aka Jungle Freaks
Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, 1969 (Brasil)
Macunaima is a native of the Amazon. Born fully grown and black he is turned white by a magic spring and moves to Rio de Janeiero. A Brasilian comedy based on a book of the same name, the film is in Portugese with French subtitles, so it may be hard to follow by English speaking viewers.
aka Cui Hua du Jiang Tou (original title)
Tommy Loo-Chun (Chun-Ku Lu),
Univers Galaxie 1975 (Hong Kong)
Hong Kong jungle madness with black magic, snake gods, worms, bugs and lots of blood. Some cannibals lurk about in the jungle, but don't really do much.
Daniel Colas, Bel-Air Pictures
1988 (France)
A very rare tape, the origins of which I am unsure of. The names of the cast and crew reads like roll call at the U.N., and although the movie looks like it is dubbed into English, it actually is in English. A scientist gets shipwrecked on an island which turns out to be the legendary island of Urqua, an ancient female dominated civilization in which men were eaten after copulation. Also on the island are three beautiful women, a blonde, brunette and redhead, who are survivors of an earlier shipwreck. The women seem to have become possessed by the spirit of the islands earlier inhabitants, creating a rather delicate problem for the scientist, not to mention the women themselves. Done with a great deal of humor mixed with a fair amount brutality, I am a little bit amazed that this movie is so obscure.
Colossal Entertainment
Yup, this is a gay cannibal themed porn. While I think it unlikely that I will ever see it, I think I can guess what it's about.
aka Deep River Savages, Mondo Cannibale, Sacrifice
Umberto Lenzi
Before Lenzi made "Eaten Alive by the Cannibals" and "Cannibal Ferox," He put out this predecessor to the both of them. Several scenes from this film were used in latter films as stock footage. A photographer on the lam from an accidental murder goes up river into the jungles of Thailand, where he is captured by a native tribe. After passing a grueling initiation ritual, he becomes a member of the tribe and marries the chiefs daughter, played by Me Me Lay, whose film career seems to mainly consist of being eaten by cannibals in films by both Lenzi and Ruggero Deodato. Not in this one, however. In fact, there is very little cannibalism in this film at all. It is only suggested that a fierce neighboring tribe are cannibals. They seem to be more interested in rape and arson than in cannibalism, though. If you enjoyed "Naked Prey," you should enjoy this similar film, which pulls no punches.
aka Manhunter, Virgin amongst the Cannibals
Jess Franco
No, this is not the pre-"Silence of the Lambs" film about Hannibal Lechter. This one is by Jess Franco, the same man responsible for the much better "White Cannibal Queen" and features Playboy magazine centerfold Ursula Buchfellner as an heiress kidnapped for ransom and taken to a remote island inhabited by a cannibal tribe who sacrifice young women to their zombie-cannibal god. The movie features more bondage and nudity than it does cannibals. It is badly dubbed and the FX are awful, but Ursula is a real tasty treat.
Michael Mann, De Laurentiis
Entertainment Group 1986
Another twisted serial killer tale from Thomas Harris, author of "Silence of the Lambs." This is a prequel to that story, and also features the character of Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lechter. Lechter's character is less prominent in this film than he is "Lambs", nor is he played by Sir Anthony Hopkins. Based on the Harris book Red Dragon.
Michael E. Lemick (Michele Massimo
Tarantini), Doral Film 1985 (Italy)
A rather misleading title in that there are no dinosaurs in this movie. It does however, involve an expedition into a valley in the jungles of South America to search for dinosaur fossils. The plane carrying the paleontologist, his daughter, a girly magazine photographer and his models, some other people and their guide, crashes in the jungle. A lot of people get killed before the girls are captured by the cannibal tribe and drugged, stripped and prepared for sacrifice by the natives. The natives are only revealed as cannibals is when one of them rips out the heart of a dying man and then bites into it. We assume they have similar plans for the girls, but a little blood drinking is all we ever actually see. Still, there are some pretty good scenes.
Louise Linton, Highland Film Group 2021
Scottish born writer/director and political trophy wife (of Trump Administration Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin) Louise Linton stars in this movie about a wealthy Los Angeles hedge fund manager who lives in a modern, palatial and very private mansion in Malibu. Also, she's a man-eater... literally! She sets her sights on a grifter that comes with plans to rob her Malibu home; her plans are to show him the bedroom an then the kitchen. An actual former hedge fund manager in real life, Linton got into some controversy for her use of a government plane and for causing Zambia to demand a public apology from Scotland. You get the idea that she is very much playing herself in this movie that she also produced, wrote and directed.
