Umberto Lenzi’s Cannibal Ferox is number 14 in our Video Nasties Project and marks our first foray into the world of the mondo crossover
No animals were harmed in the making of this movie. Unfortunately, this is not a statement which can be attributed to the challenging and demented ‘Cannibal Ferox’. Umberto Lenzi has been accredited with starting the Cannibal movie genre as far back as 1972 with ‘Deep River Savages’. The aforementioned movie contained all the elements which became almost prerequisite for this type of film. Misguided adventurers, brutal savages and animal mutilation were established as the norm and once a lucrative market was found for it (primarily German and Japanese consumers couldn’t get enough and cried out for more violence, blood and destruction with each feature). Directors began to push the boundaries of acceptability and taste with each one, whilst utilizing the genre to insert political subtexts and metaphors of their own. The exploration into cannibal territory was a subject which had been established with Mondo Cane (1962), the cinematic equivalent of a freak show tent, and western cinema’s slightly questionable view on world cultures (in particular those which were deemed ‘savage’ and ‘backward’).
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Made shortly before ‘Eaten Alive’, ‘Cannibal Ferox’ (AKA Make Them Die Slowly) is an exercise in prolonged harrowing and gruesome scenes, however, it lacks the grace and skill with which ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ was made and, given the fact that it was released so hastily after ‘Holocaust’, mirroring the major scenes so closely, ‘Ferox’ merely shadows it excessively. This desire to replicate its predecessor even includes using Robert Kerman, who wears the same costume as he did when he appeared in Deodato’s masterpiece a year earlier. Lenzi has since commented on the fact that the only reason he returned to the genre was due to the popularity of the Cannibal films at the time and that this gave potential to earn some quick and easy money.
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The film begins in New York City and follows the disappearance of a drug dealer named Mike who seems to be considerably in debt. We are then presented with the trio who make up the primary cast; Gloria and Rudy, her brother as well as Patricia. Gloria is working on a dissertation with the intent of disproving the cannibal myths attributed to the lost Amazonian tribes. They make their way into the jungle by means of a Jeep, but when it becomes lodged in the mud they are forced to camp for the night.
After encountering a tribesman, sat eating fat, juicy grubs, they set up camp and in an attempt to draw snakes away from the tent they tie a small animal to stake. In the first scene of horrific and reprehensible animal cruelty, the defenseless creature (something resembling a coatimundi) is slowly smothered to death by an anaconda. It’s not that the action of one animal killing another is in itself hard to watch, ‘that’s the law of the jungle’ (according to Rudy), but it’s the pleasure that Lenzi gets from displaying the death in glorious close up. The animal’s screams and contortions are emphasized greatly by the excessive running time which this sequence is allocated, creating a sense of nausea and discomfort.
The infamous Mike and his associate Joe are introduced; they are fleeing cannibals who they claim mutilated and devoured the genitals of their Portuguese associate. Absolutely out of their gourd on pure South American cocaine, they make for a despicable pair. Giovanni Lambardo Radice plays his most unpleasant, slimy character to date (even when taking his role as a deranged rapist in House on the Edge of the Park into consideration) and when he kills a small pig for no reason whatsoever, all sympathy for him is lost. In Radice’s defense, he wanted no part in the scenes of animal cruelty whatsoever and made great protests on set. Lenzi apparently berated him for his stance on this and in a DVD commentary of the movie Lenzi jibes Radice by stating ‘Robert De Niro would have done it‘, to which Radice retorts ‘Robert De Niro would have told you to fuck off!’.
Image may be NSFW.
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The Indio tribe are now brought into the picture, after killing the pig (yet another scene lifted from ‘Holocaust’), they examine a grossly mutilated body tied to a stake (again, in reference to the infamous impalement scene in Deodato’s feature). This is the man who they claim to be their Portuguese guide. Their presence within the tribal group deteriorates when Mike suggests to Pat (post-coitus) that they ‘make it’ with an Indio girl. This results in an attempted assault which culminates with Mike shooting the young girl. At this point the cannibals begin to exact their revenge.
What follows is a succession of brutal and grisly deaths. The entire movie is scored by Budy Maglione and is a mixture of upbeat disco and foreboding synths, indicating or accentuating the depravity. This remains one of the most redeeming features of the film. The intention here is to shock and Lenzi succeeds in this greatly, but he fails to satisfy dramatically. Cannibal Ferox is a wholly unpleasant affair; exploitative and crass, it serves only to titillate the most desensitized of gorehounds and will always suffer from comparisons with the infinitely superior ‘Holocaust’.
Critically lambasted by even the horror press of the time (Fangoria and Elvira were vehement in their dislike for the movie), it gained notoriety by claiming that it was, at one point, banned in 31 countries. Whether or not this was ever the case is disputable. What is somewhat remarkable is that whilst Cannibal Holocaust was embroiled in several legal battles throughout Europe, with Deodato fighting obscenity charges left, right and center, Cannibal Ferox was released and on the market. The distributors used whatever marketing ploys they could to promote the film, with some posters highlighting the mammary suspension which Pat is subjected to, with others being distributed in plain packaging carrying the warning; ‘Due to the specific and horrific nature of this film this area is not graphically illustrated to avoid causing offense’. A similar warning plays over the opening titles, informing us gleefully of ‘At least two dozen scenes of barbaric torture and sadistic cruelty graphically shown.’ There is definitely a certain pride taken in the shock factor of ‘Ferox’ and this is partially the reason why it remains one of the most desirable and highly priced VHS tapes on the DPP list. A dark remnant of cinema’s exploitative past.
(1:32:59) (alternate title: Make Them Die Slowly — released with approximately 6m of pre-cuts plus 6s of additional cuts, mostly of animal cruelty, in 2000)
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The post Cannibal Ferox (AKA Make Them Die Slowly – 1981) appeared first on Zombie Hamster.