CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE – Like the otherwise unrelated 'The Slayer', this is a film which I keep coming back to without quite knowing why. It's certainly not the jewel in the crown of Italian horror, although it does contain the odd spurt of glory. Stylistically gritty if a bit flat, it takes its time in getting going and always ends up leaving me feeling as though I'd been promised a little more than I got, which, when it comes down to it, is surely the essential attitude of exploitation filmmaking. It does feature the impeccable pairing of Johns Saxon and Morghen, and maybe that's enough. Actually, there are quite a lot of intriguing elements at work. 'Cannibal Apocalypse' plays for half its run time like a post-Nam drama, presumably keen to pick up on the vibes sent out by 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Apocalypse Now'. Saxon is an army sergeant trying to get over the trauma of being bitten by his colleague-turned-cannibal Back Over There. Morghen is on day release from 'The Hospital For Nervous Disorders' when he freaks out in a cinema and bites someone's throat out. After Saxon goes cannibal (yep, it was that bite I mentioned, cannibalism being viral and whatnot ), he pairs up with Morghen and they go on the run with a couple of flesh munching buddies. Cue shoot out in sewer, then tragic ending etc etc. Saxon's character makes for an interesting lead, in that he's a bit sleazy (as the teen next door finds out) and, well, basically turns into a cannibal killer for the last half hour, providing limited scope, you would suppose, for audience identification. Morghen is as creepily enticing as ever, and I can't imagine many people finding him all that likeable either. Both are good performers, although acting is the last reason anyone should have in mind when they turn to films like 'Cannibal Apocalypse'. So there's melodrama and tension and action and punch ups with bikers and it all works quite well. All in all, it's a good exploitation package which doesn't come up short when it comes to those certain 'yes!' moments like – Morghen and female accomplice looking sexily at each other as they cut some dude's leg up with a circular saw, cheered on by an explosion of disco on the soundtrack. Would that the whole lived up to these parts, but... it doesn't, sadly, and remains stuck in the realm of 'the pretty good'. But still I keep coming back for more, as if I'll ever find it.
 |