Cannibal Ferox (1981)

AKA: Woman from Deep River, Make Them Die Slowly
Year: 1981
Directed by: Umberto Lenzi
Starring: Giovanni Lombardo Radice (Mike Logan), Lorraine De Selle (Gloria), Danilo Mattei (Rudy), Zora Kerova (Pat), Walter Lucchini (Joe)
Country: Italy, European Cinema
Language: English
Runtime: 01:33:21
Genres: Cannibalism, Violence against Men, Violence against Women, Gore-Gruesome-Splatter, Torture, Violence Against-Relationships with Animals

Plot – Spoilers:
A man recently discharged from the hospital is shot dead by goons looking for his friend, Mike, a pusher who’s ripped them off. Turns out Mike is deep in the Amazonian rainforests hunting for emeralds.

Meanwhile, Gloria and her brother Rudy are headed into the Amazon with friend Pat, a motel receptionist and part-time hooker. Gloria is the one pushing the trip as part of her research into cannibalism. She is of the view it’s a myth propagated by colonialists to justify their imperialism and is preparing her PhD thesis on the subject.

After losing their jeep to a swamp, the group trek along until they chance upon a couple of dead tribals. Mike and his injured accomplice Joe emerge out of the bush and spin a yarn about escaping from cannibals which makes Rudy suspicious. The truth is a bit more complex and horrific as they all soon uncover.

Though Cannibal Ferox came after Cannibal Holocaust, director Umberto Lenzi is often credited with kickstarting the cannibal genre through his earlier works. There are plenty of scenes of animal killing, cannibalism and gruesome torture in this one to archive it as one of the nasty ones in history.