CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE: Taking Italo-Shock Horror To American Streets
The 1980s, particularly their first half, were a goldenera for Italian genre productions. It was a time when a modestly-budgeted projectcould get a name star or two from overseas and cover a hefty spot ofon-location shooting in the United States plus some handsome soundstage shootsback in Rome. The resulting production could be passed off as "almostAmerican" to countries around the world, the U.S. included.
This led the country's genre journeyman to crank out a slew of films that staged baroque Italian storylines in American settings, creating a fascinating cultural disconnect on celluloid where casts of mixed national heritage enacted a funhouse mirror reflection of what Italian filmmakers imagined life in the United States to be like. The reality-bending Troll II is probably the most famous example of this but Schlockmania's favorite is Cannibal Apocalypse, a staggering mixture of action, shock-horror and a bizarro world version of American city life anchored by a straight-faced performance from the great, much-missed John Saxon.
CannibalApocalypse starts like gangbusters with a cost-conscious butwell-staged Vietnam War prologue in which commanding officer Norman Hopper(Saxon) attacks a village and discovers a couple of his soldiers, Bukowski(Giovanni Lombardo Radice) and Thompson (Tony King). Unbeknownst to Hopper,they've been infected by a cannibal virus and this comes to light when one ofthe men puts the bite on him.
Cut to: the present day. Hopper is sleepwalking throughhis life with newscaster wife (Elizabeth Turner). The sleeper awakens when hegets a surprise call from Bukowski, whom he must rescue when his day pass froma mental hospital goes wrong. Old memories are resurrected along with theeffects of the virus and Hopper finds himself drawn into a bloody reunion withhis former subordinates. They mayhem they commit causes the cannibal virus tospread through the streets of Atlanta as a grizzled cop (Wallace Wilkinson)tries to track them down.
The resulting film is as energetic as it is weird. Thescript, penned by director Antonio Margheriti with Italian genre veteranDardano Sacchetti, crossbreeds the "Vietnam vets return home" genrewith the zombie/cannibal horror so popular in Italy around this time as well asthe action that Margheriti was fond of. The science of the "virus"never gets beyond a comic book level but you won't care: it's merely a devicedesigned to kickstart a barrage of setpieces where horror effects andatmosphere are spliced into action setups.
Here's a few stunning examples of the filmsaction-goes-horror concepts in action: p.o.w.'s cannibalizer a villager who fallsinto their pit, an impromptu cannibal attack that prompts a chase and shootoutand, best of all, a fight between the antiheroes and a biker gang where theypunch their foes and then bite chunks out of them! These are frequently accented byshow-stopping gore FX, the most unforgettable being one unlucky soul who gets abowling ball-size hole shot out of his abdomen with a riot gun (of course, thecamera then tracks the scene's subsequent action through that hole).
The side-benefit here is the twisted vision the creatorshave of life in the United States. In this film's version of America, it's aneveryday occurrence for biker gangs to harass and feel up female joggerspassing through a shopping area and a guy to take his best girl to see a warmovie so he can pull down her top and go right to first base. That said, thebest example is the family unit who lives next door to Norman: there's an angryaunt (Joan Riordan) who constantly yells at her niece and nephew over anythingthey do and a legwarmer-clad teenage seductress (Cinzia De Carolis) with thehots for Norman. All their scenes have thatfunhouse mirror weirdness in their depiction of suburban U.S. life and theyeven get to play a role in the film's denouement.
If the above combination of elements sounds like acombustible hothouse of schlock creativity to you, that's exactly what Cannibal Apocalypse delivers thanks toMargheriti's direction. He does the onlything worth doing with such a wild premise: he plays it totally straight,letting the inherent wildness of his narrative speak for itself andconcentrating on putting it all across the plate in a full-throttle style.There's a comic book vibe to the framing by cinematographer Fernando Arribas aswell as a jittery quality to his frequent handheld camerawork. The energy isintensified by snappy editing in the setpieces from Giorgio Serralonga and it'sall put over the top by a catchy, disco-tinged score by Alessandro Blonksteinerthat could be accurately described as "Ennio Morricone meets the themefrom Charlie's Angels."
The final element of fun for Eurotrash fans here is thecast. The most crucial element, of course, is John Saxon. He was a veteran ofItalian productions by this time and he's the calm in the eye of the film'sstorm that holds it all together. He follows each crazy turn of the plot andevery weird line of pseudo-American dialogue without missing a beat, bring anold pro's sense of gravitas to the proceedings and never condescending to thematerial. He admitted to being embarrassed by this film later in his career buthe's got nothing to be ashamed of as his solid craftman's touch is that corethat keeps this from drifting off into the ether.
That said, it's worth noting that Saxon has some veryentertaining backup here. Most notable are Radice and King. Radice has a ballcamping it up to create a showy version of a mentally disturbed vet: look outfor the moments where he improvises new, Vietnam War-themed lyrics to"Yankee Doodle" and "California, Here I Come." In contrast,King offers convincing, uncut intensity: when he growls a threat or unleashes aprimal roar, you feel it in your bones.
You also get a great turn from Atlanta local Wilkerson,who digs into every tough cop line of dialogue with southern-accentedmachismo. Elsewhere, it's a who's who ofEurotrash genre players: De Carolis is the little girl from Cat O' Nine Tails all grown up,Ventantino Ventantini from Gates Of Hellpops up as a cop and May Heatherly of Piecesfame is a mental institute nurse who goes cannibal.
In short, CannibalApocalypse is both a thoroughly entertaining action/horror hybrid and afascinating time capsule of the "on location in the U.S." glory daysof Italian genre fare. It's also a testament to what a consummate professional Saxonwas. Add in a hefty dollop of Video Nasty gore and you've got a must-have forany Italian horror fan's movie shelf.
Blu-Ray Notes: Kino Lorber picked this one for blu-ray and turned in a stunning new transfer that shows off how handsomely shot the film is. All of the excellent supplements from the old Image DVD are carried over, including a fantastic hour-long retrospective with Saxon and Radice, and new extras are added as well.