Die weiße Göttin der Kannibalen

Sergio Martino's 'Mountain etc' is somewhat an outcast in the notorious Italian field of cannibalism… This film has a bit more style, depth and – compared to such films as 'Cannibal Holocaust' or 'Cannibal Ferox' – you don't necessarily feel the need to take a shower after seeing it. It's actually better to compare this film with old-fashioned adventure-movies, actually…but with cannibals and a healthy dose of authentic Italian sleaze. Ursula Andress (still the finest, most ravishing Bond girl to date) stars as a strong woman who goes on an expedition, deep down the Guinean jungle, to search her missing husband. Her brother and another respected anthropologist (Stacy Keach) accompany her to 'Ra Ra Mu' … Roughly translated: the mountain of the Cannibal God, where a savage tribe still feasts on human flesh.

The first hour of the film is slow, atmospheric and surprisingly educational! Several sequences, portraying animal's hunting rituals, seem to come right out of a National Geographic broadcast and you're actually waiting for the voice-over to inform you more. The original, uncut release of Mountain of the Cannibal God contains a good share of violence and nudity, but it never becomes repulsive or nauseating. To be entirely honest: the 'horrible' cannibal tribe actually is rather lame. So, the fact they're only appear in the movie after the first hour is a good thing! Until then, you've got compelling adventure and Andress's ravishing body to keep you entertained. Highly recommended viewing!

I'm a big fan of director Sergio Martino, who ranges among the finest filmmakers in Italian Horror, particularly for his Gialli. Especially his insanely brilliant "Il Tuo Vizio È Una Stanza Chiusa E Solo Io Ne Ho La Chiave" (aka. "Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key") is a masterpiece that ranks among my all-time favorites, and among the greatest Gialli ever made. Having adequately praised Martino, it has to be said that his early contribution to the Cannibal sub-genre is not one of the most stunning examples for its type of film. Nonetheless "La Montagna Del Dio Cannibale" aka. "The Mountain Of The Cannibal God" of 1978 is a film with undeniable qualities (Which other Italian Cannibal flick could claim to star an international star like proto-Bondgirl Ursula Andress in a very revealing role?). After the disappearance of a scientist in the unexplored jungle of New Guinea, his sexy wife Susan (Ursula Andress) is dedicated to find him. In spite of all warnings, She decides to search for him herself. Accompanied by her brother (Antonio Marsini) and her husband's colleague Professor Edward Foster (Stacy Keach), she travels deeper into the jungle... a menacing and savage jungle...

Within the Cannibal sub-genre, "The Mountain Of The Cannibal God" is not a particularly memorable film, but it has several qualities that no Italian Exploitation lover should miss. This is one of the early specimen of the sub-genre (as far as I know the fourth, after Umberto Lenzi's pioneering "Deep River Savages" of 1972, Ruggero Deodato's fascinating "Last Cannibal World" of 1977 and Joe D'Amato's ultra-sleazy "Emanuelle And The Last Cannibals" of 1977 starring the ravishing Laura Gemser). While this is not as nauseating and shocking as some of the Cannibal flicks to come (such as Deodato's masterpiece "Cannibal Holocaust" or Lenzi's "Cannibal Ferox" and "Eaten Alive") it is quite focused on the sleaze factor, at least in its uncut version. The film's main attraction, of course, is Ursula Andress, who was still very sexy at 41, when the film was made. But seeing sexy Ursula naked is not the only reason to watch the film. It often has a good atmosphere, the jungle settings are great and the score by the De Angelis Brothers is superb (the Cannibal sub-genre is generally known for great scores). As most other Cannibal flicks, the film includes real animal killings, which might shock animal protectors, but which actually seem like whatever one might see in wildlife documentaries. Overall this is a worthwhile, but not particularly memorable example for the Cannibal sub-genre. Fans of the genre should see it, and in case you wanna see Miss Andress undress (who would't?) this is your film. To experience a masterpiece of the Italian Cannibal sub-genre, however, watch "Cannibal Holocaust". This "Mountain of The Cannibal God" is warmly recommended to my fellow Italian sleaze fans.

I can't figure out why these late 1970s, Italian cannibal adventures intrigue me so much. I always get disgusted when they kill animals for the sake of a stupid movie, and yet time and time again, I'm drawn to movies like SLAVE OF THE CANNIBAL GOD, which, in this case, I saw under its uncut European version, MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD. I had thought that with big names like Ursulla Andres and Stacey Keach involved, this one would be at least a little cleaner than CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, the most notorious of the genre.

