30 reviews
Well, what else can you say about this movie other than it sucked royally. I don't normally use such mediocre words to describe a movie but nothing else could come to mind. The acting was bad, the script was bad, the story was bad, the gore was disgusting (but still bad), and the cannibals take the cake as being the worst looking I have ever seen. It looks like a bunch of French guys got together and decided to put on make up and pretend to be cannibals... wait a second!
Anyway, the story is about 3 crooks who kidnap a little girl and demand a ransom. When the heist fall apart they escape out to the jungle (which looks like a forest) and take refuge with a Spanish couple. When one of the crooks rapes the Spanish wife, the husband leads the crooks to the cannibals and now there is Hell to pay... yeah, right.
I can't help my sarcasm with this movie. It was just dreadful. I read other reviews that say something about Jess Franco having something to do with this movie. Man, if that's true he must have come to a real low point in his career.
This movie is strictly for people that have to see all of the cannibal films. If you aren't into that sort of thing, stay far FAR away from this train wreck. Even I who love the genre struggled to sit through this. 2/10
Anyway, the story is about 3 crooks who kidnap a little girl and demand a ransom. When the heist fall apart they escape out to the jungle (which looks like a forest) and take refuge with a Spanish couple. When one of the crooks rapes the Spanish wife, the husband leads the crooks to the cannibals and now there is Hell to pay... yeah, right.
I can't help my sarcasm with this movie. It was just dreadful. I read other reviews that say something about Jess Franco having something to do with this movie. Man, if that's true he must have come to a real low point in his career.
This movie is strictly for people that have to see all of the cannibal films. If you aren't into that sort of thing, stay far FAR away from this train wreck. Even I who love the genre struggled to sit through this. 2/10
- CMRKeyboadist
- Oct 17, 2006
- Permalink
It's safe to say that cannibal films are an acquired taste, but I think it's safe to say that it is one that I have acquired. However, even I am struggling for good things to say about Cannibal Terror. The best cannibal films hail from Italy, so the fact that this one was a French and Spanish co-production may have something to do with its sub-par quality. The plot follows two would-be kidnappers who end up hiding out in a house near the jungle. However, when one of them rapes the home-owner's daughter, the bunch is left to the nearby cannibals. Cannibal Terror was one of the handful of cannibal films banned by the DPP back in the eighties. Indeed, there is some rather nasty gore on display; but it's nowhere near as gory as the best films that this genre has to offer, and the gore is hardly shocking as the whole production is so badly done. Director Alain Deruelle never manages to impose the jungle atmosphere on his audience, and the film feels like merely a rip off of better cannibal films. Needless to say, the plot doesn't really go anywhere and the overall effect is really rather dull. Overall, I can't recommend this film as the only reason for watching is that it was once banned! Avoid.
For years, Cannibal Terror was believed by many to be the work of horror/sleaze director Jess Franco, a reasonable assumption since the film bears what seem to be most of the prolific Spaniard's hallmarks, most notably a dreadful script, unconvincing locales, inept direction, terrible acting, and endless meandering shots of nothing much in particular (and I guess, for some, it was also hard to believe that there might be another person out there who could make films quite as bad as Franco).
The real culprit, however, was French director Alain Deruelle, who proves that he can be just as inept as Jess when it comes to delivering jungle horror.
Deruelle's dreadful film follows a trio bumbling kidnappers-two men and one woman-who escape across the border (to where, I have no idea!) with their hostage, the young daughter of a rich businessman. Arriving at a safe house that borders 'cannibal country', the threesome are able to relax for a while, until one of the gang, Mario, decides to rape the wife of their host (after spying on her having a wash in a giant wooden bucket). This kick starts a chain of events that results in the criminals and their hostage being pursued by bloodthirsty natives, with the father of the little girl in hot pursuit.
Taking a leaf out of Franco's Big Book of Cannibal Movie-Making, Deruelle opts to set his adventure in what appears to be a large botanical garden, hires himself some of the least convincing cannibals ever to grace an exploitation film (some have sideburns, many have coiffured hair, a few have beer-bellies, nearly all of them are Caucasion, but none of them look like savages), and throws in some cheapo blood and guts (using what looks like pig carcasses to stand in for human remains) in order to satisfy the gore-hounds.
The result is a mind-numbingly dull piece of Euro-sleaze that now shares top spot with Mondo Cannibale on my Crap Cannibal Movie list.
