Well-crafted, genuine horror based on Western fears

jay-bethke

Nobody who would bother taking the time to watch an Italian cannibal film will be offended by the butchery, nudity, or rape found in this piece. The Last Cannibal World, like others of the genre, really showcases the sort of "horror of nature" that exists in the western mind. There are as many shots of animals crawling around, devouring other animals, slithering and being filthy and savage, as there are of human beings doing the same. The cannibals mimic the animals, essentially, and the white men are unable to believe what they are seeing ...except for the one unlucky fellow who gets caught and, shall we say, does what he has to in order to fit in. Western peoples will be horrified by the disgusting behaviors of the cannibals (men as animals), the dizzying jungle that goes on and on, as well as the blood and guts: we seek order and reason, the opposite of the total chaos and irrationality as represented not only by the jungle, but by the culture-less cannibals (romanticized and caricature-like though they are). The film is a genuine dramatic and natural horror, and despite the cultural one-sidedness of the subject matter and its portrayal of the islanders, we must remember that it is a horror film, exploiting what Western peoples are afraid of: Deodato certainly gets credit for getting the formula down if not for anthropological accuracy. The killings of the animals in films like this can only be the reason why there are the "No animals were harmed in the making of this film" disclaimers following the credits of films today.

score 8/10

jay-bethke 14 February 2005

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1020910/