Anthropophagus Impressions!?!

07-20-2009, 03:59 PM

Anthropophagus (2 Disk Special Edition)
So there it was finally after the years and years of hearing the rumors, seeing it on the many video nasties list's, and ages of wanting to secure a copy for my collection. I had almost given up all hope of a quality release of this little nasty, when I found it just lurking on the shelf of the local dvd store begging for a collector like myself to snatch it up! Snatch it up I did.

Despite all the bad shit I'd heard over the years in regards to this film I knew it was one I'd have to see to judge (seeing how Euro-horror tends to get a bad wrap from younger/inexperienced horror fans) , so I dished out the cash and took a dive into this Blind Buy. This is the third D'Amato film I've ever seen and it ranks uint the middle of his previous films I'd bought for my collection. It ranks above Zombie 5 Killings Birds' lame and pathetic attempt at serious horror, that i can assure you all, but it falls pretty far from Beyond the Darkness' hyper realistic effects which I loved.

Anthropophagus had next to no story at all, and even less explination behind the events that are unfolding but like most Italian cinema you just gotta go for the ride to enjoy it's redeeming features. Despite all the terrible stuff I heard and how much hate this movie apparently has for it, it was surprisingly entertaining in a grisly b-movie fashion. Some of the effects were z-grade however and others were very graphic and raunchy which I was glad to see, surpised me after a few of the not so impressive effects.

Slow pacing, bad acting, hit and miss gore effects, and next to no plotting all come together to form the experience known as Anthropophagus. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it yet might require a second viewing as I found some of the atmosphere's and locations to be pretty impressive, it'll prolly get another viewing before I can really say. I wanna hear what you guys think hate or like??? I'm pretty sure I found it watchable, and all the scenes with the creepy cannibal had my eyes super-glued to the screen.

07-20-2009, 04:28 PM

Shriek Show or Beat Records? Both are pretty nice and have different extras! Few years ago I grabbed BR's European release from xploitedcinema.

Well, Anthro is not my favourite, I see it being a bit overrated. D'Amato couldn't decide which type of atmosphere is the most appropriate. That's why it is a hard to swallow mixture of many well known methods of horror moments: creepy crypts, isolated mansion, mysterious island, cemetery, deformed zombie-like cannibal, blind girl, mentally ill woman, horny youth, gore galore, etc. etc. etc. That's too much, don't you think so?
Yes, gore is ok as for D'Amato standards, but Marcello Giombini's music is just a BIG fuckin' mistake, it's so childish, not succesfully Greek-like and completely does not fit to the film (oh, maybe the catacombs theme was okay, but nothing special).
As you already know I prefer so called sequel "Rosso Sangue" aka "Anthro 2". Of course as well as Beyond The Darkness, absolutely unique movie in Joe's career.

Anyway, Anthro is more a great legend than good film, but every Euro Horror fan should have this movie on the shelf just as a tribute to good ol' Joe and tongue-breakin' title!

07-20-2009, 04:40 PM

Yeah Buio I agree about the music completely me and my girlfriend were lauging at the carnival music at the start it was very very bad, it sounds like a mixture of Burial Ground (film i love) and some drunk guy on a synth lol. Painfully bad.

I agree theirs so many missmatched horror elements thrown in, but none of them are heavily developed such as the blind girl being a relatively useless addition, but the scenery IMO was pretty nice. The creepy castle with the underground catacombs was one of myt favourite locations, although it wasn't used much. I'm sure you'll agree its better then Zombie 5 Killing Birds!

I wouldn't mind seeing Anthro 2 it sounds faster paced and more promising, but I think the main thing is the Baby death in Anthro 1 is just as satisfying as you'd imagine!!!!!

Overall i agree with the points you made, and btw how dumb was it that the Carol girl locks the girl in a cemetary..... that was obv an attempt to use up some film-time no doubt... cause it was deff pointless.

07-20-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

I'm sure you'll agree its better then Zombie 5 Killing Birds!

Sure I agree! Zombie 5 is a piece of crap! Just like 95% of Filmirage unwatchable pulp

Anthropophagus · 07-20-2009, 08:11 PM

Anthropophagus is without a doubt the greatest film of all time, I was named after it too. Should have been an academy award winner and much better than that Dawn Of The Dead, Exorcist, Halloween crap...
BTW: Just Kidding!!

CrazyFatEthel · 07-20-2009, 08:12 PM

Zombie 5.... I cant even go there!!!