The real culprit, however, was French director Alain Deruelle, who proves that he can be just as inept as Jess when it comes to delivering jungle horror.
Deruelle's dreadful film follows a trio bumbling kidnappers-two men and one woman-who escape across the border (to where, I have no idea!) with their hostage, the young daughter of a rich businessman. Arriving at a safe house that borders 'cannibal country', the threesome are able to relax for a while, until one of the gang, Mario, decides to rape the wife of their host (after spying on her having a wash in a giant wooden bucket). This kick starts a chain of events that results in the criminals and their hostage being pursued by bloodthirsty natives, with the father of the little girl in hot pursuit.
Taking a leaf out of Franco's Big Book of Cannibal Movie-Making, Deruelle opts to set his adventure in what appears to be a large botanical garden, hires himself some of the least convincing cannibals ever to grace an exploitation film (some have sideburns, many have coiffured hair, a few have beer-bellies, nearly all of them are Caucasion, but none of them look like savages), and throws in some cheapo blood and guts (using what looks like pig carcasses to stand in for human remains) in order to satisfy the gore-hounds.
The result is a mind-numbingly dull piece of Euro-sleaze that now shares top spot with Mondo Cannibale on my Crap Cannibal Movie list.
- BA_Harrison
- Apr 3, 2009
- Permalink
This is a total mess of a movie. A Spanish/French co-production, this was accredited to Jess Franco for a long time until the real culprit (a Spanish ex-actor by the name of Julio Tabacana) was revealed. However, the fact it shares cast/scenes/plot with Franco's THE CANNIBALS, which was released at a similar time, hints that his veiled hand may have been at work somewhere in the production. Other "Franco-isms" include looping stock sound track (in this case, the same bird call repeated ENDLESSLY) and long shots of characters doing absolutely nothing and wandering endlessly through the jungle.
Getting through this is an ordeal. The "natives" are clearly white in origin (possibly cast members?)- many of them have coiffured hair and beer guts, and the only thing to distinguish their cannibal nature are smatterings of paint on their flabby bodies. In some scenes they clearly can't hide their amusement at the "tribal rituals" they are involved in. Their "cannibal village" is quite obviously not in a jungle, as the lawn is neatly mowed and in some shots you can see a road in the background with vehicles parked on it. Adding insult to injury, the disembowelment scenes are all achieved by shamelessly swapping the victim's torso for that of an actual pig corpse wrapped in clothing. Seriously.
For the cannibal enthusiast only, this is painfully boring and inept. It is an insult to CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST that the films share a genre.
Getting through this is an ordeal. The "natives" are clearly white in origin (possibly cast members?)- many of them have coiffured hair and beer guts, and the only thing to distinguish their cannibal nature are smatterings of paint on their flabby bodies. In some scenes they clearly can't hide their amusement at the "tribal rituals" they are involved in. Their "cannibal village" is quite obviously not in a jungle, as the lawn is neatly mowed and in some shots you can see a road in the background with vehicles parked on it. Adding insult to injury, the disembowelment scenes are all achieved by shamelessly swapping the victim's torso for that of an actual pig corpse wrapped in clothing. Seriously.
For the cannibal enthusiast only, this is painfully boring and inept. It is an insult to CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST that the films share a genre.
- Moshing Hoods
- Jan 3, 2002
- Permalink
Before watching "Terreur Cannibale" (aka. "Cannibal Terror") I was expecting to see a film of the kind that is so awful that it is actually kind of funny. Awful it is indeed, but in a manner that is nothing but... awful! I am a huge fan of the gruesome Italian Cannibal flicks that were made around the time (most memorably Ruggero Deodato's disturbing masterpiece "Cannibal Holocaust"). Director Alain Deruelle apparently wanted to cash in on this popular wave of gruesome movies about Cannibals, that were mostly ingeniously set in the Amazon Jungle. "Cannibal Terror" is also set in the jungle. A jungle that is very obviously situated in France, that is, however. I will not even try to explain the absolutely ridiculous and moronic story, the performances are among the worst I have ever seen. In the first half of the movie, Deruelle seemingly wanted to enhance the atmosphere by having crickets chirp for about ten minutes. The scenes change, but the chirping of the crickets keep monotonously drowning out all other sounds (such as the dialogue), which is even more annoying than it sounds.The 'Cannibals' in the film are entirely white guys in savage costumes, some of them sport beards, others are bald and have beer-bellies. Apart from being the whitest savages ever seen on film, they are also astonishingly well-behaved, as they never seem to leave their territory, and their hunger for human flesh apparently concerns bad people only. The score wouldn't be that bad, but it nearly always seems terribly out of place. Also, the gore-sequences are quite well-made and nauseating for a film with such a low budget. Nevertheless, it is beyond me why this film landed on Britain's infamous Video Nasty list, as nobody could possibly see anything but ridiculousness in this sorry attempt of a film. The moderately disgusting gore cannot save this. The only reason to watch "Cannibal Terror" is the wish to look at absolute awfulness. AVOID!
