Cannibal Apocalypse

Released by: Umbrella Entertainment
Released on: December 6^th, 2017.
Director: Antonio Margheriti
Cast: Giovanni Lombardo Radice, John Saxon, Elizabeth Turner, Tony King
Year: 1980
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The Movie:

“Relentless Action... Brutal Terror... Savage Hunger!”

In Antonio Margheriti's Cannibal Apocalypse, John Saxon plays a Vietnam vet named Norman Hopper who has recently returned to American soil after serving his country overseas. He leads a quiet life in Atlanta with his wife Jane (Elizabeth Turner) until the return of an old army pal named Charlie (Giovanni Lombardo Radice, or John Morghen if you prefer) causes him to flashback to the war - see, when over there in the jungles of the 'Nam, Hopper had to rescue Charlie and his fellow prisoner of war Tommy (Tony King). When he found them in a pit, they were feasting on a Vietnamese woman unfortunate enough to have fallen in with the starving soldiers. Not only that, when Hopper puts his arm down into the pit to try and help the guys out, they bite him!

Now Charlie and Tommy are on the run from the fuzz and they're hoping that Norman will help him get the fuck out of Dodge. Norman doesn't want anything to do with them - can you blame him? - and when he makes that clear, Charlie and Tommy go on a rampage, biting women in bars and fighting bikers and then eventually killing a few people at a flea market. The cops, led by Captain McCoy (Wallace Wilkinson), eventually capture Charlie with some help from Norman, but afterwards? Norman isn't quite feeling like himself and after the promiscuous teenage girl next door flirts with him and he can't help but bite her, he heads to the same clinic where Tommy and Charlie are locked up. By that point it's too late! Unable to control his cannibalistic urges, he frees his old war buddies and they carve a wave of carnage through the streets, and then the sewers, of Atlanta!

“POWs In Vietnam... starved in captivity... released with a taste for HUMAN FLESH!”

Also known as Invasion Of The Flesh Hunters, Cannibal Apocalypse is an unabashed work of exploitation, moving along at a nice pace and throwing in enough seedy, trashy elements to work. It's a goofy, gory mix of action and horror that basically throws logic out the window in favor of cheap thrills and it's all the better for it. Margheriti was always just as good at directing action set pieces as he was horror and here he gets to combine the two genres quite nicely while the effects work from none other than Gino De Rossi do a fine job of bringing all of the story's graphic carnage to vivid life on screen.

The performances are pretty great here. Saxon gives the best 'acting' out of anyone in the picture. His character is also a bit more fleshed out than the others, so to be fair he's got a bit more to work with here but really, John Saxon is great in most of the film's he was involved in and this one is no exception. Radice gets to really chew the scenery here and he makes the most of it, playing his 'infected' Vietnam vet to the hilt, with King taking things almost as far. These two are an absolute blast to watch here!

Video/Audio/Extras:

Umbrella Entertainment brings Cannibal Apocalypse to DVD in an anamorphic widescreen transfer framed at 1.66.1 widescreen. This looks to use the same source as the older US DVD release that Image Entertainment put out as part of their Euroshock Collection in 2002, which is to say that by DVD standards it looks fine but those expecting anything in the way of a new remaster will be disappointed. Still, the image is clean and stable showing as much detail as you could expect from a standard definition presentation. We can't say why this wasn't given a Blu-ray release - given the film's popularity and cult status it seems like a no brainer, but it could be a rights or element issue.

The English Dolby Digital Mono track on this disc is fine. No alternate language or subtitle options are provided. Again, the audio is fine by DVD standards. If it's a little flat in spots it's always easy enough to understand the dialogue, the levels are properly balanced and the score sounds fine.

Extras on this disc will look familiar to anyone who owns the long out of print US DVD that was issued through Image Entertainment, starting with the seven-minute location featurette Apocalypse In The Streets. In this piece we get a look at the Atlanta locations that were used in the shoot as they appear in the modern day compared with how they looked in the movie.

Additionally, the disc carries over the European and Japanese trailers, the alternate US opening sequence, the poster and still gallery and the Butchering of Cannibal Apocalypse text essay that details the film's censorship history. The Cannibal Apocalypse Redux featurette that was on the Image DVD is not included here, however.

The Final Word:

Cannibal Apocalypse is pretty great stuff, a gleefully ridiculous mix of horror and action featuring top notch work from Radice and Saxon in their respective roles. Margheriti keeps things moving at a quick pace and this trashy little epic holds up well. Umbrella's DVD looks and sounds pretty decent and offers an affordable alternative to the out of print North American release until someone gives this the Blu-ray treatment it deserves!