Joe D'Amato's Antropophagus (as it is titled on screen) is a movie I had heard of for years as being one of the sickest ever made. Needless to say, I had to see it for myself. I kind of wish I hadn't, as the movie is so dull and stupid the near legendary reputation it had is now obliterated.
A group of people travel to a Greek island for a vacation and find it deserted. They are eventually picked off one by one by a cannibalistic psycho (George Eastman). That's it. Oh well, plot is not something I necessarily look for in an Italian gut-muncher, but even the least demanding fan has his or her limits. How many scenes of characters walking around can one take? How much banality must one sit through to get to the next gore sequence?
Two scenes gave this movie it's notoriety. The first and most infamous scene involves the cannibal monster removing a pregnant woman's unborn baby and eating it. This scene is more of a straight-up gross-out than a truly effective horror moment, though the setting (a dimly lit crypt) gives it a creepy atmosphere. The second is the finale in which the monster eats his own intestines. This, however, falls short of being truly as repulsive as it sounds, because all the guy does is stick the guts in his mouth and keel over dead. I was waiting for him to gulp down a mouthful and see it ooze from the open wound in his belly.
The gore scenes deliver, and the movie has a few moments that boast an effectively seedy atmosphere, but that leaves you with seventy-five minutes of not much, including wooden performances, bad dubbing and inane dialog. Tisa Farrow's mind-numbing performance makes her acting in Zombie look manic by comparison.
Basically, fast forward to the scenes involving George Eastman as "The Grim Reaper" or "The Beast" or whatever he's called as they're pretty much the only ones that are the least bit interesting. I'm a Joe D'Amato fan, but even I cannot defend much about this truly terrible movie.
A group of people travel to a Greek island for a vacation and find it deserted. They are eventually picked off one by one by a cannibalistic psycho (George Eastman). That's it. Oh well, plot is not something I necessarily look for in an Italian gut-muncher, but even the least demanding fan has his or her limits. How many scenes of characters walking around can one take? How much banality must one sit through to get to the next gore sequence?
Two scenes gave this movie it's notoriety. The first and most infamous scene involves the cannibal monster removing a pregnant woman's unborn baby and eating it. This scene is more of a straight-up gross-out than a truly effective horror moment, though the setting (a dimly lit crypt) gives it a creepy atmosphere. The second is the finale in which the monster eats his own intestines. This, however, falls short of being truly as repulsive as it sounds, because all the guy does is stick the guts in his mouth and keel over dead. I was waiting for him to gulp down a mouthful and see it ooze from the open wound in his belly.
The gore scenes deliver, and the movie has a few moments that boast an effectively seedy atmosphere, but that leaves you with seventy-five minutes of not much, including wooden performances, bad dubbing and inane dialog. Tisa Farrow's mind-numbing performance makes her acting in Zombie look manic by comparison.
Basically, fast forward to the scenes involving George Eastman as "The Grim Reaper" or "The Beast" or whatever he's called as they're pretty much the only ones that are the least bit interesting. I'm a Joe D'Amato fan, but even I cannot defend much about this truly terrible movie.