MUMMY, one of Naschy's goriest movies) in what would be a redressed version of half a dozen other Naschy vehicles-devilish villains executed swearing vengeance only to surface in modern times and a special talisman being the only means of destroying them.

There are some good scenes here such as one involving Hugo's relative, Maurice Roland, a painter. He has a nightmare in which he sees Alaric in his dream. He awakens and immediately paints a portrait of the warlock holding up his head (the scene is a bit funny as the canvas is seen with messy brushstrokes then seconds later it's a perfectly detailed painting of Alaric). Suddenly, blood begins to pour down onto the canvas. The image of Alaric appears above and laughs maniacally until Maurice destroys it. The image vanishes.

The murder of Chantel is quite violent even though you don't really see much but Aured handles it well enough. Another striking scene has Hugo and company robbed by some ruffians until some violent thugs come to their rescue. They kill the two robbers. One is shot in the head and has his ear cut off while the other is hanged in front of them.

The resurrection scene contains some subtle necrophilic overtones but the scene itself is kind of lazy in execution. There's no ritual or special rites involved in reuniting Alaric's head with his body. The mesmerized followers simply place the head against his corpse within his coffin and voila, Alaric walks the earth again. Another scene that is a bit of a letdown is a sequence involving a number of corpses rising from a swamp to attack Hugo and Elvira. The scene is seen from afar and you're not sure what has happened until they show up on Hugo's doorstep. The zombies are effective enough and look like they stepped off the set of HORROR EXPRESS between takes.

Then, around 68 minutes in, something you don't expect happens but I guess it was necessary for what must have been a very short shooting schedule. The destruction of Alaric is kind of abysmal as instead of having him stabbed with the talisman, it's simply thrown at him bouncing off his shoulder causing his body to smoke. Elvira goes over and places the amulet on his forehead by which his neck begins to bleed causing his head to once again leave his body.

Although the film is bloody, you only see the aftermath most of the time (save for one shot of Line ripping through a man's chest to tear out his heart) but there is plentiful nudity on display. In fact, there's probably more nudity than blood. Helga Line is especially stunning in her flimsy gown and gets down with some tame lesbian groping of one of her intended vicims. The other female cast members get naked one or more times throughout the picture as well.

HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB was previously released in the US on Charter Home Entertainment. EDDE Entertainment released an uncut VHS of lesser quality in the early 90s as MARK OF THE DEVIL 4: HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB and Crash released a DVD a few years back which had 3 versions of the film but none of them looked as good as this version. The film looks better than it really should as like most of Naschy's movies, it's average but enjoyable if you take it for what it is. Not nearly as well done as some of Mexico's golden age of horror cinema nor a fair number of 60s Italian horror, it nonetheless provides a lot of exploitation value and as Naschy himself points out in his intro, it's not to be taken seriously.

[venoms5]

Below is the trailer for one of the most despicable movies ever made, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979). A movie that almost got the director prison time. Amazingly, MGM was about to distribute this movie in America back in 1984 but backed out from the negative publicity the film had garnered up till that time. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT owes this movie a great debt considering that film lifts the documentary approach from Deodato's movie. The film is available in an extras packed double disc set from Grindhouse Releasing ran by Sly's son, Sage Stallone and editor Bob Murawski.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvflno8ydJk&feature=related

Below is the international trailer for what is arguably the most (in)famous grindhouse movie to ever play in America, CANNIBAL FEROX (1980) aka MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY. One of the most notorious movies ever to come out of Italy. Lacking the message and style of Deodato's movie, Lenzi's film opts for audacious OTT violence creating an incredibly racist jungle adventure. This film, too was put out in a very nice package complimented by generous extras from Sage Stallone's Grindhouse Releasing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akxvsGR8eO8

[venoms5]

Here's a portion of an article I did a year or so ago on the Italian cannibal sub genre with special emphasis on CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and CANNIBAL FEROX.

