Manhunter - O Seqüestro

Perhaps I'm more favorably disposed to this movie than to the similar Jess Franco effort "Cannibals" because I only rented this one instead of purchasing the DVD. Regardless though, while "Cannibals" is pure dreck, this movie is kind of entertaining, mostly in spite of itself. A group of kidnappers snatch a bimbo starlet (Ursula Fellehner) and hold her captive on an island. They are pursued by two hired mercenaries (Franco regulars Al Cliver and Anthony Mayans). While the two groups fight amongst themselves, the girl falls into the clutches of a local tribe of "cannibals" (half of which are African, and the other half obviously white Southern Europeans), who plan to sacrifice her to their "god", a tall black guy with ping-pong ball eyes. (Franco famously, if very unconvincingly, once accused the movie "Predator" of stealing his plot idea from this movie).

The best part of this flick is the goofball dialogue and dubbing. Anthony Mayan's character, for instance, talks like Gabby Hayes for some reason and keeps having Vietnam flashbacks, even though he looks a little young to have been in 'Nam. One of the kidnappers shouts obscenities at everybody and seems genuinely disturbed by the "wild vegetation" (he makes Giovanni Lombardi Radici's character from "Cannnibal Ferox" seemed well-mannered and soft-spoken by comparison). When asked by reporters what she thinks of the men in their, country Fellehner's character responds in true bimbo fashion, "I have no opinion of men. I just love them." Later one of the mercenaries tells her stay put. Her response: "Huh?!"

Naturally, the special effects are laughably un-special, and the public domain copy I saw was obviously ported from a Japanese source since it "optically fogs" Fellehner's pubic region (which is quite a job since the German Playboy Playmate barely spends a minute of her screen time with any clothes on). But despite the rampant (albeit partially "fogged")nudity from Fellehner and other assorted bimbos, this movie really fails to live up to its foreign title "Sexo Cannibal" (the cannibal doesn't get any sex, nor does anyone else really). Amazingly, this rather tame item was one of only two Franco films that were banned in Britain back in the "video nastie" days.

Of course, I'm sure an overpriced "uncut" and subtitled version will someday appear for all the spendthrift masochists, i.e. Jess Franco fans, out there. But frankly I don't think they can improve on the unintentional hilarity of this public domain version (aside from "unfogging" Fellehner's pubes, of course).

I am a huge admirer of the prolific Spanish Exploitation deity Jess Franco, whose impressive filmography includes over 190 titles so far. It is undeniable that the man has made masterpieces and total crap alike, and his attempts to cash in on the popular Italian Cannibal-sub-genre belong rather to the latter category. This movie of the delicate title SEXO Cannibal (aka. THE DEVIL HUNTER) of 1980 is better than his absolutely terrible other Cannibal flick from the same year, MONDO CANNIBALE (which is not to be confused with Umberto Lenzi's PAESE DELLO SESSO SELVAGGIO and Ruggero Deodato's ULTIMO MONDO CANNIBALE, two genre-classics which are often referred to as MONDO CANNIBALE 1&2). SEXO Cannibal is somewhat interesting for its epitomizing Jess Franco's habit to shamelessly ignore any logic and build up movies that exist almost entirely of sleaze and violence. The film is furthermore notable as it is one of the three Franco-films that landed on the UK's infamous "Video Nasty" list of banned movies, making him the most prolific Video Nasty maker alongside the Italian genius and 'Godfather of Gore' Lucio Fulci, who also made three films that landed on the list.

A model (Ursula Buschfellner) is kidnapped by criminals who ask for a ransom of 6 million dollars. Her agent asks 'nam vet and soldier of fortune Weston (Al Cliver) to free her. Out of all places, the criminals hold her hostage on an island full of savages who habitually feed young women to a rape-hungry cannibal fiend. Needless to say that the island is full of hot women with exhibitionist tendencies...