Mutilated Prey · 07-20-2009, 08:49 PM

Mmmmmm....entrails. Good movie. I have the poster under the U.S. title "The Zombie's Rage".

CrazyFatEthel · 07-20-2009, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mutilated Prey

Mmmmmm....entrails. Good movie. I have the poster under the U.S. title "The Zombie's Rage".

Hmmmm, thats pretty cool! Never seen that poster before! Thanks for sharing!!!

Darga · 07-20-2009, 09:23 PM

So Zombie 5 isn't any good? I've seen most of the worst entries to the Italian zombie canon including 'Zombie 4' and 'Hell of the Living Dead', but not this one. It is lurking somewhere in my Netflix queue though, so it still might arrive in my mailbox one of these days.

CrazyFatEthel · 07-20-2009, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darga

So Zombie 5 isn't any good? I've seen most of the worst entries to the Italian zombie canon including 'Zombie 4' and 'Hell of the Living Dead', but not this one. It is lurking somewhere in my Netflix queue though, so it still might arrive in my mailbox one of these days.

Oh jesus, where to begin on the incoherent plot???? Trust me, it will make you flustered trying to figure out where the hell the zombies came from and why they're attacking the teens in the old house.

russweiss · 07-20-2009, 09:27 PM

It was also released here as Grim Reaper.

russweiss · 07-20-2009, 09:29 PM

My favorite poster is from Thailand.

CrazyFatEthel · 07-20-2009, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by russweiss

My favorite poster is from Thailand.

Lmao, take the best parts of the movie and put them on the poster...nice.

j tea · 07-20-2009, 10:06 PM

that thai poster rules!!!

07-21-2009, 04:06 AM

I didn't much like Zombie 5.. it was awful. It opened as a slasher film, then somehow it turns into a zombie/ghost movie when they arrive at a lousiana plantation. No real reason for them to be going there other then to hangout and take some pictures...oh and be killed in less then brutal ways.

Theirs two zombies, maybe three through the whole film and they look like people wrapped in toilet paper while suprer bright lights cast their shadows at the camera (Think The Fog, Carpenters).

The gore consisted of a girl getting her face bashed against a solid wood door till she spits blood... and this was laughable. One guy mysteriously burst's into flames and runs into the woods, another gets his necklace caught in a generator and it rope-burns his neck until it cuts his head off....which isn't shown. ect ect ect.

Anthropophagus is much more enjoyable then Zombie 5. BTW Zombie 4 Afterdeath is much more enjoyable on a B-movie level.

07-20-2009, 03:59 PM	#1
Horror Junkie Guest Posts: n/a	Anthropophagus Impressions!?! Anthropophagus (2 Disk Special Edition) So there it was finally after the years and years of hearing the rumors, seeing it on the many video nasties list's, and ages of wanting to secure a copy for my collection. I had almost given up all hope of a quality release of this little nasty, when I found it just lurking on the shelf of the local dvd store begging for a collector like myself to snatch it up! Snatch it up I did. Despite all the bad shit I'd heard over the years in regards to this film I knew it was one I'd have to see to judge (seeing how Euro-horror tends to get a bad wrap from younger/inexperienced horror fans) , so I dished out the cash and took a dive into this Blind Buy. This is the third D'Amato film I've ever seen and it ranks uint the middle of his previous films I'd bought for my collection. It ranks above Zombie 5 Killings Birds' lame and pathetic attempt at serious horror, that i can assure you all, but it falls pretty far from Beyond the Darkness' hyper realistic effects which I loved. Anthropophagus had next to no story at all, and even less explination behind the events that are unfolding but like most Italian cinema you just gotta go for the ride to enjoy it's redeeming features. Despite all the terrible stuff I heard and how much hate this movie apparently has for it, it was surprisingly entertaining in a grisly b-movie fashion. Some of the effects were z-grade however and others were very graphic and raunchy which I was glad to see, surpised me after a few of the not so impressive effects. Slow pacing, bad acting, hit and miss gore effects, and next to no plotting all come together to form the experience known as Anthropophagus. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it yet might require a second viewing as I found some of the atmosphere's and locations to be pretty impressive, it'll prolly get another viewing before I can really say. I wanna hear what you guys think hate or like??? I'm pretty sure I found it watchable, and all the scenes with the creepy cannibal had my eyes super-glued to the screen. Last edited by Horror Junkie; 07-20-2009 at 04:01 PM.