- Witchfinder-General-666
- Apr 17, 2008
- Permalink
Ah, the wondrous mysteries of late 70's/early 80's Euro-exploitation cinema
With almost a 100% positive certainty, the script of this film was improvised along whilst shooting. Judging by the tone and cheerful atmosphere of the opening sequences, it doesn't even look like the creators (Alain Deruelle and Julio Tabernero) ever intended to make a movie about cannibals, but maybe the producers forced them in order to quickly cash in on the gigantic success of contemporary horror-hits like "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Cannibal Ferox". As you probably know, everything was possible in the exploitation industry, even hiring the notorious smut filmmaker Jess Franco to shoot some additional footage. The film opens with a rhythmic and jolly carnival song, introduces several comical characters and a potentially interesting (but poorly elaborated) kidnapping/ransom plot. The cannibal tribe and obligatory grossness only kicks in after about 40 minutes and comes across as totally ridiculous. Three amateur thugs, one voluptuous woman and two guys, randomly decide to abduct the daughter of a wealthy businessman and demand a ransom. When one of their accomplices gets involved in a banal car accident, they flee towards the jungle (I think the South American) and seek shelter in the hut of a friend. Nearby there's a tribe of primitive cannibals, but they appear to remain politely within their perimeters. Only when one of the thugs rapes the lady of the house, her husband almost literally feeds them to the cannibals. Meanwhile, the parents of the kidnapped girl have also arrived in the jungle (don't ask me how, though), but they're good people and hence don't get eaten. Needless to say "Cannibal Terror" is an incredibly bad film and I honestly can't name one good element, apart maybe from the jolly theme song. Sure, there's a bit of nasty gore, but there's absolutely no prior tension building and the actual munching goes on for far too long. You know you're in trouble when even the gory bits in a movie are dull. The acting performances are atrocious. The lines of the little girl are practically inaudible and I'm pretty sure an adult woman imitating the voice of a child spoke them. The "jungle" setting is quite hilarious, as the film is clearly shot in someone's home garden and the "natives" are plain white day-players. Several of them even have sideburns and sophisticated haircuts. Oh dear
I generally like movies that depict anything that is "non mainstream". And I even don't mind gross movies if they are done well.
But this movie is a huge disappointment - no real story, no building up any character or situation, extremely bad acting (a school play does far better), the shots were pathetic, the gross scenes were not necessary (nor were they shocking).
The close up in scenes is really bad, i think i even spotted a 'cannibal' with long stylish locks! Looks like the directors/producers paid no attention to the movie at all !
With this movie, I've decided to stop watching any more "cannibal" genre movie!
But this movie is a huge disappointment - no real story, no building up any character or situation, extremely bad acting (a school play does far better), the shots were pathetic, the gross scenes were not necessary (nor were they shocking).
The close up in scenes is really bad, i think i even spotted a 'cannibal' with long stylish locks! Looks like the directors/producers paid no attention to the movie at all !
With this movie, I've decided to stop watching any more "cannibal" genre movie!
- abhishek-shu
- Feb 27, 2009
- Permalink
Well, that was... uhm, different. I've been putting off buying this one for far too long. I knew it was only a matter of time, besides, I've seen all the others. As revoltingly interesting as the others are, I had to know what the black sheep of the Cannibal sub-genre was really like, and if its bad reputation was nothing more than a bad reputation.
This Spanish-French obscurity has the reputation as a cheap knock-off just because the gore, the cannibals, as well as the entire vibe of the movie is completely different, not to mention no real jungle to speak of, but mainly because of the obvious lack of an Italian director.
Alright, well, that about sums it up. Cannibal Terror is a cheap knock-off of an already "misunderstood" sub-genre, but that doesn't mean this movie deserves to be hated. Besides having a swell score, and unintentionally humorous dialog, there's a little girl who's voice is dubbed by an adult, which always goes over well in low-budget European horror.