The film is fun to watch for its shameless sleaze and for the gore (though the latter wasn't as extreme as I had expected). It is also fun to watch for the lack of logic, and some parts that are downright absurd. Weston's sidekick, for example, is the wussiest 'Nam vet I've ever seen on film. The guy starts crying whenever he enters the jungle. Franco obviously picked up on the 'Nam-trauma' theme that was so popular in US-cinema in the late 70s and 80s here, and since he is Jess Franco he decided to exaggerate it more than a little bit. Overall, this isn't one of Franco's worst 80s movies, but it certainly far from being one of his better ones. Personally, I would state that Franco is best when making films about deranged Scientists or Nymphomaniac/Lesbian Vampires, his contributions to the Cannibal-genre are rather forgettable. SEXO Cannibal is still worth the time for my fellow fans of the man, who are most likely not gonna expect intriguing story lines and breathtaking suspense anyway.

The Devil Hunter (this film's UK video title) found itself caught up in the early 1980s 'video nasties' scare, for reasons I find impossible to fathom. It certainly should have been banned, but only because no reasonable human being should have to pay to sit through such junk. As with most of Jesus Franco's films, there are crash zooms to nothing, dreamy music, terrible performances, clumsy dubbing (most of the male characters are apparently dubbed by the same actor!) and several interminable sequences, suggesting that the former musician couldn't wait for a day on the set to finish - so he shot everything fast and cheap in order to get back home to his jazz records and his trumpet. Large parts of the film make no sense, and you'll run out of fingers and toes trying to count the goofs, but the really priceless ones are the actor who actually giggles when a squirt of blood hits him in the face, and the totem pole that bounces when it's supposed to be crashing to the floor. And check out those sound effects - since when did walking through the jungle sound like walking down a gravel drive? If you can find a copy of this tosh anywhere, I'll be surprised, but do yourself a favour and pass it by. If you decide to watch it, you'll want to sue Franco and his colleagues for ninety minutes of your life that you'll never get back.

Lesser known but full-blooded Jess Franco exploitation that cashes in on the popular early 80's trend of European cannibal movies. A successful actress is kidnapped by a gang of thugs whilst shooting a movie in the South-African jungle. She's kept prisoner and gets sexually abused frequently, but this is only the beginning of her misery as the jungle homes a native tribe with strange and primitive beliefs. Their God is a spooky, flesh-eating madman with his eyeballs hanging out of his sockets. Yikes!! "Devil Hunter" features some beautiful filming locations, good atmospheric music and a whole lot of authentic euro-sleaze. Still, there are many tedious moments and redundant sub plots. The amount of gore is limited but several sequences are truly nauseating, notably the one where the lead-cannibal bites off a poor girl's labia and devour it! Oh my God!! According to the VHS-cover it was her heart, but I doubt her heart was located between the legs. Proceed at your own risk!

Of the three titles from Jess Franco to find their way onto the Official DPP Video Nasty list (Devil Hunter, Bloody Moon and Women Behind Bars) this is perhaps the least deserving of notoriety, being a dreadfully dull jungle clunker enlivened only very slightly by a little inept gore, a gratuitous rape scene, and loads of nudity.

Gorgeous blonde Ursula Buchfellner plays movie star Laura Crawford who is abducted by a gang of ruthless kidnappers and taken to a remote tropical island inhabited by a savage tribe who worship the 'devil god' that lurks in the jungle (a big, naked, bulging-eyed native who likes to eat the hearts of nubile female sacrifices).

Employed by Laura's agent to deliver a $6million ransom, brave mercenary Peter Weston (Al Cliver) and his Vietnam vet pilot pal travel to the island, but encounter trouble when the bad guys attempt a double-cross. During the confusion, Laura escapes into the jungle, but runs straight into the arms of the island's natives, who offer her up to their god.

Franco directs in his usual torpid style and loads this laughable effort with his usual dreadful trademarks: crap gore, murky cinematography, rapid zooms, numerous crotch shots, out of focus imagery, awful sound effects, and ham-fisted editing. The result is a dire mess that is a real struggle to sit through from start to finish (It took me a couple of sittings to finish the thing), and even the sight of the luscious Buchfellner in all of her natural glory ain't enough to make me revisit this film in a hurry.