(8/10)
I have a real special fondness for movies like this - cheap Italian gore movies from the late 70's/early
80's, films like "Zombie," "Dr. Butcher MD," and others. These movies almost always start off in the U.S. -
in Manhattan, to be exact - and some grisly goings-ons occur which require the main characters to form
a search party and head off to some uncharted tropical island inhabitted by zombies or demented killers
or cannibal natives or some combination thereof. Films in this disreputable genre are usually helmed by
Lucio Fulci, Ruggero Deodatto, Umberto Lenzi or some other noted gore-meister and feature some
borderline (or formerly) famous American actor slumming to give the production some credibility - they
usually just appear in the New York shots, leaving the heavy lifting in the jungle to the no-name Italian
cast.
Well, "Eaten Alive!" fits the bill so perfectly I don't know how it took me so long to discover it. Story
starts in New York City (of course) where some lunatic does in a few random folks with a blow-gun
before getting run over by a Ryder truck in Times Square. The police determine the killer is from some
remote island where a Jim Jones-type took his cult. They contact a wealthy southern belle whose sister
just ran off with the cult leader. She recruits some two-fisted Vietnam war deserter and head to the
island where they find the cult and the sister, and lots of loincloth-clad cannibals.
Umberto Lenzi is in the director's chair for this one and the American star du jour is Mel Ferrer. He
shows up in several small scenes to explain that there are cannibals on the island the folks are going to
while the police chief acts inappropriately shocked.
It's not the most gruesome film in the genre, but this is still pretty strong stuff (my wife had to leave the
room to regurgitate while I had it on). It's certainly not for the uninitiated - plenty of slicing, dicing,
biting, raping, and devouring - not to mention a disturbing Jonestown-style massacre finale. But for
folks who can take the gore, it's an extremely good entry. It's very well-paced, it grabs you and doesn't
let up. Plus the double-threat of the evil cult leader and the savage natives outside the compound keep
the things in a frenzied, nerve-wracking state.
My only beef with the movie (and in most of these type of films) are the animal cruelty scenes. These
bits usually make their way into these films to add to the shock value and they're repugnant. Here in the
states there are laws against mistreatment of animals, but overseas (especially way back in the 70's)
laws are not so stringent. These are usually stock footage from hunting documentaries, but it's still
horrible to watch. Fortunately there is very little of it in "Eaten Alive!" but any is too much.
Those scenes aside, "Eaten Alive!" is damn good of it's kind. The cast includes many favorites of the
genre - Ivan Rassimov of 'Jungle Holocaust' is perfectly sinister as the cult leader, Robert Kerman of
'Cannibal Ferox' is good as the mercenary hero, Janet Agren of 'Red Sonja' and Paola Senatore are
visually stunning as the sisters who are often undressed, as is genre favorite Me Me Lai who is a staple
of these films and who has the best screen name ever.
The DVD from the good folks at Media Blasters/Shriek Show is terrific - the movie looks and sounds
great, and cool extras include interviews with Rassimov, Kerman, and yes, a dubbed from Italian
interview with director Lenzi who calls Kerman's acting mediocre (after Kerman in his interview gushes
over Lenzi and talks about how much the director thought of him!). We also learn in the extras that
Senatore and Kerman both went on to careers in porno (though not Me Me Lai who had the name for
it!). Kind of disturbing to think about that when we see that these days Kerman now has a George
Costanza thing going on (and there's never much demand for a Jason Alexander sex tape).
All in all, if Italian splatter is your thing, "Eaten Alive!" is a must-have. But if it's not your thing, run
screaming.Delete ReplyReply ForwardSpamMovePrint Actions NextPrevious
I have a real special fondness for movies like this - cheap Italian gore movies from the late 70's/early
80's, films like "Zombie," "Dr. Butcher MD," and others. These movies almost always start off in the U.S. -
in Manhattan, to be exact - and some grisly goings-ons occur which require the main characters to form
a search party and head off to some uncharted tropical island inhabitted by zombies or demented killers
or cannibal natives or some combination thereof. Films in this disreputable genre are usually helmed by
Lucio Fulci, Ruggero Deodatto, Umberto Lenzi or some other noted gore-meister and feature some
borderline (or formerly) famous American actor slumming to give the production some credibility - they
usually just appear in the New York shots, leaving the heavy lifting in the jungle to the no-name Italian
cast.
Well, "Eaten Alive!" fits the bill so perfectly I don't know how it took me so long to discover it. Story
starts in New York City (of course) where some lunatic does in a few random folks with a blow-gun
before getting run over by a Ryder truck in Times Square. The police determine the killer is from some
remote island where a Jim Jones-type took his cult. They contact a wealthy southern belle whose sister
just ran off with the cult leader. She recruits some two-fisted Vietnam war deserter and head to the
island where they find the cult and the sister, and lots of loincloth-clad cannibals.
Umberto Lenzi is in the director's chair for this one and the American star du jour is Mel Ferrer. He
shows up in several small scenes to explain that there are cannibals on the island the folks are going to
while the police chief acts inappropriately shocked.
It's not the most gruesome film in the genre, but this is still pretty strong stuff (my wife had to leave the
room to regurgitate while I had it on). It's certainly not for the uninitiated - plenty of slicing, dicing,
biting, raping, and devouring - not to mention a disturbing Jonestown-style massacre finale. But for
folks who can take the gore, it's an extremely good entry. It's very well-paced, it grabs you and doesn't
let up. Plus the double-threat of the evil cult leader and the savage natives outside the compound keep
the things in a frenzied, nerve-wracking state.
My only beef with the movie (and in most of these type of films) are the animal cruelty scenes. These
bits usually make their way into these films to add to the shock value and they're repugnant. Here in the
states there are laws against mistreatment of animals, but overseas (especially way back in the 70's)
laws are not so stringent. These are usually stock footage from hunting documentaries, but it's still
horrible to watch. Fortunately there is very little of it in "Eaten Alive!" but any is too much.
Those scenes aside, "Eaten Alive!" is damn good of it's kind. The cast includes many favorites of the
genre - Ivan Rassimov of 'Jungle Holocaust' is perfectly sinister as the cult leader, Robert Kerman of
'Cannibal Ferox' is good as the mercenary hero, Janet Agren of 'Red Sonja' and Paola Senatore are
visually stunning as the sisters who are often undressed, as is genre favorite Me Me Lai who is a staple
of these films and who has the best screen name ever.
The DVD from the good folks at Media Blasters/Shriek Show is terrific - the movie looks and sounds
great, and cool extras include interviews with Rassimov, Kerman, and yes, a dubbed from Italian
interview with director Lenzi who calls Kerman's acting mediocre (after Kerman in his interview gushes
over Lenzi and talks about how much the director thought of him!). We also learn in the extras that
Senatore and Kerman both went on to careers in porno (though not Me Me Lai who had the name for
it!). Kind of disturbing to think about that when we see that these days Kerman now has a George
Costanza thing going on (and there's never much demand for a Jason Alexander sex tape).
All in all, if Italian splatter is your thing, "Eaten Alive!" is a must-have. But if it's not your thing, run
screaming.Delete ReplyReply ForwardSpamMovePrint Actions NextPrevious
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Rating;
| by Jim Haggerty |