Reviews (10)

You Gotta Love the 70s -- Action - Nudity - Lust - Catfights
Two viscous catfights, three duels in the arena, a gladiatrix revolt, and a running battle through the catacombs as the girls escape make for plenty of action. Plus for Pam Grier fans, a full frontal nudity shower scene. The movie portrays them as playthings for the vicarious bloodlust of Imperial Rome, slave-girl gladiators forced to fight or die in spectacles of barbarous combat. Pam Grier and Margaret Markov head the cast of sweaty sword-and-sandal sisters.

Super Movie
This was an awesome "guy" film. 4 elements made it stand out as such. 1) The main characters were Pam Grier and Margeret Markov. Two very attactive women. 2) There was constant action throughout the movie. Even a couple of catfights. 3) Of course it wouldn't be a guy film without tons of unnecessary nudity. Both Grier and Markov have full frontial shots! 4)But to top it off, it's not like you're sitting though a bunch of mindless scenes just to see Grier and Markov. Rather this film has a really great storyline. The plot is believable (except for maybe one scene) and the message really touches your heart. It's a great film worth owning. and if you like it you should check out.."Black Mama, White Mama"..not nearly as good but has it's moments.

Pure Awful!
Yeah I know that this was a "B" movie but this was a chore to watch! I purchased it hoping like every other male to get to see some great nude scenes of Pam Grier and the few nude scenes (only 2 of Pam) are not even worth it. The picture guality for a DVD left much to be desired. There was no plot whatsoever but then again this is a Corman picture. Dolemite movies don't have a plot either but I'd much rather sit through one of his ridiculous attempts at cinema than this stinker. Like Pam Grier? Get Coffy and don't waste your money on this garbage!

A must-be for Pam Grier-Fans
Every Pam Grier-Fan must have seen this film. The story is nothing special, but there are some nude-scenes worthseen. There is a shower scene with Pam Grier, in which she shows her pubic hair. If you are not interested in that scene, forget about the film!

Not the greatest Grier...
If you're looking for a funky sleazy flick like Coffy you've come to the wrong place, as although this sand & sandals "epic" has it's fair quota of sleaze it's just not up to the Jack Hill standards.

Grier is great, as always, and Margret Markov gives good gladiator as well, but the film really starts to sag in the second half when it can't make it's mind up if it wants to be a tounge in cheek catfight movie or a serious Ben Hur style epic.

Good...but not good enough - thumbs sideways. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Well, You Wanted Something Different....
Sleaze director Aristide Massaccesi (a.k.a Joe D'Amato) died suddenly of a heart attack in 1999, the unfortunate culmination of a long career as the creator of numerous low budget horror and soft-core sex films. Among horror fans, D'Amato's seminal contributions to the genre include the taboo busting 1981 film Anthropophagus and the ultra gory 1977 classic Buio Omega. Joe's films crossed the borders of bad taste as often as they mixed gluey gore with sexual themes. It is perhaps this movie, "Emanuelle in America," that best personified the basic premise of a Joe D'Amato film. Lovingly reconstituted by Blue Underground, a new DVD company specializing in underground cinema, this Laura Gemser vehicle was the first of a string of Emanuelle films helmed by D'Amato. It was also the beginning of a long collaboration between D'Amato and Gemser that eventually ended with the Indonesian actress's retirement in the mid 1990s. We'll never see a new Joe D'Amato film, but with the advent of DVD fans will finally see excellent versions of all of his old classics. Up until a few years ago, many of us acquired grainy third or fourth generation dupes in order to view any film from Joe D'Amato. Those days are now over.

In "Emanuelle in America," Indonesian actress Laura Gemser plays Emanuelle, a newspaper journalist who roams the world in search of offbeat stories. There really isn't much to the plot here, with Emanuelle embarking on trips to Italy, the Caribbean, Washington, D.C., and Latin America. In each of these places, she uncovers various sexual situations ranging from a brothel controlled by a crime boss to degenerate nobility in Venice to a "dating service" in the Caribbean. The final adventure sees Emanuelle searching for the makers of grotesque snuff films. The movie concludes with little resolution in a tropical paradise where Emanuelle and her boyfriend encounter a native tribe and a mysterious "film set" (?) before running off into the sunset. Predictably, the acting is terrible, the dialogue laughable (I rolled my eyes at least four times), and the plot fails to achieve any sort of continuity. I know the whole idea of the Emanuelle films involved exotic locales mixed with cheesy soft-core erotica, but I'm willing to bet several other entries in the franchise possessed a better sense of wholeness than this one did. Moreover, the nudity and inserted hardcore scenes (yes, there is hardcore in this movie) didn't really do anything for me. Maybe it's because this is the 1970s and all of the women look rough. Whatever it was, I just didn't find "Emanuelle in America" all that erotic.

