Film Review: RAW (2016)

Cannibal films don’t get as subversive as the French horror film Raw (2016), a new look at cannibalism from the mind of writer/director Julia Ducournau.  Garance Marillier is Justine, a first year freshmen at one of the very best Vet schools in the world.  It also just so happens to be where her older sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) is also enrolled as it is in the family business which includes the fact that Justine and her whole family are vegetarians.  When Justine gets to school her and her fellow freshmen are subject to hazing which includes eating rabbit livers.  At first, the eating of meat causes her to have and allergic reaction but then she starts to have uncontrollable cravings for meat.  

Everything changes when she has the taste of human flesh and then her world is turned upside down.  It is only her sister Alexia that can help her but will she accept guidance from a sister whom she’s had great animosity towards and can she really find a way to stop the cravings before they consume her?

Ducournau crafts a slow burn of a thriller in which you watch Justine’s transformation into cannibal and is her coming of age story as the cravings allow her to drop her guard and experience life like she never has before.

The film is definitely not for everyone as like many French horror films it goes dark and to extreme places that will put off most audiences but if you stick with it you will experience a film unlike any you have before and it will be totally worth it.  Both Marillier and Rumpf give astounding performances as sisters which is at the heart of the film.  This is amazing film that you won’t soon forget.

Film Review: THE LAST SUPPER (2005)

Based on the novel by Kei Oishi, The Last Supper (2005) is a psychological horror film in the vein of anything that you might find in a Hannibal Lector film…except on a much smaller budget.  This Japanese bargain basement production (with a budget of barely $400,000) tells the story of Dr. Yuji Kotorida (Masaya Kato) who is a renowned surgeon who also happens to kill and eat people.  When a co-worker asks him to provide the meat for her wedding, Kotorida sets about to craft the most exquisite meal anyone has ever set their eyes on.

Written and directed by Osamu Fukutani the film suffers from its low budget as it tries to straddle the fence between psychological thriller and gore film.  At times it suffers as it uses flashbacks to show how Kotorida got to where he was and if you’re into the slow burn then this film will be right up your alley.  If you are not, then a lot of the elements that I just described may have you turning off the remote before the end of the film but I have to say that the ending is definitely worth the buildup as it is something you won’t soon forget.   

The film lacks refinement and is pretty sub-par when compared to any of the films in the Hannibal Lector franchise but those looking for something different and can look past the low budget may find an engaging film.

Film Review: MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD (1978)

Ursula Andress (or Dr. No) and Mike Hammer: Private Eye and Prison Break) star in the cannibal film Mountain of the Cannibal God (1978).  Susan Stevenson’s (Andress) anthropologist husband disappears into the jungles of New Guinea and she enlists the aid of fellow colleague Dr. Edward Foster (Keach) to lead her into the heart of the jungle in search for him.  On their way through the jungles to the mountain of Ra-Rami, Stevenson and Foster will encounter great jungle dangers including the locals and a tribe of cannibals who would rather be left alone.  The cannibals are just one of the many obstacles in front of them as trust and misdeeds lead them all on a journey that none of them may soon come back from. 

Stacy Keach (of TVs

There are many different things going on in this film as it is not just a film about cannibals (but that was the biggest selling point for the film in the late ‘70s) and crafting a film in which all the main characters have their own hidden agendas adds a little something to the ambiance of the film in addition to crafting a story that plays on many different levels.  This being said there is plenty of cannibal horror to be had in the film and it will satisfy fans of the genre although many of its charms will be lost on modern day audiences with no reference to this sub-genre of horror film.

I’ve never been a big fan of the cannibal film genre and I don’t particularly care for most of the films contained therein but this film is more than just a cannibal film and therefore may appeal to those audiences outside this niche genre.  This being said, it still contains most everything one would expect from an Italian cannibal film only with a higher class of actors.

Film Review: BLOOD FEAST 2: ALL YOU CAN EAT (2002)

It’s unfortunate that I’m just now learning about the films of legendary underground director Herschell Gordon Lewis as I probably would have enjoyed his brand of gore and humor growing up.  As it stands I can appreciate what he accomplished with his films from the ‘60s and ‘70s such as Blood Feast (1963), The Wizard of Gore (1970), Color Me Blood Red (1965) and Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964), to name a few.  In 2002 he decided to make a sequel to one of his earliest success’ with Blood Feast 2: All You Can Eat.

