Jäger der Apokalypse

The Last Hunter is Italian director Antonio Margheriti's take on the Vietnam flick - and as you would expect, it goes straight for the jugular and removes all the soul searching stuff found in films like Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter and the result is...entertaining, but underwhelming. Any depth is replaced by an array of violence and bloodshed, and that means that the film entertains on the surface but doesn't do much more than that...although I can't condemn it too much since I'm not the biggest fan of the 'great' Vietnam movies anyway. The plot is just as flimsy as you would expect and we focus on an American soldier. He's been given a mission to go deep behind enemy lines and destroy a radio transmitter that is sending out demoralising messages to the American soldiers, telling them words to the effect of 'go home and give up fighting someone else's war'. He picks up some allies along the way and of course gets involved in more than his fair share of fighting.

The film stars David Warbeck who does well as the grizzled American soldier at the centre of the film. It's clear that he wasn't the most important thing as far as Antonio Margheriti was concerned, however, as he's far more interested in packing as much violence as possible into the film, and he does a good job with that; as shown by the many fight scenes. Every fight scene in the film is full on and very bloody; and the special effects are fairly realistic also, which adds to the credibility of the film. However, it all comes down to the fact that the film doesn't have much of a point. Of course sitting through the action is entertaining but there's no reason to really care for it and the film drags on numerous occasions as a result. It all boils down to an ill-advised and really rather silly twist at the end...but hey, I can't say I was expecting anything clever. Overall, The Last Hunter might be of interest to anyone who enjoys low Italian rip offs and/or war movies, but anyone hoping for a great Vietnam flick is in for a disappointment.

The Last Hunter (1980)

*** (out of 4)

Set during the Vietnam War, Captain Morris (David Warbeck) agrees to go on a secret mission behind enemy lines where he meets up with some other soldiers and a photographer (Tisa Farrow). The group heads deep into the jungle where they face the enemy as well as some of their own who are just as bad as the Vietnamese.

Antonio Margheriti's THE LAST HUNTER is an entertaining rip-off of countless American Vietnam movies that were being pumped out by Hollywood. This one borrows from several of them but it seems the biggest influence on this film was THE DEER HUNTER. If you're a fan of Italian cinema then you'll certainly want to check this one out as there's plenty of wild, over-the-top action as well as plenty of sleaze, which is exactly what you'd expect from a film like this.

As you should expect, Margheriti does a very good job with the material as I'm sure they were working on a very small budget yet the film looks very professional and features some great action sequences. The highlight of the film is an insane shoot out in an American compound as the soldiers get a bit too relaxed and come under attack. This sequence features a lot of shooting, explosions and of course blood. Speaking of blood, if you like gore then you'll get plenty of that here with some rather insane moments of violence including an eye wound that would make Lucio Fulci proud.

The film also benefits from a nice cast to help keep you entertained. Warbeck is as fun as you'd expect him to be as he does a very good job in the lead role. He's such a fun actor that he can hold your attention throughout the running time. Farrow does a surprising nude scene here and she too is fun to watch. Obviously the two of them would appear in separate films by Fulci so it was fun getting to see them here. Former football star Tony King is also a lot of fun here as is Bobby Rhodes and John Steiner.

THE LAST HUNTER isn't a film that's meant to be taken serious. I'd argue that its ending is the weakest thing about the picture but if you're a fan of action, gore and Italian craziness then it's certainly worth watching.

Director Antonio Margheriti's Vietnam piece is bound to be loved by some audiences and hated by others. This is simply not a film for all tastes. On the surface, it looks like cruel exploitation of a controversial war; exploiting Vietnam was certainly a risky move in 1980. Dig a little deeper, though, and "The Last Hunter" becomes a brutal allegory on the futility of warfare.

Margheriti tells a straightforward tale: Captain Morris (David Warbeck) heads into Cambodia with a small band of soldiers on a mission to find and destroy an enemy radio station which is broadcasting disgusting anti-American propaganda. Along the way, he encounters many people and situations which point to the ultimate insanity of warfare.

Margheriti begins his tale with one of the best opening sequences ever put to film. Morris tries to relax in a Saigon bar, making conversation with another GI whom he's never met. Soft music plays in the background, providing a perfect tempo for the dialog. It's not long, however, before Morris realizes that he escape the realities of the war outside. The music stops abruptly as the tone changes from quiet to tense: Steve has been aggravated by the aforementioned GI. He shoots him in the head, and then turns the gun on himself. As if on key, enemy sappers attack the city, and the bar is destroyed; only Morris escapes. A first-time viewer may see this scene as unnecessary, but the characters and themes will become crucial to the plot as Morris moves closer and closer to his objective.

With the mood established and the audience glued to the screen, Margheriti shifts his focus to the Cambodian jungle. Morris is escorted to the drop-off point by helicopter in yet another excellently shot sequence: Franco Micalazzi's score comes out full force for just a few moments as the action builds, and then dies. Margheriti lets some great hand-held camera action and excellent, fast-paced editing do the work. This scene will be followed by a number of quick, brutal action sequences: the discovery a rotting corpse, an ambush by a band of Viet Cong in a burned-out village; and a great sequence in which Massimo Vanni's character is forced to run into the jungle under enemy fire to retrieve cocoanuts for the unhinged Major Cash (John Steiner). The high point of the action is definitely a Viet Cong raid on an underground American bunker complex, in which hordes of black-pajama-clad guerrillas emerge and a firefight ensues. For the most part, the American characters are drunk or stoned and don't seem to know what's going on. This long sequence is shot in the dark with hand-held cameras, features lots of cutting from action to reaction – all while a radio plays happy tunes in the background.