THE CANNIBAL CYCLE IN ITALIAN EXPLOITATION CINEMA & THE IMPACT OF CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST

In 1972 Umberto Lenzi began the cannibal genre with MAN FROM DEEP RIVER. The film starred Ivan Rassimov and Thai singer Me Me Lai. The story was essentially a re-working of the Richard Harris movie A MAN CALLED HORSE (1970) only here, the violence would be more profound. Lenzi would also re-visit MAN CALLED HORSE (1970) in his later cannibal opus CANNIBAL FEROX (1981), a film that was released in Australia as THE WOMAN FROM DEEP RIVER. The film centers around a photographer who is captured by a tribe of savages somewhere in the jungles of Southeast Asia. There he is initiated into their tribe through a series of bizarre tribal rites that features numerous scenes of animal cruelty; Scenes that would become synonymous with the sub-genre.

This film was a melding of styles which consisted of the Mondo movies that were successful at the time (mostly from the controversial team of Gualtieri Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi) and the jungle adventure movies which, in the hands of the Italians, would get a huge boost in shocking visuals to sell the films abroad. The movie isn't really a cannibal movie per se, but there is a particularly brutal sequence that features the death and consumption of a female native. This was the first time such a scene had been shown and in such graphic detail. This sequence would end up amidst other stock footage scenes from other cannibal movies in Lenzi's 'K-Tel's Greatest Hits package' that would be EATEN ALIVE! (1980).

MAN FROM DEEP RIVER(1972) was a success and was shown under various other titles such as DEEP RIVER SAVAGES, CANNIBAL WORLD and SACRIFICE. Under this latter title, the film is missing the cannibalism scene. Lenzi was approached to do a sequel but declined as his career had taken off quite well from the success of the jungle picture which immediately led to ALMOST HUMAN (1974). After the big success of this crime-sleaze flick, Lenzi was asked by the producers to do another movie this time completely about cannibalism. He asked for more money and while he waited for a reply, he was already prepping SYNDICATE SADISTS (1975).

The job then went to Ruggero Deodato. The film was THE LAST CANNIBAL WORLD. The producers managed to get two out of the three participants from DEEP RIVER's success (Me Me Lai and Rassimov) and this film was also a hit thus beginning the debate as to who began the cycle. Obviously it's Lenzi, but it could be argued that Deodato got the ball rolling with his film, considering the steady pace with which the films were being churned out.

Then the big one hit, Deodato nearly committed career suicide with his 1979 movie CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. A movie that is just as relevant now (maybe even more so) than it was nearly 30 years ago. A film that was almost as harrowing behind the scenes as what was presented on screen.

A New York professor (porn star Robert Kerman) travels to the jungles of South America to learn the fate of a documentary film crew reported missing and presumed eaten by cannibals. When he gets to the steamy jungles of the treacherous Amazon, he finds much danger and war between almost stone age tribes of cannibalistic savages. Soon, the professor learns what happened to the film crew after finding their remains entangled in a bizarre means of warding off evil spirits. He takes the seemingly undamaged film cans back to New York where the executives of a TV station the film crew worked for and prepare them for a live broadcast. Only after viewing the footage does the professor see the horrifying truth and tries to get the footage destroyed. All the television suits converge into a screening room to view the last reel of salvaged film and watch dumbfounded at the ghastly horror that unfolds on screen before them. After the last shot is seen, the suits exit without uttering a word. One of the producers declares to the projectionist that the film be destroyed and should never be seen again. As the professor leaves the building he lights a cigar and utters..."I wonder who the real cannibals are?" as the credits roll to Riz Ortalani's hauntingly beautiful score.

Deodato's friend Sergio Leone pre-screened the movie and told Deodato that he thought it was a brilliant movie but that it would bring his career much trouble. Deodato almost did prison time as the visceral tone of the film, especially in the scenes involving the documentary footage, looks very real and is among some of the most brutal movie sequences you will ever see. Patrons believed that Deodato had actually murdered people on-screen not even counting the numerous real animal deaths throughout the film. Deodato was arrested and was later released when it was proven that the actors were indeed alive. The film was banned, confiscated and was one of the many pre-cert tapes literally burned in the streets that was part of the Video Nasties witch hunting 'trial' that occurred in Great Britain where even video store owners who stocked the film (along with numerous others) were arrested.