 

The story follows Fuad Ramses III (J.P. Delahoussaye) a descendant of the original killer from the first film who is set to open shop in the same place of his ancestor.  Of course, one of his first jobs is to cater a wedding from one of the town’s elite but nothing goes as planned as he soon becomes possessed by the statue of an Egyptian goddess.  Now he starts to murder young women in order to have a feast prepared that will end all feasts.  So put simply, this is the exact plot of the original.

There’s something to be said about Lewis’ films from the ‘60s and ‘70s as they are filled with gore and humor and we can laugh at the bad acting and subpar directing because frankly this was common back in especially during the drive-in era.  You watch these films now and they still retain a campy charm because they are so dated.  This sequel cannot be forgiven in the same way.  This film suffers from a lack of originality as well as really bad acting all around.  The humor falls flat and the direction is uninspired and this is because so many other directors have copied Lewis and done him one better, whereas, he’s progressed very little to say the least.

This probably could have worked better as a remake similar to The Wizard of Gore (2007) or 2001 Maniacs (2005).  As it stands this is a highly forgettable film and if you’re interested you should just watch the original again.

Book Review: CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST AND THE SAVAGE CINEMA OF RUGGERO DEODATO Edited by Harvey Fenton

The name Ruggero Deodato is most recognizable because of his infamous film Cannibal Holocaust (1980) but he is a director that had a profound impact on Italian cinema and the horror genre itself.  In the book Cannibal Holocaust & the Savage Cinema of Ruggero Deodato Editor Harvey Fenton puts together a collection of interviews, photographs, posters and other memorabilia to represent director Deodato’s long career in film making.  Deodato’s entire career in films represents a response to not being predictable and complacent with his place in Italian cinema. 

He may be most famous for his horror films such as House on the Edge of the Park (1980), Last Cannibal World (1976), and Bodycount (1986), but he has also dabbled in post apocalyptic (The Lone Runner – 1986), fantasy (The Barbarians – 1987), disaster film (Concorde Affair – 1979), and even several television series (of which Italians are most familiar with him and where he has made a huge impact).  This book not only celebrates the Cannibal Holocaust, widely considered the best cannibal movie ever crafted as well as the fore runner for the found footage style of film making, but all of Deodato’s films and their place in his career and the impact of those films not only in Italian cinema but in film making as a whole.

Contained within the book are two separate interviews with Deodato that allow him to discuss how his films have impacted his career for both the good and the bad as well as a synopsis and brief look at all of his films and television series.  A huge chunk of the book focuses on Cannibal Holocaust’s impact but the book is also an eye opener on all of Deodato’s other films.  There is a huge collection of posters and production stills from his films (including some from other countries).  This is a book not only for people wanting to know more about Cannibal Holocaust but also and incite on Deodato and his many films and his own personal outlook.

Book review: Meat is Murder! An Illustrated Guide to Cannibal Culture by Mikita Brottman

 If cannibals and cannibal culture is not your thing than you should skip author Mikita Brottman’s book Meat is Murder! An Illustrated Guide to Cannibal Culture as it may be too much for you.  Despite the fact that the cannibal film was quite popular in the late ‘70s to ‘80s cannibal culture has always stayed under the radar, at least as far as the mainstream is concerned.  Brottman’s book changes all of that.

Brottman’s book is an invitation to everything in regards to cannibal culture which includes films but is not exclusive to films.  In fact, most of the first half of the book has nothing to do with cannibal films.  The first part of the book deals with the anthropology of the cannibal as well as a look at all the real life criminals and cases involving cannibalism from all over the world.  This part of the book will be most interesting to non-film scholars as it delves deep into where and how cannibalism came to be part of our society noting cases in which it was forced upon a group of individuals (as seen in the story of the stranded rugby team who crash landed into the Andes mountains in 1972 as depicted in the film Alive) as well as a cultural phenomenon as seen in some third world countries.  The book then touches upon some of the most infamous real life cannibals such as Ed Gein, Edmund Emil Kemper, Ted Bundy, and Jeffrey Dahmer, among many others.

The exploits of these real life cannibals segways into these real life caanibals both real and exploitive.  Everything from Psycho to the Texas Chain Saw Massacre makes as appearance in this book and Brottman makes sure to emphasize where all this fits into the pantheon of cannibal culture.  A whole book could have been dedicated to cannibalism in film but Brottman wants to discover how and why audiences have been so fascinated by both real life cannibalism and its film counterpart.

Brottman provides a wealth of information and photographs for everything in the book (earning the title of being an “illustrated guide”) and readers will learn more than they should about cannibal culture and how it has defined not only a sub-genre of horror film but pop culture and anthropological culture as well.