****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
After watching The Cannibals, I was concerned that I'd wasted $10 on this set. However, inclusion of The Cannibal Man was redeeming. Before reviewing each film individually, I purchased Blue Underground's 2-disc set titled Cannibal Double Feature on DVD. Picture and sound quality are good on both films, trailers are included for both, and The Cannibals has a 20-minute interview with the director as a bonus. There are no subtitles and both films are English dubbed, i.e. the original soundtracks are missing. Considering The Cannibals and The Cannibal Man as movies alone, I give 2 and 4 stars, respectively. On to the movie reviews:The worst cannibal film in cinematic historyFollowing the trend of the Italian Cannibal subgenre that was popular in the 70s and 80s, director Jess Franco attempted his version. Mondo Cannibale (1980) AKA The Cannibals, AKA White Cannibal Queen has A LOT of room for improvement. If he was so unintrigued with cannibal films, why in the hell did he make one? Franco's lack of enthusiasm regarding screenwriting and directing his cannibal catastrophe is overtly demonstrated.Indeed, the story never draws the viewer into the world of Mondo Cannibale. Scene after scene, the viewer is assured that realism was not Franco's concern. For instance, the girl kidnapped by the cannibal tribe--whom they believe is a white goddess--has dark brown hair, but as an adult she had light-blonde locks. Also, why was she wearing fake eyelashes and a G-string? At least her face paint was hella better than all the other dudes in the tribe, who looked like their faces were painted at an elementary school field day. One dude had eyebrows painted over his nipples, looking like a second pair of eyes. And, considering special makeup effects--WHEW--stinky. However, close ups of flesh devouring were disgusting--looked like real animal guts.Absurdity continuing, before the white goddess joined the tribe, the male to female ratio was roughly 50:1. Everyone was male except for one female, who didn't dance well--although, she was more skilled than the men who looked like they should've been in House of Pain's "Jump Around" music video. Also, the tribe mysteriously speaks white people's language sometimes, but mostly they speak gibberish--apparently Franco told them to. To be clear, the actresses/actors playing cannibals were all Gypsies living in or around Alicante, Spain, where Franco said the film was shot (IMDb has conflicting information). Hence, the cannibal tribe's language in the film was not a real language. But still, it would've made sense to subtitle the tribal language, in order to give it a sense of realism.Unfortunately, Blue Underground’s version doesn't have the original French soundtrack, forcing viewer to listen to horrible English dub. NEVER are dubs as good as the original language, mainly because it's impossible for people doing the dub to convey the emotions/spirit of actresses/actors when performing. BEWARE: This film has the worse English dub ever, complemented with fake southern accents and lackadaisical delivery of lines.Despite negativity, one interesting feature in Mondo Cannibale includes a palm forest and associated vegetation, which were somewhat documented. Unfortunately, the forest no longer exists--alluded to by Franco. In addition to flora, some fauna was recorded as well. Thus, this film has historical value and captures a beautiful natural landscape destroyed by humans.A sexy psychological thriller, but NO CANNIBALSLa Semana del Asesino (1972), translated as The Week of the Assassin, and AKA The Cannibal Man (a horrible title given to this film in the US), was an outstanding, Spanish horror/psychological thriller. Unfortunately, both Spanish and English titles are misleading, as there are no assassins nor cannibals. The best title for this movie would be The Week of the Butcher--why did nobody think of that?Indeed, the story encompasses a butcher who unintentionally commits a homicide, which leads to an out-of-control downward spiral entailing brutal murder after murder for the following week, in a futile attempt to snuff out all who suspect foul play. As the bodies pile up and begin to fester, attracting stray dogs roaming the neighborhood, the butcher devises an opportunistic plan to eliminate evidence. Specifically, since he works at a slaughterhouse operated by a commercial soup company (similar to Campbell's), well let's just say that ain't chicken with your noodles--even if it tastes like it. But, why not just throw the meat to those damned dogs? Dogs eat bones and all.The story also dabbles in themes such as discrimination against certain, underpriviledged groups by government and law. And, acceptance of homosexuality seemed to be a subtle message as well. Although interesting and worthy of respect, the director's efforts seemed timid, as he refrained from making any bold statements in either matter. If you're going to raise the issue, then don't hold back, damn it. After all, the director didn't shy away from depicting bloody, graphic violence that seemed over the top for 1972. Nevertheless, La Semana del Asesino was an enjoyable experience. Only the ending could've been better.
