Umberto Lenzi's second stab at cannibal horror (after Eaten Alive) is a gleefully violent grab bag of gory delights. Penis whacking, hand chopping, head lopping, gut munching, breast piercing, eye gouging, brain slurping: its all there, along with some unnecessary animal cruelty for good measure.
A New York student travels to the Amazon with her brother and a blonde nympho, hoping to prove that cannibalism is nothing but a myth created as an excuse to wipe out indigenous tribes. On their way to a remote village, their jeep becomes stuck in mud, so they travel on foot. Their bad luck continues when they run into two men, Mike and Joe (also from the Big Apple), who claim to have been attacked by cannibals, but in reality have been doing a little torturing and killing of their own; after failing to find emeralds in the river, they have taken out their frustration on the helpless locals in the nearby village (the younger, stronger members are away fishing)! When the rest of the tribe return, they take revenge, capturing and killing the helpless Americans in gruesome and inventive ways.
The brilliantly gory jungle scenes are interspersed with less interesting New York based moments, featuring the attempts of both the police and some gangsters to find Mike and his pal, who have absconded with a fortune in mob money. These scenes are extremely dull, and could easily have been excised, allowing more time for cannibal chow-downs.
Cannibal Ferox is a must see for fans of the genre, but casual viewers should take heedthis wasn't banned in 31 countries for nothing!
A New York student travels to the Amazon with her brother and a blonde nympho, hoping to prove that cannibalism is nothing but a myth created as an excuse to wipe out indigenous tribes. On their way to a remote village, their jeep becomes stuck in mud, so they travel on foot. Their bad luck continues when they run into two men, Mike and Joe (also from the Big Apple), who claim to have been attacked by cannibals, but in reality have been doing a little torturing and killing of their own; after failing to find emeralds in the river, they have taken out their frustration on the helpless locals in the nearby village (the younger, stronger members are away fishing)! When the rest of the tribe return, they take revenge, capturing and killing the helpless Americans in gruesome and inventive ways.
The brilliantly gory jungle scenes are interspersed with less interesting New York based moments, featuring the attempts of both the police and some gangsters to find Mike and his pal, who have absconded with a fortune in mob money. These scenes are extremely dull, and could easily have been excised, allowing more time for cannibal chow-downs.
Cannibal Ferox is a must see for fans of the genre, but casual viewers should take heedthis wasn't banned in 31 countries for nothing!