David Silvio, Kiss of Death Productions/TROMA 2004
No budget cannibal fetish gore. This seems to be a movie made to target the cannibal fetish market, but can't seem to get past the usual cinema of transgression gore effects. The story is weak and tries to be arty, but fails at the attempt making it look like the movie has continuity problems. There are, however, some really great scenes. There is a pot cooking scene (in what turns out to be a dream sequence) for the boiling crowd, hanging and beheading scenes, and a great live eating scene. Cassandra provides girls to special clientele. In an opening sequence, a stipper thinks she is doing a private strip tease for a corporate meeting. While watching her writhe and undress, Cassandra comes around and discretely passes out knives and forks. Unfortunately, Cassandra herself, arguably the tastiest morsel in the movie, never ends up on the menu. A great attempt despite it's numerous problems.
THE MENU
Mark Mylod, Alienworx Productions
2022
A group of wealthy elite diners are brought by boat to a private island for a very exclusive meal by a renowned celebrity chef. Early speculation about the film was that there would be cannibalism on the menu. While there is still some implication that there could be some cannibalism going on, there is no overt suggestion of cannibalism in the film at all. Murder, suicide, revenge and other dark elements are on the menu in this film. but not cannibalism.
aka The Mercenary, Mercenary 2
Hong Lu Wong 1983 (Thailand)
Southeast Asian flick about the horrors of the many wars there. A band of commandos are captured by a group of mercenaries who have a nasty habit of cutting off their enemies heads and then scooping out the raw brains and eating them. Quite violent and nauseating, but not nearly to the degree of Deodato's "Cannibal Holocaust," it has little else to recommend it. Reportedly there was a sequel, Cannibal Mercenary 2, in 1989.
Wayne Berwick, Reel Life
Productions 1983
An hysterical black comedy starring Jackie Vernon as a tired and frustrated construction worker who doesn't like to eat anything he can't pronounce. His nagging wife takes up gourmet cooking as a hobby and buys a giant microwave oven in which to prepare some REALLY bizarre dishes. Jackie kills his wife in a drunken rage and cooks her in the microwave. After that, he develops a taste for his delectable dates who fall victim to his unusual form of oral sex. A visit to the Psychiatrist doesn't help. The film was shot around Reseda in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles using local businesses and residences. Best line: "I'm so hungry -- I could eat a whore!"
aka Brain Slasher
Steve Barnett, Fangoria Magazine
1991
FANGORIA Magazine, the New York STARLOG publication which has for many years been a promotional tool for 80's splatter horror movies, makes it's own horror movie. This is the result. It's got Bruce Campbell of the "Evil Dead" movies and Angus Scrimm of the "Phantasm" movies, but don't expect this to be anything like either of those two excellent film series. In another "after the holocaust" premise, survivors have gone into an underground society where they spend all their time living out dream-like fantasies through a computer connector installed in the back of their necks. One girl leaves the protected group to seek reality and her father in the wasteland of the surface. She is quickly captured by cannibals who live in the wasteland, and her father is their leader! These cannibals aren't exactly cannibals, though, because they don't actually eat people. They put them in a kind of giant juicer and drink the liquid (basically blood) out of skulls. I guess Fango thought if they got Campbell and Scrimm from two highly successful movie series and threw in lots of blood and leaches and talked about cannibals that they would have a hit.
Herschell Gordon Lewis, Creative Film Enterprises 1970
The maker of "Blood Feast", "2000 Maniacs" and "The Magic Land of Mother Goose" turns his attention to an "adult" parody of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Being a pal of David Friedman, he was able to use the cannibal pot prop from "Trader Hornee" for some jungle cannibal skits. These skits, about 30 seconds each, feature a male white hunter (in a pith helmet and not much else) and an enthusiastic (and topless) black cannibal woman. She is so enthusiastic, in fact, that she even gets in the pot with him. Much better than "The Magic Land of Mother Goose."
Eugene Frenke, Eastern Productions
1954
Amanda Blake (Gunsmoke's Miss Kitty) stars as a female version of Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe." Similarly to the Defoe classic, she is shipwrecked alone on an island and rescues Friday (also female in this version) from a tribe of cannibals. Since this is 1953, she is also eventually joined by a handsome leading male who helps her fight off the cannibals when they return to get their dinner back. Today, it would probably be considered too "politically incorrect" to ever be shown on television.