Deodato was blacklisted for several years and the controversy that began in Italy spread to America where MGM of all studios was set to release the film in America. After all the continued negative publicity, MGM bailed fearing it would harm their reputation. The film did come out in one theater in New York and was a big hit. Today the film is available in Great Britain but in a cut form only. It has since been released uncut in its native Italy from Alan Young Pictures although I have heard that the "Road To Hell" sequence is still not complete. But then this may have been done during the actual editing of the movie itself.

Deodato made this ground-breaking and career killing movie as an outcry against the media and the horrific situations, lies and fabrications they create to get their story...by any means necessary. His child was seeing so much real death and horror on the news and Deodato decided to make a film that resonated this "reality" of real life at its most primal and primitive core. Although it will never be formally acknowledged, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST is the progenitor of the mass produced "reality TV" that hogs television airtime across America these days. Also, the American hit horror film THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT(1999) owes an enormous debt to Deodato's film with its similar storyline and its documentary approach to the material.

In the film, we see the footage of the film crew as they purposely create imaginary scenes of carnage to make their story more lurid and dramatic. One such bit concerns a fake attack by two warring tribes of savages. The "civilized" Americans herd numerous women and children into a hut and thereby set fire to it. When the terrified natives try to escape the blaze, the "civilized" filmmakers shove them back in. Not only is this sequence shocking as all hell, but they even become sexually aroused by the act!

Modern day reporters have gone to near such lengths as this to obtain a story that pays the big bucks. Many of the so-called "reality" shows are "enhanced" for ratings with many of their scenes set up ahead of time to feature scandalous bits of decadence, profane and sometimes violent outbursts against the co-stars to get people to tune in. Take Princess Diana's fatal car accident for example. Her vehicle was surrounded by "savage" and "cannibalistic" paparazzi who were "hungry" for some pictures or a story to "feed" their pockets. The many, many tabloids that litter grocery outlets and convenience stores feature a myriad of fabricated or exaggerated truths about the stars inside. If the story doesn't have enough juicy details, then who will buy it?

Not only was Deodato under fire for the films incendiary violence, but also for its cruelty to animals scenes which would also be adopted by other directors in these Italian jungle adventures. In numerous interviews not only Deodato, but also others like Lenzi and Sergio Martino would lay claim that they did not shoot these scenes that they were either shot by "the producer" or were procured by said "producer" from an unnamed source to be included in the film. Since endless scenes of animals being butchered or scenes set up to appear that animals were fighting the elements to stay alive in mondo movies were quite shocking and dramatically shot in films like AFRICA, ADDIO (1966) and MONDO CANE (1962), then why not include them in cannibal films? Both genres shared much in common and later mondo movies such as the nauseatingly sickening ADDIO ULTIMO UOMO (FAREWELL THE LAST MAN 1978) featured supposed live murder and cannibalism among other things and Climati's SAVAGE MAN, SAVAGE BEAST (1975) would feature animals consuming humans among its highlights.

During one scene in CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979), Gabriel Yorke was told by Deodato quite calmly to shoot a small pig for a particular scene. He declined and Deodato casually got someone else who then summarily killed the poor piglet. Monkey's are butchered as well as other animals. But the scene of brazen animal mutilation that garners the most attention is the scene involving the slow and agonizing destruction of a large river turtle. Even though it has been said many times that the animals were then cooked and eaten, they essentially died for the camera...for the "enjoyment of the audience". It's a hot topic yes, considering the mass consumption of beef by humans around the world. Essentially, these animals, cows, chickens, deer, lamb and such are chosen and executed in similarly brutal fashion for the satisfaction of meat-lovers palettes.

The fact that these animals were used in an abusive way to illicit a visceral response in the viewer is disturbing but really not much different than the average hunter who paints himself up and dresses in an elusive fashion to go out and kill an innocent creature of the forest. Although this could be viewed as a private act between one or a group of people, it's still a form of "entertainment". The filmed deaths of animals, even though they may have been consumed later, was done for sensationalist entertainment that is projected for MANY PEOPLE to see. But then also, even today, on cable there are outdoor channels that specialize in hunters who film themselves as they go out and systematically hunt down and kill animals and not so much to eat them because they are starving, but because said animal will look great on their wall.