07-20-2009, 08:12 PM	#6
CrazyFatEthel HackMaster Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Rowlett, Texas Posts: 1,222	Zombie 5.... I cant even go there!!! __________________ tHaT dAmN dOcToR iS tRyInG tO sTaRvE mE tO dEaTh!

07-20-2009, 08:49 PM	#7
Mutilated Prey Soul Stealer Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texarkana Posts: 5,087	Mmmmmm....entrails. Good movie. I have the poster under the U.S. title "The Zombie's Rage". __________________

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07-20-2009, 04:28 PM	#2
Buio_Omega Guest Posts: n/a	Shriek Show or Beat Records? Both are pretty nice and have different extras! Few years ago I grabbed BR's European release from xploitedcinema. Well, Anthro is not my favourite, I see it being a bit overrated. D'Amato couldn't decide which type of atmosphere is the most appropriate. That's why it is a hard to swallow mixture of many well known methods of horror moments: creepy crypts, isolated mansion, mysterious island, cemetery, deformed zombie-like cannibal, blind girl, mentally ill woman, horny youth, gore galore, etc. etc. etc. That's too much, don't you think so? Yes, gore is ok as for D'Amato standards, but Marcello Giombini's music is just a BIG fuckin' mistake, it's so childish, not succesfully Greek-like and completely does not fit to the film (oh, maybe the catacombs theme was okay, but nothing special). As you already know I prefer so called sequel "Rosso Sangue" aka "Anthro 2". Of course as well as Beyond The Darkness, absolutely unique movie in Joe's career. Anyway, Anthro is more a great legend than good film, but every Euro Horror fan should have this movie on the shelf just as a tribute to good ol' Joe and tongue-breakin' title!

07-20-2009, 04:40 PM	#3
Horror Junkie Guest Posts: n/a	Yeah Buio I agree about the music completely me and my girlfriend were lauging at the carnival music at the start it was very very bad, it sounds like a mixture of Burial Ground (film i love) and some drunk guy on a synth lol. Painfully bad. I agree theirs so many missmatched horror elements thrown in, but none of them are heavily developed such as the blind girl being a relatively useless addition, but the scenery IMO was pretty nice. The creepy castle with the underground catacombs was one of myt favourite locations, although it wasn't used much. I'm sure you'll agree its better then Zombie 5 Killing Birds! I wouldn't mind seeing Anthro 2 it sounds faster paced and more promising, but I think the main thing is the Baby death in Anthro 1 is just as satisfying as you'd imagine!!!!! Overall i agree with the points you made, and btw how dumb was it that the Carol girl locks the girl in a cemetary..... that was obv an attempt to use up some film-time no doubt... cause it was deff pointless.

07-20-2009, 08:11 PM	#5
Anthropophagus Anthrosnuphalufugus Dad Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 3,224	Anthropophagus is without a doubt the greatest film of all time, I was named after it too. Should have been an academy award winner and much better than that Dawn Of The Dead, Exorcist, Halloween crap... BTW: Just Kidding!!

07-20-2009, 09:23 PM	#9
Darga Narcissistic Personality Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,247	So Zombie 5 isn't any good? I've seen most of the worst entries to the Italian zombie canon including 'Zombie 4' and 'Hell of the Living Dead', but not this one. It is lurking somewhere in my Netflix queue though, so it still might arrive in my mailbox one of these days.

07-20-2009, 10:06 PM	#14
j tea Stalker Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: atlanta, ga Posts: 329	that thai poster rules!!!

07-21-2009, 04:06 AM	#15
Horror Junkie Guest Posts: n/a	I didn't much like Zombie 5.. it was awful. It opened as a slasher film, then somehow it turns into a zombie/ghost movie when they arrive at a lousiana plantation. No real reason for them to be going there other then to hangout and take some pictures...oh and be killed in less then brutal ways. Theirs two zombies, maybe three through the whole film and they look like people wrapped in toilet paper while suprer bright lights cast their shadows at the camera (Think The Fog, Carpenters). The gore consisted of a girl getting her face bashed against a solid wood door till she spits blood... and this was laughable. One guy mysteriously burst's into flames and runs into the woods, another gets his necklace caught in a generator and it rope-burns his neck until it cuts his head off....which isn't shown. ect ect ect. Anthropophagus is much more enjoyable then Zombie 5. BTW Zombie 4 Afterdeath is much more enjoyable on a B-movie level.