Review of Anthropophagous (1980) by John M — 20 Apr 2009

Having read countless reviews lambasting the film (namely its special effects), I was prepared to be disappointed, but after watching the film's trailer my interest was piqued (mainly because it looked like it had some pretty creepy and atmospheric photography).

Well, it was something of a disappointment, but not necessarily because of the special make-up effects. Admittedly, though, the handling on those was weaker than I expected, and I didn't expect them to be good in the first place! Especially bad is a murder near the start, where Joe D'Amato uses a Bava-esque tactic (similar to how many films pull off knife-throwing scenes) to try and pull off a cleaver-to-the-face sequence; the results are less than convincing. It might've helped if the actor didn't have such a serene look on his face!

The photography didn't disappoint; the dimly light interiors gave it a nice, haunted house sort of feel. The exteriors didn't have the same visual flair, but D'Amato benefited from the use of some great locations.

All that said, while the photography and locations were quite good, I don't think D'Amato's direction was always up to snuff. While not necessarily bad, I don't think it really milked some of the scenes for all they were worth. Some sequences, such as the discovery of a corpse in an abandoned building, a nighttime cemetery sequence, and the incredibly creepy scene near the end where Eastman begins climbing up a well after Farrow, impress, but overall I think someone like Fulci could've pulled them off with more panache.

Overall I liked the movie, but I'd say it wasn't nearly as good as it could've been. Between this and the weak-scripted Humongous, I think someone really needs to make a new giant-crazy-guy-killing-people-on-an-island movie, maybe one that utilizes the best elements of the two movies.

And now...I'm off to watch Absurd!