Let the unfitingly inspirational music begin. Some quaint Euro-scenery. Now, as the story goes, a trio of inept kidnappers who steals the little girl of a rich couple and figure that a fake French Jungle with crickets dubbed in the background would be a suitable place to hide out, besides, the local cannibals are fake, yes they do eat human flesh, but it's also very, very fake-looking, so, it's all good.
The original plan for collecting a ransom is derailed when one of the kidnappers decides to rape the wife of the guy lending out his place for a hideout. New plan, rapist gets tied to a tree near fake-cannibal country by angry husband while the other 2 run off into the jungle and suffer perhaps an even worse fate.
Ouch!! This film constantly screams "Not Italian" at the top of its lungs, which is the only thing drowning out the fake crickets. If Italian Cannibal icons such as Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox is what you're used to then Cannibal Terror will seem like a Cannibal movie from another dimension, or perhaps a sick joke posing as something it clearly is not... Or is it?
There are subtle qualities in this one that I prefer over "the real ones", although, they are few and far between, but I think the biggest problem most fans of the genre would have is the gore quality, I've just never seen gore like that before, but wow, it sure was a hell of a lot, regardless of what that stuff actually was.
The Cannibals, who I swear I heard one of the characters refer to as Indians are plain and simple, the worst cannibals ever. Some of them are clearly white, some of them have sideburns, but in their defense, they seem a bit more level-headed and fair than their authentic counterparts.
When watching Cannibal Terror, don't compare it to the others, compare it to something overrated from Jess Franco and you won't go wrong. Awkward dubbing, pointless one-liners, unintentional humor, an obvious euro-vibe and ineptness from all directions is what you should expect. because it's exactly what you're getting. Don't hate Cannibal Terror, it tried. 7/10
This Spanish-French obscurity has the reputation as a cheap knock-off just because the gore, the cannibals, as well as the entire vibe of the movie is completely different, not to mention no real jungle to speak of, but mainly because of the obvious lack of an Italian director.
Alright, well, that about sums it up. Cannibal Terror is a cheap knock-off of an already "misunderstood" sub-genre, but that doesn't mean this movie deserves to be hated. Besides having a swell score, and unintentionally humorous dialog, there's a little girl who's voice is dubbed by an adult, which always goes over well in low-budget European horror.
Let the unfitingly inspirational music begin. Some quaint Euro-scenery. Now, as the story goes, a trio of inept kidnappers who steals the little girl of a rich couple and figure that a fake French Jungle with crickets dubbed in the background would be a suitable place to hide out, besides, the local cannibals are fake, yes they do eat human flesh, but it's also very, very fake-looking, so, it's all good.
The original plan for collecting a ransom is derailed when one of the kidnappers decides to rape the wife of the guy lending out his place for a hideout. New plan, rapist gets tied to a tree near fake-cannibal country by angry husband while the other 2 run off into the jungle and suffer perhaps an even worse fate.
Ouch!! This film constantly screams "Not Italian" at the top of its lungs, which is the only thing drowning out the fake crickets. If Italian Cannibal icons such as Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox is what you're used to then Cannibal Terror will seem like a Cannibal movie from another dimension, or perhaps a sick joke posing as something it clearly is not... Or is it?
There are subtle qualities in this one that I prefer over "the real ones", although, they are few and far between, but I think the biggest problem most fans of the genre would have is the gore quality, I've just never seen gore like that before, but wow, it sure was a hell of a lot, regardless of what that stuff actually was.
The Cannibals, who I swear I heard one of the characters refer to as Indians are plain and simple, the worst cannibals ever. Some of them are clearly white, some of them have sideburns, but in their defense, they seem a bit more level-headed and fair than their authentic counterparts.
When watching Cannibal Terror, don't compare it to the others, compare it to something overrated from Jess Franco and you won't go wrong. Awkward dubbing, pointless one-liners, unintentional humor, an obvious euro-vibe and ineptness from all directions is what you should expect. because it's exactly what you're getting. Don't hate Cannibal Terror, it tried. 7/10
- Tromafreak
- May 10, 2009
- Permalink
- nogodnomasters
- Mar 27, 2018
- Permalink
"The genius of this film is impossible to put into words. There are times when the celestial bodies which rule our fates like the machined cogs of so many gears in an enormous and ethereal mechanism come together at one moment of perfect alignment to produce an event of such staggering proportions that it stands out like a beacon of what it means to be human. Such is the nature of this film. The script, acting, special effects, and the music - oh the music! - are all sublime. The direction is GENIUS. This, surely, is cinema at its very greatest." --- Ernesto Guerriero
OK the above may seem a slight exaggeration - but take this as the inverse of what I really mean, and then turn it back around again to get an idea of how GOOD it is to watch - because of its serene horribleness.
