Director: Umberto Lenzi
Year: 1981
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: Make Them Die Slowly; Woman from Deep River
Genre: Jungle Cannibal
Plot:
After arriving in the Amazon, a woman and her friends head into the jungle to prove her theories about cannibalism being a racist idea towards primitive man, where they encounter a psychotic traveler torturing the locals, before the tribe rises up to take revenge on them in vicious ways.
Review:
This is a rather entertaining cannibal entry, though it's not without problems. Most of the enjoyable factors here stem from the generally enjoyable twist on the formula of the jungle cannibal films by offering a slightly different take on the genre. While still focusing on the group trek through the jungle that comes with the assorted series of obstacles and encounters that take place here along the way, from the river crossing, the jeep getting stranded, and the setpieces involving the spiked traps that hinder their progress, the secondary storyline about them encountering the more psychotic and unhinged traveler also in the jungle. That we get to see him treating the group as well as the cannibal tribe with far more barbaric cruelty and despicable behavior that runs counter to the belief that they’re more savage and barbaric as the whole thing degenerates into a series of degenerate behavior as he tricks the group looking for the tribe as the backstory to explain everything makes for a great way to fill in the gaps in the story.
That allows the film to feature a series of great, bloody kills that result in an over-the-top display of gore. This one contains a whole smattering of gags and scenes that are simply gruesome and nauseating, as, aside from a large amount of animal deaths, there’s a general assortment of torture inflicted on others. There are several impaled with a set of spikes through the chest from traps, a couple of castrations, some really graphic eviscerations, dismemberments, an infamous scalping done with a gigantic machete, and a scene where a victim is dunked into a pool with live piranhas, where they begin to gnaw on a wounded leg. Its most legendary scene, though, is where one is strung up with hooks through a vital part of the anatomy and hung up until they die. This is a long, torturous scene that lasts forever and is agonizing. These look incredibly realistic and are quite disgusting, which the film has going for it.
It's also never boring, moving along at a fast pace, and it really only has one small part that doesn't work. The only real problem with the film's pacing is that it insists on cutting away from the unfolding drama to show us these pointless detective scenes in New York City. They really disrupt the flow of the picture, and every time he switches venues, it feels as if you're being physically pulled out of the movie. Ultimately, they go nowhere and do nothing to serve the movie. They don't even capitalize on a golden plot point, as the group that goes to South America doesn't even find them. It was a bunch of other guys that rescued her, making for a completely pointless string of events that actually does nothing other than infuriate the viewer. The animal violence in here is enough to make it feel nauseating. There’s a lot more in here than expected, and all of them are obviously taken from elsewhere as they don't really fit in with the rest of the film. It’s the fact that they're happening which derives their effectiveness, but it’s hard to look at them at face value without realizing that they're not done at the same time. Otherwise, this here is a completely entertaining cannibal film.
Overview: ***.5/5
It won't be considered a classic of the genre, but it's still good enough to give it a watch for those interested in the concept presented here. Hardcore exploitation fans are encouraged to see it at once, as well as those who have a real love of cannibal films, while those who prefer traditional horror or have an aversion to animal violence are advised to avoid it.
This review is part of our ongoing series of reviews for Italian Horror Month, every November on the site:
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