Customer Reviews for
Cannibal Apocalypse
Eat it. Just eat it.
Key lime pie. Spinach. Tofu. Goat cheese. Caviar. My mom's meatloaf. Human flesh.
Some things are acquired tastes. A few soldiers develop an appetite for cannibalism while fighting in Vietnam. Not sure how, they just contracted the urge to eat people. A war disease, of sorts. War changes a man, but this metamorphosis was quite unexpected.
Tarantino fave Antonio Margheriti jumps on the cannibal bandwagon of the late 70's-early 80's. He steers it a different direction though, instead of bloody bedlam in the jungle, these vampiresque savage chompers wreck havoc back in the city. This stars some great horror regulars, most notably John Saxon(Black Christmas, Elm Street)
This has some nice stylized murders, plus a great gory scene with a circular saw. But the death rate never gets to apocalyptic levels, I'm a little sad to say. As far as cannibal films go, this is pretty tame. Still, it's a worthy addition to a cannibal lovers film library.Cannibal Apocalypse
Invasion Of The Flesh Hunters.
Cannibal Apocalypse was a great Italian gore flick and I think its one of my favorites, I love these cannibal films and even though this film didn't exactly take place in the jungles I still think that it worked and the idea behind this film was different and definitely worth watching. The film was directed by Antonio Margheriti who previously did some giallo films, the film had a different setting this time instead of the usual jungle it takes place in the city. The film was about a Vietnam vet named Hopper played by b-movie actor John Saxon who was a commanding officer trying to rescue some captured soldiers who are held in a pit the two soldiers are Charles played by Giovanni Radice and another guy, they are soon rescued but then their commanding officer discovers something quite shocking as the guys are found eating a charred Vietnamese girl and soon one of them bites Hopper in the arm. We soon discover that Hopper years later has returned home and is now married and is leading a normal life in Atlanta but is still having nightmares from that horrible incident from a few years ago and things are getting worse since its been discovered that Hopper has contracted a rare cannibalistic form of rabies he also meets his two old army buddies and they soon go on a rampage eating people, they also bite people on the neck infecting them kind of like a vampire or something. Anyway the film had some neat death scenes and the gore was terrific, my favorite scene has to be when Giovanni's character gets cornered by the police down in the city sewers and then gets blasted by a shotgun which leaves a large hole in his stomach where his guts spill out yes very nice he always seems to have the best death scenes in these type of films. The music was pretty good as well even though it was a mix of some synthesizers and 80's disco I still liked it. If your an Italian horror fan or just love some cheesy gore flicks then I highly recommend this it has numerous scenes of gore, nudity and 70's style action all this makes for an entertaining and memorable Italian horror film.Cannibal Apocalypse
Excellent!
A former vietnam vet named Hopper (Played by John Saxton) has reoccuring nightmares about his times in vietnam as for now he's a married man and living a normal life like any other person. Two of his former soldier friends become infected by some strange virus that makes them hunger for flesh and go berserk in the city causing some mayhem even at a movie theater, Hopper even finds himself infected with the virus joining up with the cannibalistic soldiers to go on a spree of eating people..
Gory and violent Italian/Spanish action horror thriller that also co-stars John Morghen whom is best known for roles in movies like "House on The Edge of the Park", "City of the Living Dead" and "Cannibal Ferox". The film came here to the United States in a cut version called "Invasion of the Flesh-Hunters" but now on DVD it's fully uncut and uncensored with the gore restored, sure there's not much in the plot but there is some good action sequences and some nasty gore effects like the buzz-saw slicing of someone's leg. Considered to be a personal favorite of Quentin Tarantino, the movie has grown to become a cult fave and is one of the better European horror flicks of the early 80's.
Most recommended.Cannibal Apocalypse
Apocalypse? Well...
Ok, I must admit that I was a bit let down by this movie. I mean, with a title like CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE, I was expecting an all-out war between the flesh-eating hordes and their prey. Instead, we get a few hungry folks chomping on a few necks. John Saxon (A Nightmare On Elm Street, Black Christmas) is good enough as the Vietnam vet, plagued by flashbacks / nightmares about his anthropophagic military cohorts. The idea of a viral cannibalism, spreading like rabies (sort of like in Cronenberg's movie, Rabid) is creepy. I just wanted the promised apocalypse! Oh well, I did like the story, and will watch it again, now that I know what to expect...Cannibal Apocalypse
Bloody good fun!