Deodato's film has much to atone for but I find the attacks against him as well as his colleagues a bit senseless in regards to such scenes. also today animals are used in horrifying experiments for various everyday products and medical cures. I have a relative who is a research scientist and he has detailed to me some of the ways in which the animals are (ab)used in such experiments for the "good" of mankind. It's a touchy subject that seems to have no absolute answer of right or wrong.

CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979), regardless of whether or not it is a violent message against the media and the violence they create, or an exploitative exercise in sadism that mocks what it preaches, it is a classic horror film and should be seen by any serious film fan. You may not like what you see, but it will stay with you long after you have switched off the DVD player.

There were others that were as gruesome and violent as CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST(1979) but none came close to the savagery of Deodato's movie. The others were escapist exploitation films. One such movie was MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD (1978) which came out one year prior to Deodato's film. Sergio Martino got a great cast for this one as well featuring Ursula Andress, Stacy Keach and Claudio Cassinelli. This one apparently had a sizable budget and Martino handles the material well. The first of his jungle trilogy which continued with ISLAND OF THE FISH-MEN (1978) and concluded with BIG ALLIGATOR RIVER (1979).

Lenzi would be back in the fold to continue his own jungle trilogy in the aforementioned EATEN ALIVE!(1980) This film again featured Me Me Lai and Ivan Rassimov but also has HOLOCAUST's Robert Kerman whom Lenzi didn't have much kind words to say about although Kerman enjoyed his time with Lenzi more than he did with Deodato. EATEN ALIVE! (1980) mixes the cannibal conventions with the Jim Jones tragedy that had been big news at the time. Much of the gore footage was purchased by "the producer" (the film does have its fair share of original blood & guts) from earlier films such LAST CANNIBAL WORLD (1976) and MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD (1978) and also Lenzi's own MAN FROM DEEP RIVER (1972).

Lenzi would then hit pay dirt with his controversial (but for different reasons) CANNIBAL FEROX (1981), released more famously as MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY. A massive hit on New York's 42nd street fleapit theaters, the film made millions and wasn't even a wide release. It was probably more successful than CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979) but Lenzi's film, about a group of college students traveling to the Amazon to complete a thesis on the fabrication of cannibalism, is strictly an exercise in sadism and brutal, excruciating violence against both humans and animals. It was the first film of its type that I saw and it caused my grandparents to seriously consider having me consult a psychiatrist. I remember watching while they were both present. It was just a movie to me but the scene where Giovanni Lombardo Radice gets a "kick out of making the poor bastard suffer...", caused an uproar in the household.

This film was even featured on American television on a special edition of 20/20 concerning violent horror movies and their ability to turn children into mass murderers, and apparently in this case, cannibalistic savages. The DVD from Sage Stallone's Grindhouse Releasing features one of the best commentary tracks I've ever heard and contains separate recollections from both Lenzi (in English) and Radice (The two do not like each other). There are numerous harrowing stories to be heard as well as many contradictory tales.

CANNIBAL FEROX (1981) begins, rather oddly, like one of Lenzi's previous crime flicks as a junkie is gunned down (in very bland fashion) in an apartment building. The reason for this sequence is revealed later and although this subplot does nothing to further the narrative it does add an extra bit of insight into the character of Mike played with vicious glee by Giovanni Lombardo Radice.

Anyway, shortly after the police find the body, the film jumps to the Amazon where three college students, Gloria (Lorraine de Salle), her brother Rudy and a nymphomaniac friend, Pat (Zora Kerova) are on their way down the river and into the treacherous jungle interior. Their mission is to complete a thesis on the existence, or more accurately, the "myth" of cannibalism. "Man eat man is bullsh*t", so says Rudy (Danilo Mattei).