Patrick Rand, Epic Productions
1991
A TROMA film? I can't remember exactly but if it's not it is very much like the sort of movie TROMA releases. A sort of vampire-cannibal monster-alien who feeds on pregnant women takes up residence with the mother of cop investigation the killings. When mom gets bit, and starts turning into a cannibalistic monster herself, what is her dedicated mamas-boy son to do? Watch the movie and find out if you can't figure it out for yourself.
aka Cancer Dancers
Chaz Buchanan TROMA 2016
Another trashy post-apocalyptic zombie exploitation sleaze film from TROMA. In what remains of the remains of the world after World War III water is toxic, everyone has cancer, and people survive through cannibalism and drinking moonshine. The fact that if you could distill alcohol means that you could also distill water requires more than a little suspension of disbelief. People that die come back as zombie, the "cancer dancers" that don't need the water or moonshine but are competition with the still living for human meat. The typical TROMA bad acting and cheap FX make this movie pretty much what you would expect.
aka Grandfather Frost, Father Frost, Jack Frost
Aleksandr Rou, Kinostudiya 1965
A Russian children's movie made in the early 1960s under Soviet supervision. One of the characters in the movie is the infamous Russian witch Baba Yaga, who tries to cook for movie's romantic hero in the oven in her cabin in the forest. Later, after the lad escapes, she sets her sights on his lovely young lady love. The scene is very similar to the story of Hansel and Gretel, for which Baba Yaga was probably the model for the witch of that story.
Kevin Connor, Camp Hill 1980
This movie is a less violent "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" type of cannibal comedy with major studio money. Unfortunately, it works no better than a Roger Corman cheapie despite the major studio backing. Rory Calhoun is Farmer Vincent who makes World Class smoked sausages at his farm motel. He uses guests and passers by as his secret ingredient. The plot gets complicated when he falls in love with one of his would be sausages (Nina Axelrod). Other would be sausages include playboy playmates Rosanne Katon and Monique St. Pierre as well as former dating game hostess Elaine Joyce. The movie ends with a chainsaw battle with Farmer Vincent wearing a pigs head mask in a back handed tribute to "Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
aka Unser Pauker ist der Beste
Werner Jacobs, Johannes Hendrich, Central Cinema Film
Company 1958 (West Germany)
A 1958 German adventure/comedy starring Peter Alexander. Herr Alexander is a well-known Austrian singer of operettas and made about twenty movies in the 1950's, including Munchhausen in Afrika.The movie begins in a studio in Germany where Mr. Munchhausen, the direct descendant of Baron Munchhausen, is telling the studio audience about his latest adventures, this time in Africa. He finds himself in a cannibal pot with a lovely German lady in more than one scene. With Anita Gutwell as his lovely stewmate. A real rarity.
Alan Madden, Rosen Harper
Entertainment 1995 (Australia)
An Australian dark comedy homage to Arsenic and Old Lace, this is about two elderly ladies living alone in a house by the seaside. Their method of disposing of the remains of their not always so gentlemanly callers involves... mushrooms!
Suzanne DeLaurentiis, DeLaurentiis
and Jim Haus III Productions 1996
A schlocky 1999 horror film in the 80's style that is almost bad enough to be in the Full Moon catalog. A weird family living on a farm in the middle of nowhere give birth to a mutant baby. They keep it in the cellar and feed it passers by. Eventually, they start eating visitors themselves and when an entire RV full of teenagers and their young, tasty mommies just happen to break down near their farm… You get the idea. No cooking, although it is discussed and no in screen eating. The obligatory slutty teenager provides all the nudity and the only one killed on screen (during sex, of course). Disappointing, and unless you are really into format 80's drive-in horror flicks this one is pretty much for completists only.
Bob Balaban, Touchstone Pictures
1993
Johnny Dingle, a borderline nerdy high school student, has been in love with beautiful Missy, the girl who sits behind him in class, ever since the first grade. His life dream is to take Missy to the prom, but Missy is going with Buck, the typical one-dimensional high school jock. Johnny cooks up a plan to get Missy to notice him, but the plan backfires and Johnny ends up dead. Not for long, though. Johnny comes back as a zombie and now Missy likes him because he not only died for her, he came back from the dead for her. Problem is, Johnny is going to decay before the prom unless he starts eating people. Eating Buck's sidekick helps for awhile, but as the prom approaches Johnny starts having dreams about eating Missy! He can't take Missy to the prom for fear of eating her, so he needs another solution. Should he risk eating Missy, or should he eat Buck? A Mad Scientist, a friendly graveyard attendant, Missy's sheriff father and a little divine intervention get involved to solve Johnny's problem.
Marc Meyers, Ibid Filmworks 2017
Based on the book My Friend Dahmer by John "Derf" Backderf, a high school friend of Dahmer's, this is about cannibal serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's High School years before he graduated from killing animals to killing (and eating) people.