Antropophagus from director Joe D'Amato is a pretty notorious movie, mainly for making it's way onto the infamous UK "Video Nasty" list. When your hear about this movie you probably hear about its gore, mainly 2 infamous scenes that cemented its place in the list. I think this reputation hurts the film though because, in all honesty, the gore in this movie is pretty weak (except one scene that I will get to). People go into this movie expecting a very nasty and extremely gory horror movie but come out pretty disappointed at the shoddy gore effects and extremely slow pace...Well, that's because they overlooked all the great and more subtle things that the movie DOES deliver on.
First off, this movie is creepy, a combination of atmosphere, music and a wonderfully over-the-top performance from George Eastman make this movie one of the spookiest Italian slasher flicks I have ever seen. Scenes of characters exploring darkened corridors by candle light are some truly creepy scenes and sort of remind me of more classic horror movies from decades before. There are also some really great jump-scares too. The cat is cheap, but effective, the girl popping out of the wine barrel is definitely effective and lastly, the scene at the end where Eastman's character emerges from the well nearly stops my heart every time I see it! There is some fantastic atmosphere in this movie as well, the deserted Greek town is beautiful but haunting, whether they are walking through the halls of a house or the streets of the town there is always a feeling of something not quite being right.
The Music heightens the creepiness of all the scenes so well. Some might consider it to be annoying but I would call it nerve-wracking. Finally, and most important, is Eastman's character... this man is disgusting, disturbed and definitely somebody you would NEVER want to meet in real life. He towers over everyone with his immense stature, the make-up is excellent in giving him a monster quality. His performance is so over-the-top but it provides the energy the movie needs to keep it going.
If there is one thing that I think sets Joe D'Amato apart from the rest of the Italian horror directors, it's the way he ends his movies. All his movies I have seen contain a wonderfully shocking and over-the-top climax. I think Antropophagus has the best climax of all too. I will try not to give too much away but basically Eastman's character reveals how truly mad he really is (as if he could be any madder) and in a fit of insanity we finally get rewarded with the one truly excellent and extremely disturbing gore effect that wont leave your mind for days to come.
Everything else is pretty standard when it comes to Italian exploitation but I do think it's worth mentioning that there are some above average performances from Tisa Farrow (Zombi 2) and Zora Kerova (Cannibal Ferox) that make the characters a little more likable than your average slasher.
In the end, I think Antropophagus is a really great Italian horror that should be appreciated for it's scares, not its gore. Don't listen to the hype, cause it's misleading.
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