There are many intriguing elements to this film once you look past its flaws. Several music pieces, especially noticeable during the pool scene, were downright excellent. They had a sort of new age/Pink Floyd sound to them. I also thought the cigarette pack table/bar was cool. But it is D'Amato's taboo busting scenes that really take the cake here. First, there is a scene with a horse that is, well, controversial. That scene is here in its full nauseating glory. As if this isn't enough to float your boat, there's the snuff film segments. Employing stomach churning gore effects, D'Amato doctored up these sequences by scratching the film, using quick cuts, and employing jumping frame techniques to make the snuff footage look like the real thing. It is gruesome, even more so by its association with intimate relationships. On an unrelated note, I thought that the guy who pulled the gun on Emanuelle in the beginning of the movie was none other than actor Maxwell Caulfield (best known for his role in "Grease 2"). Upon further investigation, I can't confirm that it is actually Caulfield, but it sure looks like him.

The extras on this disc are simply marvelous. You get a thirteen minute interview with Joe D'Amato made shortly before his death, an audio interview with Laura Gemser, and background on the Emmanuelle phenomena (D'Amato and others changed the spelling of Emmanuelle to "Emanuelle" in order to avoid copyright problems), a franchise which ran for decades throughout Europe and America. The best extras on the DVD are the talent bios for D'Amato and Gemser. These two biographies deeply explore the careers of these two underground favorites. Any information on D'Amato is always welcome, and the bio here does a good job constructing a partial filmography of this busy director. Interspersed throughout the bios are movie posters for various cult films made by Gemser and D'Amato.

It's amazing how great the film looks on DVD. It is obvious that the technicians pieced in several scenes in order to present an uncut version of the film, but overall the picture looks splendid. I hope the release of "Emanuelle in America" signals a growing movement to release even more D'Amato works in the near future. "Troll 2," a D'Amato classic not to be missed by anyone with a love for "so bad they're good" movies is due to appear soon. If new uncut versions of Anthropophagus and Anthropophagus 2 followed, I would truly be happy. For those new to the Joe D'Amato catalogue, "Emanuelle in America" is a good place to start. This movie isn't great, but it is an important contribution to underground cinema.

Disturbing
A friend of mine showed this video to me. The only words that describe this movie is "Disturbing." I hope every part of the "snuff" scenes were fake. I could barely stomach any of those scenes. The sad thing is that stuff like this actually happens. Anyone who finds that entertaining should be shot. All you people that get off from watching this stuff and would prefer the "uncut" version of this movie because of the snuff scenes should be shot as well. Movies like this are helping these sick [people] watch their snuff legally.

it certainly has its moments....yeah...it goes there!
I admit I was sceptical about how good this '70's erotic movie would be. Unfortunately it was a slow moving film until the final 30 minutes or so. The main actress is less than exciting, its all about the situations she gets into that make this movie worth watching. There are some actual hard core sex scenes that are welcome to the viewer, by the time you get through seeing so many phony "soft core" sequences. Again...towards the end of the film the real hard core scenes present themselves. Of course its simulated "snuff" action...but what action! Its unfortunate the director didn't show more than snipetts of those very strong scenes! I was impressed by the reality of the snuff stuff...I would have enjoyed more raw sex with the star participating, however she came across as frigid as a dead cod for sale in a fish market! If it wasn't for the tension of certain parts of this film, it would be a zero star film. The very hot hard core sex scenes and the snuff movies being shown in the background gives this film 5 stars from me!
I don't anticipate seeing anything else quite like it...made during the 1970's or anytime before or after this film. Hollywood may be making billions from the porn industry these days, but they sure don't make erotic films like this one, or the best one ever, "The Image". This film may be too strong at some times for your girlfriends to watch with you, however, if they are very "freaky" little pigs....they'll get wet all over the couch with you!

Laura Gemser: the worst Emanuelle character
If Sylvia Kristel had acted in this it probably would have been more entertaining, since she doesn't mind doing a sex scene or two. Laura Gemser, on the other hand, was plenty nude in this film (about every 5 minutes or so), but she has nothing even remotely close to a "sex scene". What gives? She gets touchy feely on a few occasions, but nothing special. Maybe that's why they had to call her "Emanuelle" with one M, instead of Sylvia Kristel's "Emmanuelle", because the extra M means MORE sex.
That's okay, because there was plenty of sex to be had by everyone else, even the horse! Contrary to the review from "dirk digler", Laura did not have anything to do with the horse, and nobody had sex with it. Some lady just massaged its genitalia. Big deal.
There is a scene at a party which turns into an explicit pornographic orgy and, later, when Laura is out and about taking pictures of people having sex for some reason, they are all engaged in explicit, real behavior. So that makes up for Laura's lack of "getting it on", but her soft-core stuff would've been silly compared to what else was going on, anyway.
Now, the "snuff" stuff.....I'll admit, it was quite troubling to watch at first, until I heard in a commentary how the director scratched up some 8mm film he shot the scenes with to make it look grainy and real. His efforts paid off, as far as realism goes. I honestly couldn't tell if it was fake or not at first, until one of the "victims" (the torn breast girl) didn't quite convince me that she was being tormented. But the meathook? How could you fake that? Even if it is fake, it still is creepy to watch. Definitely effective cinema, if nothing else.

