Severin has once again delivered a "video nasty" to the unsuspecting masses; Cannibal Terror, uncut and remastered for the first time on American DVD!
FILM- The basic plot (or lack of) involves a hooker and her buddies, who decide to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Once this is complete, they're whisked off by an associate of theirs to lay low. Unfortunately for them, he just booked them a flight to a cannibal infested jungle. Well the kidnappers overstay their welcome after raping the wife of the man housing them; and soon find themselves in the midst of an "angry" tribe of cannibals. Of course they are perused by the cannibals, and, like the psychic you are, you know this won't end pretty.
Everyone should know about the Italian cannibal boom. That dark time when (almost) every exploitation director tried to do a film about native tribes devouring modern men. Each film tried to out do it's predecessor in terms of gore and sleaze. With a few truly good flicks, most were "so bad they're good". Cannibal Terror falls into this category. The story is a lame as you can imagine; as are the actors. This film tries to convince you it's in the Amazon- it fails. Miserably. This is probably filmed in the editors back yard, seeing as how you can see a busy highway in some shots. The natives are an excellent example of cutting corners. They are played by either fat or muscular Euro-hunks, and have face paint looking like a Sunday School class applied it. Their hair is either a Beatles inspired bowl or something like Kurt Cobain would have in the 70's. Muttonchops and Elvis sideburns add to the swagger of this already grueling experience. There's some really fun gore, including the "3 D's" of any cannibal film: dismemberment, disembowelment, and decapitation (including a severed head that blinks it's eyes). The standard amount of nudity you'd expect is included, just for good measure. While this is not a good film by any stretch of the imagination (and barely "so bad it's good"), Severin knew this, even advertising it based on it's ridiculousness. This film is decently fun, and fans of crappy movies or cannibal flicks will enjoy it. Besides that, I don't see this one being as popular as some other Severin titles, but people looking to complete their Video Nasty collection will definitely want to pick this one up. 6/10.
PICTURE/ AUDIO- I thought Severin did an alright job with this transfer. Not too much grit, but the print damage pops up frequently. Nice color and flesh tones, but the reds seem mild during some of the more graphic feasting. Nice quality, but a bit soft in some places. This transfer destroys the old "Hardcore" UK disk from Screen Ent., and will probably be the best this film will ever look. 7/10.
The audio is nice on this one. Voice and music volume are consistent; and there's not much fading in and out. A few hisses here and there, but same as the picture quality, a vast improvement over the "Hardcore" release. 8./10.
EXTRAS- Here's the selling point for this disk. The few extras included really add value to this already reasonably priced DVD. We get the trailer (which is very odd and sounds like it was dubbed over by someone who was in a drug educed trance), a "spicy" deleted scene, which is just an extension of the topless dance scene from the movie, and if you play around on the main menu you'll find an easter egg. While many wouldn't consider this an extra, Cannibal Terror comes packaged in a white keep case. I love to see companies using something other than basic black, and must admit these white cases look handsome sitting on the shelf. 7/10.
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