Mountain Of The Cannibal God

Another day, another cannibal film!

This one comes with more promising credentials than most …

For a start, there's the director: Sergio Martino. Martino has proven himself adept at building suspense and delivering shocks in his earlier giallos (notably TORSO and ALL THE COLOURS OF THE DARK [aka DAY OF THE MANIAC]).

And what about the cast? It's not every day (or, indeed, ever!!) that a cheap Euro cannibal production manages to bag not one but two internationally recognised names in it's lead roles … Ursula Andress and Stacy Keach, take a bow!

But with such rare ingredients in a usually Z-grade sub-genre, comes high expectations. So, does the film live up to it's promise? Well, yes and no.

The plot is pedestrian fare. When Professor Stevenson goes missing in the jungles of New Guinea, his wife Susan (Andress) and his brother approach the British Consulate in a bid to instigate a search party. They refuse, instead pointing the desperate pair in the direction of fellow explorer Dr Foster (Keach). Foster reluctantly agrees to be their guide in the jungle - although we later discover he has his own motives for Stevenson …

Once in the jungles, Martino wastes no time in treating our hapless expedition (and us, the viewer) to a regular catalogue of standard cannibal movie atrocities: castration, unsimulated animal slaughter, rape and, er, cannibalism!

The animal deaths are largely beast-on-beast, and therefore it could be argued that these scenes merely reflect the law of the jungle in it's natural habitat. Alas, some of these scenes have clearly been set up for the benefit of the camera.

Even more objectionable is the scene where a baby alligator is gutted alive, as part of a tribal feasting 'ritual'. Very unpleasant.

Much of the grue on offer was stolen by Umberto Lenzi and used in his inferior EATEN ALIVE. At least here it retains some sense of context, and has been written into the plot (by Martino and Cesare Frugoni) a little more thoughtfully than your average gut-munching no-brainer.

On the plus side, the pace is even and brisk. Martino is a deft director and handles this genre well. Giancarlo Ferrando's cinematography deserves a special mention at this point too, adding style and lush compositions to what could have otherwise been an irredeemably ugly film.

Andress and Keach deliver performances that are not only watchable but also hugely enjoyable - if only because I never realised just how much Andress can't act! And if you stick it out, there's always the prospect of seeing Andress naked. Very nice!

Like Anchor Bay's region 1 release earlier in the year, the version of the film on this EC Entertainment re-release is fully uncut. Yes, that includes the brief scenes of a woman masturbating and the infamous (though blatantly fake) pig-fucking.

The film is presented in it's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and has been anamorphically enhanced. It looks superb. Colours are sharp and clear, with no bleeding or fading evident. Apart from minor grain in the earlier scenes, the overall visual quality is fantastic.

Audio is English language, presented in mono. It performs it's job with neither cause for concern or jubilation. One minor quibble is that the English and Dutch subtitles advertised on the cover do not appear to feature on the actual disc.

The extras on offer are disappointing. On the disc itself you'll find trailers for MOUNTAIN, and Lamberto Bava's A BLADE IN THE DARK. There's also a gallery of artwork from domestic releases Martino's film has previously enjoyed.

Elsewhere, you'll find a fold-out 'booklet' offering a few colour stills from the movie, and an adequate filmography/biography on Martino.

It's a shame EC couldn't get the director involved in this release - ABEUS's release consequently has the edge with the interview/featurette it offers (see Mike's review).

The disc comes in a black keepcase. The film has 16 chapters, and static menu screens.

Definitely one of the better entries in this disreputable cycle, MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD deserves a look. The picture quality of this EC disc can surely not be bettered - it's great. It's just a shame that the extras are so thin on the ground.

Review by Stuart Willis