All of this builds to a pulsating surprise ending. Morris does find his radio station – the audience knows he will from the start; it's no surprise in a film like this – but the voice of propaganda will come as a shock as all of the pieces laid out in the opening scenes and flashbacks come together. We've had some subtle hints and little suggestions as to who Morris is going to encounter, but nobody will come to the conclusion until the character steps into frame. The result is a jaw-dropping scene with an outcome that goes completely against the norm. The final shot of the piece is one of confusion, awe and surprise – we never do get to find out what happens to an essential character. If the violence and pure insanity of most of the movie don't shock you, the last two few minutes surely will.

Admittedly, "The Last Hunter" is not a perfect film: basic plot aspects are lifted directly from "Apocalypse Now" – Morris' character is a take on Martin Sheen, while Major Cash and his bunch seem to be loosely based on Marlon Brando's guerrilla force. Instead of a trek upriver in a small boat, we follow a mixed group of soldiers through the sweltering jungles. (Only here, they're too busy dodging booby traps to discuss heavy issues of morality). More blatantly, a sequence depicting Morris' imprisonment in an underwater bamboo cage reeks of "The Deer Hunter". Some of the special effects scenes come up a bit below par for a 1980s film: watch for a dummy which gets flamed during the village skirmish; superimposed rocket bursts around a helicopter; and there are a few cheesy miniatures.

These are only minor flaws. "The Last Hunter" is an anti-war gem which can be enjoyed by fans of Italian exploitation (Margheriti said that he wanted to shoot the film seriously; the producers forced him to throw in exploitative content to draw in fans of his successful horror works). Any serious war film fans that can make it through the opening without dismissing this as graphic trash will not be disappointed. It's not often that a director can make a great action picture that's still considered an anti-war piece.

Antonio Margheriti's L'Ultimo cacciatore aka The Last Hunter (1980) stars the late, great David Warbeck and Tisa "Zombie Flesh Eaters" Farrow as a group of soldiers who have a mission during Vietnam war to go and destroy some radio station of the enemy. Farrow is a photographer and Warbeck is a military captain and once they get on the way, they soon find themselves in the middle of fire power, deadly traps and killing as there are blood thirsty enemies everywhere. In other words, a typical violent exploitationer from the golden days of Spaghetti gore.

This was definitely worth watching and getting the newly released UK release which is gorgeous widescreen and uncut, unlike many previous releases. The film concentrates on strong violence as there are horrible traps, bloody shootings, stabbings, limb snappings and over all gory mayhem, which is also pretty brutal and nihilistic, most notably the "boat scene" near the end in which the terror gets even more forms. This was the style of those days since producers wanted to make gory and violent films in all genres in order to cash in by the success of such box office classics as Romero's Dawn of the Dead and more importantly for the Italian themselves, Fulci's Zombie 2 aka Zombie Flesh Eaters. Director Margheriti has said that he wanted to do these two war related films of his (the other being Apocalypse Domani aka Cannibal Apocalypse, a horrific cannibal terror film set in a big city) more anti war themed and pacifistic, but the producers wanted to add large doses of violence and gore so that's why most of the time's films are so brutally violent.

The Last Hunter was written by Dardano Sachetti, who worked with Fulci a lot. Director Margheriti is known for his imaginative camera style and often weird camera angles, which are perhaps too plenty in The Last Hunter as they become little irritating and underlining and don't mean anything when used this often. The first 30 minutes of the film is incredibly intense and the viewer definitely won't watch the clock during that, since the film is so exciting and fast moving at the beginning. The film slows down a little towards the end, but for most of the time it is pure action. The effects are very great, most notably the huge explosions which are plenty and fierce is this film, so the budget was definitely at least moderate. The gore effects have always been The thing for these Italian exploitation makers, and The Last Hunter isn't an exception. The gore effects are convincing and full of the usual "eye gouging close up" details which are also very usual in Fulci's zombie films like The Beyond and Zombie Flesh Eaters.

The Last Hunter is totally pointless in any other level than delivering mayhem and violence so this is pretty classic exploitation film which still has great amount of cinematic skill and that's a great thing. I think I appreciate Apocalyse Domani little higher, but The Last Hunter is definitely noteworthy film for lovers of ultra violent and prolific Italian cinema of the 70's and 80's. 6/10

This film is one of the most entertaining Vietnam flicks ever produced. Truly excellent opening 10 minute scene, followed by a 40 minute lull. Picks up toward the middle though and keeps on chuggin along. Great cast, excellent gore effects, awesome explosions, cool claustrophobic camerawork, and a lot of funny dialogue make this well worth the 90 minutes. The poor Pan+Scanning is easy to forgive with a couple viewings. Owes more than a lot to APOCALYPSE NOW and THE DEER HUNTER, but honestly, who cares? Grade A entertainment.