Not long after the trip into the jungle begins, their jeep is stuck in the mud and they must continue on foot. From here, they meet up with Mike (Radice) and his injured partner, Joe. Mike claims they were attacked by cannibals and barely escaped with their lives. Through a series of ever increasing mad spells, it is revealed that Mike is quite insane whether from the numerous drug binges or his own mental sickness or even a combination of both. It is also made known from the dying Joe that the initial story told by Mike was a lie. The two had ripped off some New York Mobsters (the connection to the opening scene) and fled to South America to search for emeralds. They met a Portuguese and after feigning a partnership, Mike brutally attacks the trusting Indio and after demanding the location of the Emerald stash, Mike tortures and murders some of the villagers including the Portuguese he "befriended".

The younger indios' having returned from their hunting, pursue the two Americans and now the three innocent college students whom the tribal hunters have been following the entire time. Now the innocent suffer along with the guilty and one by one, it is the villagers turn to MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY. Gloria is the only one to make it out alive with the help of a young villager. She is found and returns to NY to publish her book. Through this final scene, it is revealed that what has happened to her companions has been covered up by Gloria herself whom which the camera closes tight on her face as she receives her doctorate. Her face emotionless and cold as the gatherers all clap in approval around her as she must live with the horror of her ordeal in the Amazon jungle, the terrible fate that befell her comrades and that this book that she had labored over and is now receiving honorary recognition for is itself, all a fabrication.

Directed by Umberto Lenzi, the film is extremely violent and cruel and is missing any profound social or political commentary that is found in Deodato's CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979). Although much could be said about the racist implications inherent in the film. Whether it was intentional or not, it is there. The subjugation of the lower class minorities (the primitives and their stones and spears) by the sophisticated and well-to-do civilized upper class (the whites and their cameras, firepower and aptitude). Everything is perfectly well with the Amazonian tribes until their world is invaded by first, the violent and highly unpredictable Mike Logan and his somewhat androgynous friend Joe and then by the uppity interlopers from the city on assignment who are ill-equipped and really have no business being there in the first place.

Once the villagers way of life has been defamed and moralistically raped, they revert back to the savagery of their ancestors to exact jungle revenge on the outsiders. None are spared (save for the one that gets away) with even the innocent being tortured and slaughtered. Mentioned earlier, the movie jumps back and forth from the Amazon to New York City as the police (headed by HOLOCAUST's Robert Kerman and character actor Venantino Venantini) seek out Mike's girlfriend, Myrna whom the Mob is also after. Once she is found, they, too head to South America and find out from one of the oldsters from the village that all of the group have been "eaten by crocodiles".

This subtext, again, whether it was intentional or not, (Lenzi does say it was intentional on his commentary) is similar to the current situation in Iraq what with the US government more or less forcing a "less civilized" society (not taking the insidious terrorists groups into consideration) to change their governmental practices to allocate a more modern (and more American) approach to democracy...whether they want it or not.

Amidst all the mean-spiritedness on display, there is animal violence aplenty. This was probably my first exposure to the geek show qualities of Italian cinema and it made quite an impression on me more so than the human destruction ever could. Even still, I cringe at the scene where the small ant-eater or rat (or whatever the cute thing is) is leisurely strangled and consumed by a huge anaconda. According to Radice on the commentary track, the crew became increasingly agitated during this scene threatening to quit the film if the scene wasn't stopped as Lenzi kept screaming, "KILL IT! KILL IT!". According to Lenzi it was he who stopped the senseless slaughter by shooting the poor animal.

In the scene where the pig is butchered in the trap, Mike puts his gun away to kill the animal with his knife instead to show the sadistic nature of the character. Again, Radice defied Lenzi refusing to do the scene so someone else actually kills the animal although as Radice says..."the pig was avenged..." As he stabbed into a bowl filled with blood, the knife went through it stabbing the foolish man whose hands are just under it sending him to the hospital for a serious stab wound!

Incidentally, the only solace Radice got from the experience was promiscuous dabbling in cocaine as well as the friendship he shared with Lorraine de Salle while Danilo Mattei, Kerova and the actor playing Joe enjoyed threefold sexcapades in between takes.

