La montaña del dios caníbal

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.

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.

"Mountain of the Cannibal God" may disappoint those looking for a hardcore cannibal flick, but if you're willing to accept it as a jungle adventure with occasional doses of gore it works better. The production is colorful and polished; this movie really looks great on DVD. Sergio Martino does a solid job with the direction; apart from "Predator", I don't think I've seen a film with a better sense of place during its jungle scenes. The plot has a good build-up, and even attempts a couple of twists. Ursula Andress handles her physically demanding role well (no wonder the cannibals mistake her for a goddess; that's what Ursula is. And did anyone else find one of the cannibal girls that were painting her up quite hot?). Stacy Keach is a solid lead and has the best (and best-delivered) line in the film: "You never forget the taste of human flesh!". By the way, I watched a 97-minute version which was quite gory, but had some "extreme" scenes that others have mentioned (bestiality) missing. (**1/2)

Italian horror supremo Sergio Martino managed to persuade Ursula Andress into this now notorious jungle adventure and moreover got her to display her boobies! Back in the days when animal rights activists were just a glimmer in their fathers eye, film makers were able to shock audiences by showing gratuitious scenes of animals being killed. In this case, a giant snake eating a monkey, tribesmen slicing open a large lizard, and a number of others - intense imagery but it does go to show how brutal nature can be.

Andress plays Susan Stevenson, the wife of a scientist who has become lost in the New Guinea jungle, and mounts an expedition with the help of her brother and another scientist. They soon meet up with the mysterious Manolo who helps in the search and discover that Susan's hubby has gone in search of a secret tribe living on a remote mountain called Ra Ra Me which translates as Mountain Of The Cannibal God.

Much of the group are killed on the way by members of the cannibal tribe and when they do arrive at the mountain, it is the Uranium in the rocks that Susan seeks for financial gain rather than locating her husband. However, her plans are quickly scuppered when the tribe capture her and the last remaining scientist and take them to their mountain lair. They believe that Susan is a goddess and create a living monument by smearing her naked body with fluid and putting ceremonial items on her. How sweet.

The jungle locations are rich and vibrant, and the cannibals are genuinly scarey looking characters - especially the midget one. The flick does over use shock tactics in parts such as the frenzied sex scene which includes a large boar as far as I can make out. That said, I personally enjoyed the whole 70's exploitation experience but that may be due to having something wrong with my head.

7.75 out of 10.

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.