This movie was clearly made in haste and without much money or ability. It was clearly made at the same time as Jess Franco's equally sublime 'Cannibals', since it features several actors in common, much footage in common, and many locations in common - and the writer of this film is one of Franco's dozens of pseudonyms. Roger Corman used to make two movies using the same set to save on cash, or quickly to shoot a movie on the set of another film before they struck it. Clearly Franco was doing the same here.
If you like sitting back and maybe getting a bit hammered and eating a pizza and shutting the brain off while you watch some gross effects and bad dubbing, then Cannibal Terror will have more to offer you than most other cannibal films.
Don't pay more than a couple of bucks for it. Save your real money for a definitive edition of Cannibal Holocaust, which actually is good. This is just fun.
OK the above may seem a slight exaggeration - but take this as the inverse of what I really mean, and then turn it back around again to get an idea of how GOOD it is to watch - because of its serene horribleness.
This movie was clearly made in haste and without much money or ability. It was clearly made at the same time as Jess Franco's equally sublime 'Cannibals', since it features several actors in common, much footage in common, and many locations in common - and the writer of this film is one of Franco's dozens of pseudonyms. Roger Corman used to make two movies using the same set to save on cash, or quickly to shoot a movie on the set of another film before they struck it. Clearly Franco was doing the same here.
If you like sitting back and maybe getting a bit hammered and eating a pizza and shutting the brain off while you watch some gross effects and bad dubbing, then Cannibal Terror will have more to offer you than most other cannibal films.
Don't pay more than a couple of bucks for it. Save your real money for a definitive edition of Cannibal Holocaust, which actually is good. This is just fun.
- websterforrest
- May 15, 2011
- Permalink
- Ivan Ravenous
- Jun 13, 2000
- Permalink
- MovieManiac42
- Feb 25, 2008
- Permalink
Many suspect that this film was directed by Jess Franco because it's very similar to (and at least as bad as)two Eurocine films he DID direct--"Mondo Cannibale" and "Sexo Cannibale". The movie in fact was made by some of Franco's cronies at the low-rent French production house Eurocine. One of the directors on record was another Spaniard, Julio Tabernero, who directed the superior film "Sexy Cat", but since that film has no cannibals in it, it will probably never get the kind of upscale DVD release this one--and the two Franco cannibal films--have gotten in recent years. There's just no justice in the world.
There's no point in rehashing the idiotic plot again. Everything about this is laughably unconvincing from the horribly dubbed dialogue to obviously European "cannibals" to the "jungle" setting which was obviously a European zoo. The canned sound effects include one bird who seems to be chirping all the time in every single place in the "jungle". The public domain music is imported entirely from Mexico (with horrid variations on such standards as "La Bamba" and "La Cucaracha"), a country not exactly famous for its cannibalistic tribes. (If this had been an actual Franco film, it would have at least had better music).
Franco-regular Anthony Mayans has a small role here. Pamela Stanford has a nice nude scene, which is literally the ONLY worthwhile scene in the entire movie. Sabrina Siani, the heroine of "Mondo Cannibal" has a a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it cameo, which (aside from her not being naked) is probably her best role ever since she makes no attempt whatsoever to act (actually she made no attempt whatsoever to act in "Mondo Cannibale" either, but the horny producers still insisted on casting her as the lead). But I'm obviously really grasping at straws to find ANYTHING nice to say about this. This movie has nowhere near the power of an Italian cannibal flick like "Cannibal Holocaust" and frankly it barely rises to the level of a bad Jess Franco imitation. Avoid with extreme prejudice.
There's no point in rehashing the idiotic plot again. Everything about this is laughably unconvincing from the horribly dubbed dialogue to obviously European "cannibals" to the "jungle" setting which was obviously a European zoo. The canned sound effects include one bird who seems to be chirping all the time in every single place in the "jungle". The public domain music is imported entirely from Mexico (with horrid variations on such standards as "La Bamba" and "La Cucaracha"), a country not exactly famous for its cannibalistic tribes. (If this had been an actual Franco film, it would have at least had better music).
