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Anthropophagus
AKA The Grim Reaper
Directed By Joe D’Amato
Released: 1980
Starring: Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone, George Eastman, and Zora Kerova
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Studio: Shriek Show
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The film begins on a remote island in Greece as a young couple head to the
beach for some fun in the sun. They are both brutally murdered by an
unseen killer. Sometime later, a group of tourists meet up with Julie (Tisa
Farrow) by chance and she encourages them to travel by boat to the island
to visit some friends she has recently lost contact with. They find the
island to be nearly deserted and while they are out exploring, the boat is
set adrift making it impossible for them to leave. To make matters worse,
a monstrous cannibalistic man (George Eastman) has been slaughtering and
eating the island’s inhabitants. One by one, the tourists are killed while
desperately searching for a way to either escape or fight the beast.
Joe D’Amato (Beyond
The Darkness,
Death Smiled At
Murder) directs this
infamous and wildly over-hyped film. The attention this film receives for
its two extreme yet brief gore setpieces has overshadowed the fact that
Anthropophagus is a fine Italian horror film. The
cinematography by Enrico Biribicchi is excellent (despite some shaky
moments) at capturing the gorgeous Greek scenery as well as the
claustrophobic interiors of the villa, mansion, and catacombs. The film’s
synthesizer score provided by composer Marcello Giombini (Knife Of
ice) is a creepy and invasive assault on the viewer’s senses. The
plot is a joke but frankly, I’ve seen worse setups for horror flicks that
work just as well as this one. Cannibalistic creature stalks island.
Tourists visit island. Horror ensues. Who cares? Look at that
Jaws
reference!
Tisa Farrow (Zombie) is just as bland and washed out as
ever. A good companion for her is the equally banal, Saverio Vallone, as
Andy, the tourist/doctor/hero. George Eastman (Emanuelle’s Revenge,
Rabid Dogs) is pretty good as the monster, partly because he
is physically perfect for the part but also because he pulls off the
killing machine bit quite well. Sadly, only three members of the cast have
standout performances in this film. First up is Zora Kerova (Cannibal
Ferox) who plays the slightly psychic and somewhat psychotic,
Carol, the film’s official doomsayer. Next is Margaret Mazzantini as Rita,
the blind girl driven beyond reason by the creature. And finally, Rubina
Rey, who plays Irina, the mysterious and ghostly woman wandering around
the village, and manages to pull off a good performance without having a
single line of dialogue!
Ever since this film has resurfaced in its uncut form here in the States,
I have yet to read a good review of it. One of the problems is that
Anthropophagus has almost always been labeled as a gore film but
its merits shoot far beyond the fetus eating and the gut munching.
Obviously, these two scenes stick out and are clearly the money shots of
the effects crew but this movie has some seriously heavy foreshadowing and
menace throughout its running time.
Yes, the film has plenty of issues: the barebones plot, the
mediocre lead actors playing pointless characters, the paltry production values, and the other gore
effects (trust me, there are other gore effects) are clunky as hell; yet I
still can’t help but recommend this film to fans of Italian horror and
anyone else who appreciates early 80s fright flicks. Not every viewer will
walk away pleased with
Anthropophagus but don’t let the film’s reputation as an
all out gorefest
or as a “lost” cinematic marvel mislead you, this is just good
stuff.
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DVD Stuff:
Anthropophagus looks amazing in its 1.66:1 aspect ratio with some
graininess but very little print damage. The audio however is
disappointing. The English dub is a loud/quiet affair with loud music and
sound effects but with quiet muffled dialogue. Once I realized that I was
trying to lip read during the film, I switched to the Italian dub with
English subtitles. The Italian track is much clearer but still awfully
quiet.
As far as extras are concerned, anyone who calls themselves a D’Amato fan
must get this disc immediately. On the first disc, there are trailers for
other Shriek Show trailers as well as Promo trailers for
Anthropophagus.
Disc 2 is loaded! There is a feature called “Joe D’Amato Totally Uncut 2”
which is over an hour of interviews with the director, George Eastman, and
even Ivan Rassimov (score!) plus clips from tons of his films. There is
also a 2005 public appearance from George Eastman and Zora Kerova (who
looks great 25 years later, by the way) where they discuss working with
D’Amato and their experiences on the set of
Anthropophagus.
There is a photo gallery, more trailers, and some Easter eggs worth
searching for: an interview with Sergio Garrone (Lover Of The
Monster) and a slew of D’Amato trailers.
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Links:
Get this DVD from
Xploited Cinema.
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