I'm a huge fan of Italian director Antonio Margheriti, aka Anthony M. Dawson, even though I haven't seen very many of his films. How can this be? Because the ones I have seen revel in low budget schlocky glory. Margheriti is responsible for such classics as "Alien From the Deep," "Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eye," and "Killer Fish." He's also the man who brought us several highly entertaining shoot 'em up action/war films, films like "Indio," "Indio 2," "Tiger Joe," "The Last Hunter," "The Hunters of the Golden Cobra," and "Ark of the Sun God." If you need any additional evidence pointing to Dawson's relevancy in the realm of low budget cult classics, he directed the catastrophic "Yor, the Hunter from the Future." If you've seen this disaster, you know how important Margheriti is to lovers of cheese cinema! I'm dying to see all of these films--and a few others--arrive on DVD. Until then, I'm contenting myself with the precious few of this director's earlier movies that have come out, or are soon to come out, on disc: "Castle of Blood," "The Virgin of Nuremberg," and "Cannibal Apocalypse" among them. Now it's time to review that last film. Woo Hoo!
Margheriti's contribution to the Italian cannibal craze stars veteran actor John Saxon as Norman Hopper, a Vietnam War veteran currently doing his best to forget the atrocities he took part in as a soldier. He lives a pretty simple life with his wife Jane (Elizabeth Turner) in Atlanta, Georgia. His biggest problem in a post-war existence revolves around dealing with a flirty neighbor, Mary (Cinzia De Carolis), until his past comes calling in the form of two fellow soldiers carrying a horrible secret. As the opening sequences of the film show us, Hopper conducted a raid into enemy territory in order to save two prisoners of war. These men, Charlie Bukowski (John Morghen) and Tom Thompson (Tony King), are just now earning their release papers from a mental institution. Why were they locked up after the war? Oh, just your usual run of the mill combat induced cannibalism! The two men consumed a few villagers during that raid back in the day, and one of them even took a hunk out of Norman Hopper. Now Charlie's calling up Norm for a few drinks and some serious reminiscing about good old times. Hopper wants none of it. Yeah, like he's going to get off that easy!
Bukowski and Thompson, as becomes obviously clear in a matter of minutes, failed to receive the necessary treatment at the VA hospital. They're soon racing around Atlanta doing what cannibals do best--tearing chunks out of people. The film mostly focuses on Charlie as he runs amok. He attacks a woman in a movie theater, goes on a very public rampage immediately thereafter, and finally heads back to the laughing academy after a public shootout with the police. Hopper, who arrived on the scene to try and talk Charlie into surrendering, also heads for the asylum. Why? Because he's suddenly coming down with a serious desire to eat human flesh! You can't make this stuff up, folks. Well, actually they did, but you get the idea. The ridiculousness ramps up to obscene levels when Hopper succumbs to his deadly urges and joins up with his former comrades for a gory rampage through the city. Pursued by the police, the three men--along with a few recent recruits--head into the city's sewer system in an effort to evade capture. The authorities must stop these guys at all costs. If they fail, millions of people could fall prey to whatever force is causing the cannibalism.
The movie explains that the cannibalism we see on display comes from a virus, which is an extraordinarily goofy explanation but one that Margheriti milks for all its worth. The director, along with scriptwriter Dardano Sacchetti, seem to be saying that violence is a contagious disease that we can cure if only we have the right tools. Sure. Whatever. I, and my fellow gore fans, could care less about theories on the nature of violence. We're watching "Cannibal Apocalypse" in order to witness bloody carnage, and thankfully the movie delivers in spades. It's not as cringe worthy as "Cannibal Holocaust" or the other man eats man flicks that came out at the same time, but it comes close with several scenes sure to leave a greasy residue on the viewer's mind. A trio of examples includes a devastating shotgun killing, a scene where the principals convert some dolt's leg into beef jerky, and a nice flamethrower sequence. Nice! That's not all we get here, though. Expect to see plenty of flesh tearing fun as the cannibals cruise the streets and alleys of Atlanta. Less impressive is pretty much everything else, although Saxon and Morghen do good work in their respective roles. Cinzia De Carolis is nice looking, too.
"Cannibal Apocalypse" comes to DVD with a boatload of supplements sure to keep the discerning gorehound/exploitation fan happy. The primary feature is a documentary boasting interviews with the late Margheriti, John Morghen, and John Saxon. They bring up all sorts of pertinent information concerning this sleaze classic. Another featurette takes us on a tour of the Atlanta locations used in the film shoot. Several trailers for the film, a stills gallery, an alternate opening sequence, poster art, an article on the film's battles with censorship, liner notes, and cast and crew filmographies round out the disc. If you look closely, you'll also discover some easter eggs that provide a few more trailers. Image did a great job restoring the film for DVD. The picture quality is excellent. I'm sitting there watching the film and it looks like someone shot it last year instead of in the early 1980s. It looks that good. The sleazy aspects of the film coupled with the stellar DVD presentation richly deserve the five stars I'm giving it. Highly recommended.Cannibal Apocalypse
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