Franco-regular Anthony Mayans has a small role here. Pamela Stanford has a nice nude scene, which is literally the ONLY worthwhile scene in the entire movie. Sabrina Siani, the heroine of "Mondo Cannibal" has a a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it cameo, which (aside from her not being naked) is probably her best role ever since she makes no attempt whatsoever to act (actually she made no attempt whatsoever to act in "Mondo Cannibale" either, but the horny producers still insisted on casting her as the lead). But I'm obviously really grasping at straws to find ANYTHING nice to say about this. This movie has nowhere near the power of an Italian cannibal flick like "Cannibal Holocaust" and frankly it barely rises to the level of a bad Jess Franco imitation. Avoid with extreme prejudice.
- poolandrews
- Sep 15, 2001
- Permalink
Just around two weeks ago I saw Cannibal Apocalypse and I thought it was really bad but man this movie is way worst than that, its a total mess. It's not even one of those movie that is so bad it becomes a laughing stock, the movie just suck. The whole experience was a nightmare. The acting is a complete garbage, the soundtrack is annoying, the plot is dreadful it doesn't even make any sense, and the gore is just terrible you can clearly see they were eating sausages in one of the scene near the end of the movie. This is definitely one of the worst movie I've seen this year.
And this is the result of when you decide to make a cannibal movie in your own backyard. But I am getting ahead of myself here...
Of course I was not familiar with the 1980 French cannibal movie "Terreur Cannibale" (aka "Cannibal Terror") prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. And given the fact that it is a horror movie, more specifically a cannibal movie, that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to give the movie a chance. However, I wasn't exactly harboring the biggest of expectations to the movie, given its age and premise.
I will say that the movie definitely starts out all chipper and cheerful, with that wonderful music, and thus setting what I assume is a false sense of calm, security and complacency within the viewers. But knowing that it is a cannibal-themed movie, of course we know that things are about to change at some point.
The storyline in the movie, as concocted by writers Jesús Franco, Julio Pérez Tabernero and H. L. Rostaine, fell short of entertaining me. It was not a particularly entertaining storyline, and the character gallery was flat and one-dimensional. Truth be told, I didn't care one bit about the characters, and the mediocre acting performances didn't exactly help to cement the characters as memorable.
Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. And while that is usually something I do enjoy when I watch a movie, I just didn't enjoy it in "Terreur Cannibale" as the performances were amateurish, wooden, rigid and devoid of emotion and commitment.
Sure, there were some gory scenes in the movie, but it was hardly sufficient to make up for the rest of movie, which was a terrible disappointment. But visually, then you're not in for anything grand here, should you opt to sit down and watch this movie. And as for the tribal native cannibals, well they didn't even look to be natives, they felt like random extras the film crew had hired off of the street, as they were a ragged band of mixed races, and the white guy with the muttonchops was the icing of the cake, as it was as far from being a jungle native as you could get.
Of course, the cannibal movies of the 1970s and 1980s weren't exactly cinematic masterpieces, but "Terreur Cannibale" was definitely in the lower end of the scale.
I would not recommend that you should waste 93 minutes of your life on watching this movie. Some of us did, so you don't have you; you're quite welcome.
My rating of directors Alain Deruelle, Olivier Mathot and Julio Pérez Tabernero's 1980 movie "Terreur Cannibale" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.
Of course I was not familiar with the 1980 French cannibal movie "Terreur Cannibale" (aka "Cannibal Terror") prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2024. And given the fact that it is a horror movie, more specifically a cannibal movie, that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to give the movie a chance. However, I wasn't exactly harboring the biggest of expectations to the movie, given its age and premise.
I will say that the movie definitely starts out all chipper and cheerful, with that wonderful music, and thus setting what I assume is a false sense of calm, security and complacency within the viewers. But knowing that it is a cannibal-themed movie, of course we know that things are about to change at some point.
The storyline in the movie, as concocted by writers Jesús Franco, Julio Pérez Tabernero and H. L. Rostaine, fell short of entertaining me. It was not a particularly entertaining storyline, and the character gallery was flat and one-dimensional. Truth be told, I didn't care one bit about the characters, and the mediocre acting performances didn't exactly help to cement the characters as memorable.
Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. And while that is usually something I do enjoy when I watch a movie, I just didn't enjoy it in "Terreur Cannibale" as the performances were amateurish, wooden, rigid and devoid of emotion and commitment.
Sure, there were some gory scenes in the movie, but it was hardly sufficient to make up for the rest of movie, which was a terrible disappointment. But visually, then you're not in for anything grand here, should you opt to sit down and watch this movie. And as for the tribal native cannibals, well they didn't even look to be natives, they felt like random extras the film crew had hired off of the street, as they were a ragged band of mixed races, and the white guy with the muttonchops was the icing of the cake, as it was as far from being a jungle native as you could get.
Of course, the cannibal movies of the 1970s and 1980s weren't exactly cinematic masterpieces, but "Terreur Cannibale" was definitely in the lower end of the scale.
I would not recommend that you should waste 93 minutes of your life on watching this movie. Some of us did, so you don't have you; you're quite welcome.
My rating of directors Alain Deruelle, Olivier Mathot and Julio Pérez Tabernero's 1980 movie "Terreur Cannibale" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.
- paul_haakonsen
- Nov 8, 2024
- Permalink
Out on video at last! One of the original video nasties that were banned by Britain. It was finally released uncut in 2003. Obviously, the Brits don't like cannibal movies as they banned five of them.
This film was really bad on so many levels.
It seemed as if time and distance were totally disregarded. For example, Monsieur Danville (Olivier Mathot) left for three days and seemed to come back in 30 minutes. The jungle must have been in Southern Spain, as it took everyone so little time to get there.
If you are looking for titillating scenes, there is only one: Pamela Stanford taking a bath. Other than that the rest focused mainly on the eating of people's guts. Yech! They really didn't need to ban this as it is too awful to watch.
This film was really bad on so many levels.
It seemed as if time and distance were totally disregarded. For example, Monsieur Danville (Olivier Mathot) left for three days and seemed to come back in 30 minutes. The jungle must have been in Southern Spain, as it took everyone so little time to get there.
If you are looking for titillating scenes, there is only one: Pamela Stanford taking a bath. Other than that the rest focused mainly on the eating of people's guts. Yech! They really didn't need to ban this as it is too awful to watch.
- lastliberal
- Sep 16, 2008
- Permalink
What the hell was this! Made in the year of Cannibal Holocaust, the one that was really gory and had many problems, well that same year this one came out.
Scenes jump from on to another. Girl gets lost nobody cares, girl got raped, the other night she is dancing with her raper, seeing is believing.
After two burglars are fed up with almost having nothing they decide to abduct a young girl and are set to cross the border but behind the border there are cannibals. And even that, white men disguised as cannibals.
And still, Cannibal Terror is one serached by the geeks. Only fr two reasons. When the cannibals finally are eating it's gory, but for a flick over 90 minutes they only eat for 5 minutes, for the rest they dance and jump from one scene to another.
To conclude, annoying, stupid conversations, things taking place you think, huh, terrible terrible
Gore 3/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 1/5 Story 0,5/5 Comedy 0/5
Scenes jump from on to another. Girl gets lost nobody cares, girl got raped, the other night she is dancing with her raper, seeing is believing.
After two burglars are fed up with almost having nothing they decide to abduct a young girl and are set to cross the border but behind the border there are cannibals. And even that, white men disguised as cannibals.
And still, Cannibal Terror is one serached by the geeks. Only fr two reasons. When the cannibals finally are eating it's gory, but for a flick over 90 minutes they only eat for 5 minutes, for the rest they dance and jump from one scene to another.
To conclude, annoying, stupid conversations, things taking place you think, huh, terrible terrible
Gore 3/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 1/5 Story 0,5/5 Comedy 0/5
- Woodyanders
- Jun 16, 2015
- Permalink
In many ways horror iconoclast Alain Deruelle's blood rare, salaciously sanguineous, and crassly opportunistic, Eurociné cannibal platter is, perhaps, one of the more 'progressive' terror titles in the still frequently maligned Cannibal oeuvre, since it apparently takes such a boldly surrealistic approach to said micro-genre, guerrilla film-maker Deruelle eschews the expected lurid documentary verisimilitude of Martino & Deodato, and somewhat boldly shoots his oft derided, intestinally fortified opus in sunny Spain, strikingly using sketchy locations that suggest being anywhere BUT the humid green hells of the Amazon, which strongly leads me to think, that 'Cannibal Terror' might be a knowing melange of sinfully sleazy cinematic B-tropes, and when you factor in the wholly mannered and lugubrious acting affections of slinky Euro-cult icon Slinky Silvia Solar, and the outrageously ominous Olivier Mathiot, along with the asymmetrically appealing Antonio Mayans, 'Cannibal Terror' may well be a far cleverer exploitation film than the vociferous naysayers would have you believe it to be, as there is a gleefully unfiltered, autistic earnestness to all the maniacal silliness, that might, on occasion, even be entirely intentional!!!
