santo-7

This, Umberto Lenzi´s first cannibal movie, is by far the best of the three he made. Not as gory as Eaten Alive or Cannibal Ferox (well, is any movie really as gory?), but with a better plot and acting. Ivan Rassimov, who is awful in Eaten Alive, is really not bad in this one. Actually, cannibals are really not that important to the plot. This appears to be more of a "Man called Horse" rip-off, Rassimov is captured by some tribe somewhere in Asia and has to go through some harrowing tests to be accepted, later he encounters some cannibals. I don´t recall seeing a better directed Lenzi film, although if you´ve seen a few of his films you´ll know this ain´t no masterpiece. I read in an interview that this is his favorite of the three cannibal flicks he made. Unfortunately there is a bit much real life animal cruelty, which will upset some. Nice score, though.

Good plot, good acting and a competent director make this one of the most disturbing films ever made. Like Cannibal Holocaust, for instance, this movie is more than just gore-filled entertainment. It actually has got something to say. The special-effects are so realistic that I´m not absolutely sure that they are special-effects in certain sequences. Some people claim that the filmmakers filmed a real autopsy in one scene. Whatever the case, the film is absolutely realistic. Unfortunately, like Cannibal Holocaust, the film has some totally unnecessary animal cruelty. It could have done without these sequences since many people will find them objectionable.

This film is one of the worst I´ve ever seen, but it has its fun parts. It was supposedly made in 1990, I would have guessed 1980, judging from the hero´s hairdo. And everybody´s clothes. it´s about a reporter somewhere in the states investigating about somebody´s lost twin brother (or something) who is insane and goes around killing people but who will inherit a lot of money if he is found. It has some of the worst dialogue ever. If you´re Swedish you´ll probably have a good time hearing a bunch of Swedes trying to sound like Americans, and failing miserably. If you´re not Swedish you might want to skip this one. Camilla Lundén (now a famous serious Swedish actress) must be happy she´s dong better projects nowadays. Wonder what director Mats Helge does today?