CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE

CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE

Original Title:
Apocalypse domani

Alternate Titles:
Invasion Of The Flesh Hunters / Cannibals In The Streets

German Title:
Asphalt-Kannibalen

Italy / Spain, 1980
Director: Antonio Margheriti (as Anthony M. Dawson)

7/10

When The Cyn first introduced me to  "Cannibal Apocalypse", I wasn't too fond of it, mostly because of so-so director Antonio Margheriti's involvement and the fact, that I absolutely never heard of it, which made me think that it's just another forgettable cannibal flick from the late 70s / early 80s cannibal boom (exceptions like "Cannibal Holocaust" or "Anthropophagus" prove the rule).

Yet, I ended up pretty surprised: this is not only the best movie from Margheriti I've seen so far, it's also one of the best cannibal-films I've seen so far.

Yes, the plot, which revolves about outbreak and spreading of a "cannibal virus", is stupid - but I like it. It's somewhat fascinating, it's different from all the other cannibal-jungle flicks, and it strongly reminded me of classics like "Nightmare City" or "The Crazies" in terms of atmosphere and storytelling.

The first 2 thirds are tense and gripping, incl. a few incredibly suspenseful scenes. Just check the flea-market-sequence: there's not much happening, but it's executed in such a thrilling and intense way, it gave me the creeps.

There's lots of cool and realistic-looking gore, and lots of infected eating / beating / ripping out flesh. The funky soundtrack from one-time-composer Alexander Blonksteiner is amazing, the cinematography is gorgeous and the locations all look neat.

The acting ranges from awesome to ridiculous. John Saxon acts a bit too one-dimensional, Tony King's constant yelling is plain annoying and the horribly silly Cinzi de Carolis is just AWFUL!

However, there are at least 2 actors who deliver superb performances: the amazing Giovanni Lombardo Radice a.k.a. John Morghem ("City Of The Living Dead", "The Church", "The House At The Edge Of The Park") who is absolutely mindblowing as flesh-hungry, slightly delirious ex-Vietnam Vet, and the super-grumpy Wallace Wilkinson who seems to be totally addicted to teargas :-)

~~ "We smoke the bastard out with teargas."

~~ "Are these bastards with the teargas coming or not?"

~~ "Teargas just arrived." - "Oh, that's some good news for a change." 

~~ "I'd like to try something." - "Too late. We're gonna try something ourselves... Teargas."

The last act who mostly takes place in the sewers is pretty dull and boring, and IMO the open ending should have been way more shocking, way more negative - but overall, "Cannibal Apocalypse" is a really cool and enjoyable Italo-potboiler.

Wiki ~ Imdb

Huge Thanks to The Cyn for allowing me the opportunity to see this classic!

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