While the Italian's gleefully torture defenceless animals for our sadistic edification, in Alain Deruelle's 'Cannibal Terror', this meta work of forward thinking splatter actively tortures the viewer with its aggressively prosaic Ed Wood-style, jungle juice-fried aesthetics, which magically transports the brain-boggled, will-sapped viewer into weirdly warped, Cannibal-clotted realms many are too uptight to relate to!! Or, it is a merely cheap, tawdry, and witheringly inept excuse for exploitation cinema? Either way, it's a diamond-encrusted, steel-thewed win for me, as I dig tawdry and inept, and I can righteously groove on Deruelle's gruesomely grubby descent into his bonkers B-Movie blood-spattered murkiness, which finally proves to be certainly no less of a rarefied viewing experience than maestro Jean Rollin's exquisitely strange, frequently soggy-bottomed 'Lake of The Zombies'. Cannibal Terror's loosey-goosey, gut-slingingly garish, marvellously mush-headed, ribcage-wrecking mondo movie is quite deliciously mad, and is arguably one of the funniest 'Video Nasties' ever made. The tired phrase 'Cult Movie' is far too often used, but rarely has a lunatic exploitation film been more deserving of said moniker than 'Cannibal Terror', and it must be noted that Deruelle's bawdily eccentric, terrifically trashy, Carry On Cannibal freak-fest is one terminally titter-worthy, wig-splittingly wonky, bloodily bejewelled terror-chest of quite some considerable magnitude!
While the Italian's gleefully torture defenceless animals for our sadistic edification, in Alain Deruelle's 'Cannibal Terror', this meta work of forward thinking splatter actively tortures the viewer with its aggressively prosaic Ed Wood-style, jungle juice-fried aesthetics, which magically transports the brain-boggled, will-sapped viewer into weirdly warped, Cannibal-clotted realms many are too uptight to relate to!! Or, it is a merely cheap, tawdry, and witheringly inept excuse for exploitation cinema? Either way, it's a diamond-encrusted, steel-thewed win for me, as I dig tawdry and inept, and I can righteously groove on Deruelle's gruesomely grubby descent into his bonkers B-Movie blood-spattered murkiness, which finally proves to be certainly no less of a rarefied viewing experience than maestro Jean Rollin's exquisitely strange, frequently soggy-bottomed 'Lake of The Zombies'. Cannibal Terror's loosey-goosey, gut-slingingly garish, marvellously mush-headed, ribcage-wrecking mondo movie is quite deliciously mad, and is arguably one of the funniest 'Video Nasties' ever made. The tired phrase 'Cult Movie' is far too often used, but rarely has a lunatic exploitation film been more deserving of said moniker than 'Cannibal Terror', and it must be noted that Deruelle's bawdily eccentric, terrifically trashy, Carry On Cannibal freak-fest is one terminally titter-worthy, wig-splittingly wonky, bloodily bejewelled terror-chest of quite some considerable magnitude!
- Weirdling_Wolf
- Oct 16, 2021
- Permalink
So i got the blu ray double feature of cannibal terror and devil hunter. I watched terror first and really enjoyed it sure its not the best but definitely entertaining and has some pretty decent gore. And i see alot of reviews saying this is a bad film and its not.
- HorrorFan265
- Feb 10, 2019
- Permalink
This is such a bad film. It has no redeeming features. It is just a long boring movie with rubbish special effects. A poor excuse for filmmaking. There is no content except for the cannibals and even they look totally fake. The violence consists of people playing with bloody raw meat and nothing else. That is not a special effect, it is just plain stupid. Interestingly this is a French film unlike the majority of the cannibal films which are Italian. Moral issues aside this is probably the worst as it offers so much less than the Italian films. It is dire. Don't bother watching, you will regret it if you do.
- hellholehorror
- Feb 24, 2024
- Permalink