Cannibal Apocalypse
AKA Apocalise Domani, Invasion of the Fleshhunters
Directed By Antonio Margheriti
Released: 1980
Starring: John Saxon, Elizabeth Turner, Giovanni Radice, Cinzia De Carolis
Running Time: 96 minutes
 
A group of soldiers led by Norman Hopper (John Saxon) raid a prisoner of war camp in Vietnam. They discover two of their missing soldiers there cannibalizing the body of one of their captors. When Norman reaches in to help one of the soldiers, he is bitten by one of them. Flash forward many years to Atlanta, Georgia when one of the POWs, Charlie (Giovanni Radice), has just been released from a mental institution and calls up Hopper to catch up on old times. Norman declines but is later called upon to help talk Charlie down when he goes on a shooting spree in a shopping mall. Charlie is recaptured and sent back to the institution. 

Suddenly, Norman begins to experience cannibalistic urges. It seems that if one is bitten by one of these cannibals, a virus that causes a person to crave human flesh takes over and his recent contact with Charlie has awakened the virus inside him. He helps Charlie and Tom (another POW) escape from the hospital with a nurse (also infected with the virus) in tow. The cops are closing in on the four of them and a violent showdown takes place in the sewer system underneath the city. 

Dang, that plot is a mouthful. I don’t know what to make of this Cannibal Apocalypse. It’s damn near unclassifiable, that’s for sure. Antonio Margheriti (director of Castle of Blood) blends together elements of action and horror in this living, breathing, flesh-eating, and walking disaster of a movie. For all the budgeting and great care that went into the film, it still couldn’t be saved from its glaring lapses in logic and lulls in action. 

This film is really a John Saxon showcase. His role of Norman Hopper, a man trying to deal with the horrible forces raging inside him is well realized. Giovanni Radice (City of the Living Dead, Stage Fright, Cannibal Ferox, etc.) is perfectly creepy as Charlie. Tony King and Cinzia De Carolis are pretty good at playing people infected with a cannibalistic virus. Okay, maybe that wasn’t worth mentioning. 

The problems occur in the story and the editing. The film drags in a couple scenes and the way the virus of cannibalism affects people in varied ways you’d think this was a zombie flick. There is also one of the worst continuity mistakes I’ve seen in a while. It occurs while Charlie is urinating on a teargas canister. 

Seasoned cinematographer, Fernando Arribas, does a fine job with the framing of the film. Alexander Blonksteiner’s (composer for House by the Cemetery) music is outlandish and therefore fitting for this weird movie. Most of the gore effects are well done, including the famous scene where the camera zooms through a hole in a man’s torso caused by a shotgun blast. 

For some reason, Cannibal Apocalypse is being marketed as a classic of Italian gore. It’s definitely gory but it’s not nearly as extreme as it has been portrayed. Also, it is no classic by any means. This is an overrated film but it is worth your time if you’re into gore, screwy Italian action flicks, or John Saxon. Hopefully, it gets better with multiple viewings but few will be brave enough to sit through it more than once.