Kerman has said in interviews that he enjoyed his two film stint with Lenzi more than he did working with Deodato although the feeling was not mutual for Lenzi as he calls Kerman mediocre in an interview with him. Kerman is given little to do here as the head detective in charge and it makes one curious how Kerman would have been in one of Lenzi's violent crime actioners. Kerman got much more screen time in Lenzi's previous and lesser EATEN ALIVE! (1980) where he played a soldier of fortune along with the gorgeous Janet Agren searching for her missing sister.

This was a typical plot point in the cannibal films. A character or multiple characters are searching for something or are in pursuit of a missing relative or important figure. At least Lenzi's movie, as well as his initial genre springboard MAN FROM DEEP RIVER (1972) did not feature such a conceit. I guess it would only be natural for the characters to be looking for something because I cannot see anyone going to such a place for a vacation. In fact, such a film could probably not be done today because of the dangers involved. Much has been spoken about in interviews of the hazardous conditions in which the actors and filmmakers put themselves in for the sake of authenticity. Radice speaks of the stupidity of the makers for financing such trips when similar and more controlled locations can be found closer to home. Deodato is currently working on a sort-of-sequel "companion film" to CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979). It will be interesting to see if the film is shot in the manner of the earlier films or if such a film is even completed at all.

Although CANNIBAL FEROX (1981) is brutally grim, the violence doesn't quite reach the viscerally realistic level of Deodato's movie. That's not saying Lenzi's movie isn't disgusting but that the violence witnessed in CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1979) lingers long after you've seen it. I guess you could say Lenzi's movie is like Chinese food...after an hour you're hungry again.

Two scenes in the movie are really memorable for their unabashedly nauseating quality. One involves Mike losing his extremities. This scene had been seen before but here it's in close up and not only is the sensitive regions removed but they are summarily scarfed down followed by the exuberance of the older members of the tribe. This was the first time I had seen a castration scene in a movie and I was 12 at the time. Again, I was viewing this in the presence of my grandparents(!) as it was just a movie to me. I remember their reaction quite vividly..."Good God, what are you watching?!" Needless to say it was a long time before I ever got the chance to see another such movie even remotely similar.

The other scene in question is the slow torture-death of Pat during the "woman called horse" scene. The scene of her hanging from her breasts suspended by large hooks is very effective and cruel alongside de Salle's line of "Let her die soon...and let me die soon, too please" accompanied by the heavily downbeat and somber jungle beating score in the background. According to the commentary, the actress playing Myrna, Mike's NY girlfriend, did the score for this movie with portions of it lifted from Lenzi's earlier cannibal opus EATEN ALIVE! (1980)

An uncompromisingly nihilistic and gruesome endurance test, CANNIBAL FEROX (1981) is probably the most famous as well as the most known cannibal movie especially in America. It was an overnight hit on the grindhouse circuit and drive-ins across the US and was supposedly banned in 31 countries although the actual number is not known. A brief snippet of it featured on a theater marquee is present in the opening credits to the 1989 version of THE PUNISHER. Sage Stallone re-released it (as he did with Deodato's movie) on the midnight circuit for uccessful run before unleashing it on special edition DVD. The print used isn't all that great but it gives the appearance of what it was like to see it in one of the flea-pit theaters in occupied during its original theatrical run.

Lenzi's direction is fine for this material if unrestrained. Here more so than ever before, he lets his uninhibited nature run wild reveling in torture and moving from one scene of bodily destruction to another whether it be human or animal. Ashamedly, this will forever be Lenzi's most identified work even though his eclectic filmography contains many jewels in the crown. He will sadly, and inevitably, never get proper recognition for those other accomplishments.

[venoms5]

Believe it or not, YOR, THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE (1983) recently played on Turner Classics...in widescreen(!) I managed to do a DVD-R of this title just for the hell of it. What an absurd movie but definitely so-bad-it's-good material. The theme song is priceless. Hard to believe John Scott, who did the wonderful score for THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT and GREYSTOKE contributed to the score along with the de Angelis brothers.