As another of those "movies we love to hate", I recommend this one if it's easily accessible. Fans of Andres will enjoy seeing her naked, of course. As a jungle adventure, it succeeds and the occasional gore makes it that much more intense. Scenes of humans bleeding are faked, but as is often the case, the scenes of animals (i.e. a monitor lizard) bleeding are way too authentic. I don't advise eating spagheti while watching this story of some lady seeking her missing husband in a dense jungle, and stumbling upon "The Puka", a group of cannibals (one of which is a dwarf; added for comic relief).

Susan Stevenson (Ursula Andress) and her brother, Arthur (Antonio Marsina), travel to the jungles of New Guinea to search for a lost expedition, which included Susan's husband. They enlist the help of Edward Foster (Stacey Keach), an anthropologist, who has visited the area before and is certain that Susan's husband went to the supposedly cursed area known as Ra Ra Mea, on the island of Roka.

Sergio Martino's addition to the Italian cannibal sub-genre is a far more tame and forgettable movie than ‘Cannibal Holocaust' (1979) or ‘Cannibal Ferox' (1981). While featuring the numerous indignities that seemingly became mandatory amongst the sub-genre (such as castration, rape and real animal slaughter), ‘Mountain of the Cannibal God' is much less brutal and therefore less compelling. The plotline was dreadfully arranged which meant that all the supposed plot-twists were noticeable long before they even happened. Rather than be shocked or appalled by the depictions on-screen, it becomes far easier for the viewer to laugh at what is going on; a reaction that no good exploitation flick should produce. Having said that, the first thirty-five minutes or so were fairly entertaining and set the movie up nicely. The movie benefited from some surprising and effective moments, as well as many well-executed (but basic) effects. Unfortunately, scripting and pacing problems meant that ‘Mountain of the Cannibal God' started to become fairly dull shortly afterwards; something that no degree of `shock treatment' was able to fix.

The performances from the cast in ‘Mountain of the Cannibal God' are possibly the best of the Italian cannibal sub-genre. Veterans Stacey Keach and Ursula Andress (ex-Bond girl) were certainly the crème de la crème of the cast as they both offered dramatic and convincing performances. Ursula managed to portray the sexiness of her character (despite being over 40 at the time) very well which certainly allowed the movie to gain in some respects from the multiple nude scenes in which she was involved. However, nudity as we know does not make a good movie. Claudio Cassinelli also gave a pleasing performance in his role as jungle-wise Manolo. The only bad performance was that of Antonio Marsina who came across as monotonous and unmotivated. His performance was less than aided by the terrible scripting for his character. Although the character of Arthur was obviously meant to come across as an annoyance, he became too annoying and thus made all scenes in which he was involved almost too painful to watch. One could be forgiven for wishing that Arthur had been killed at the beginning of the movie.

For all the movies faults there were some pleasantly entertaining scenes scattered about and although the viewer may be put off by the constant dragging, the later scenes can be somewhat of an enjoyable experience. The more basic effects were usually of a good standard but some of the advanced effects later in the movie fell very short and were thoroughly unconvincing. Fans of exploitation flicks should be partially impressed with ‘Mountain of the Cannibal God' but will be very unfulfilled if they expect another ‘Cannibal Holocaust' or ‘Cannibal Ferox'. This movie is worth watching once, but I doubt many would deem it worthy of multiple viewings. My rating for ‘Mountain of the Cannibal God' – 5.5/10.

Many of the Italian cannibal movies tread a fine line between jolly jungle caper and gut-munching exploitica; 'Mountain of the Cannibal God' falls firmly into the former category. With a bigger budget than most movies of it's kind, the higher production values allow for a more coherent storyline and, in Stacy Keach, an actor who is able to deliver a badly written line with an admirable level of conviction. Nevertheless, the whole thing is really just a mildly interesting romp through the jungle, with very little suspense, and no real violence, sex or gore to speak of. Quite inexplicably, considering the movie's total removal from the trapping of the cannibal genre, it is littered with real-life animal killings. Of all the elements of the cannibal movie to keep, why the animal suffering? I'd rather have seen a good disemboweling.

The only redeeming qualities are the locations and the tribespeople. The vast cave complex is a beautiful and awe inspiring sight (and looks suspiciously like the caves of 'Ultimo Mondo Cannibal'). The tribespeople, caked in dried mud and wearing home made masks are actually quite frightening for once, like a Jungle DIY version of Leatherface. It's refreshing to see something new in cannibal design, it's just a shame the efforts are wasted in a movie that is more reminiscent of 'King's Solomon Mines' than a cannibal movie.