Draining the horse
That's awesome how Emmanuelle jacks off the horse then turns around and takes it in the rear! Next time I get near a farm I'm gonna do the same thing! ... Read more

Reviews (10)

You Gotta Love the 70s -- Action - Nudity - Lust - Catfights
Two viscous catfights, three duels in the arena, a gladiatrix revolt, and a running battle through the catacombs as the girls escape make for plenty of action. Plus for Pam Grier fans, a full frontal nudity shower scene. The movie portrays them as playthings for the vicarious bloodlust of Imperial Rome, slave-girl gladiators forced to fight or die in spectacles of barbarous combat. Pam Grier and Margaret Markov head the cast of sweaty sword-and-sandal sisters.

Super Movie
This was an awesome "guy" film. 4 elements made it stand out as such. 1) The main characters were Pam Grier and Margeret Markov. Two very attactive women. 2) There was constant action throughout the movie. Even a couple of catfights. 3) Of course it wouldn't be a guy film without tons of unnecessary nudity. Both Grier and Markov have full frontial shots! 4)But to top it off, it's not like you're sitting though a bunch of mindless scenes just to see Grier and Markov. Rather this film has a really great storyline. The plot is believable (except for maybe one scene) and the message really touches your heart. It's a great film worth owning. and if you like it you should check out.."Black Mama, White Mama"..not nearly as good but has it's moments.

Pure Awful!
Yeah I know that this was a "B" movie but this was a chore to watch! I purchased it hoping like every other male to get to see some great nude scenes of Pam Grier and the few nude scenes (only 2 of Pam) are not even worth it. The picture guality for a DVD left much to be desired. There was no plot whatsoever but then again this is a Corman picture. Dolemite movies don't have a plot either but I'd much rather sit through one of his ridiculous attempts at cinema than this stinker. Like Pam Grier? Get Coffy and don't waste your money on this garbage!

A must-be for Pam Grier-Fans
Every Pam Grier-Fan must have seen this film. The story is nothing special, but there are some nude-scenes worthseen. There is a shower scene with Pam Grier, in which she shows her pubic hair. If you are not interested in that scene, forget about the film!

Not the greatest Grier...
If you're looking for a funky sleazy flick like Coffy you've come to the wrong place, as although this sand & sandals "epic" has it's fair quota of sleaze it's just not up to the Jack Hill standards.

Grier is great, as always, and Margret Markov gives good gladiator as well, but the film really starts to sag in the second half when it can't make it's mind up if it wants to be a tounge in cheek catfight movie or a serious Ben Hur style epic.

Good...but not good enough - thumbs sideways. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Heavily Edited!
This is a heavily edited version of Antropophagous made by Joe D'Amato,and its have no menu,and horrible sound.
The Movie very good itself,but keep looking for Antropophagous titled UNCUT version.Available at Xploitedcinema.com

$ave your $$$ and dont buy this crap
I own this movie because a Friend recommended it, but It's not the original version, it is cut and edited, C'mon guys better sit down and watch TV this weekend, there are better movies there....

Bad version, heavily cut with horrible sound
Okay, first off, I did not buy this version of Anthropophagous (or as it's titled here Grim Reaper). I'm writing this to let ALL of you know that this version is not worth the buy. There is, however, a place to get this--FULLY uncut with all the restored footage (including the fetus-devouring scene and the last scene, the self-consumption of the entrails). Go to [website] and visit their DVD section. They've got it there, along with dozens of other obscure horror, gore and exploitation flicks. While the DVD that I ordered there has trouble fastforwarding and rewinding, I still have the entire complete footage. The website really is the #1 place to go for anything like this...if they can't do it, none can.

Cut to ribbons...and I don't mean the victims
I know I'm only restating what's been said countless times, but just to avoid anyone making the same mistake I did buying this:

The original, uncut version of this movie goes by "Anthropophagus: The Beast" or "Unsane". Those titled movies include the notorious scenes of the fetus getting ripped out of a woman's womb and the self-evisceration and devouring of the zombie's guts at the film's end. As of this writing, Anthropophagus is not available (to my knowledge) on a US, region 1 DVD. This heavily cut and edited version is all that is available on DVD (though the uncut versions are purchasable on VHS in NTSC format).

Add to the fact that the picture and sound on Grim Reaper is laughably bad and that there are no special features (not even chapter stops- the whole movie runs in one continuous loop, so to jump ahead requires your finger on the fast frame or fast rewind buttons), and what was an effective gross-out, 3 1/2 star gore flick has been transferred into a 1 star ripoff.

Perhaps we'll see Anthropophagus in an uncut DVD version by Anchor Bay or Image in the not too distant future. Until then, steer clear of this abomination.

Why Buy?
Why would anyone even buy this knowing it's the [terrible], heavily-edited version? This makes me sick. All this talk about "freedom" and a silly 80's horror movie cannot even be viewed by adults. When the un-cut version becomes available, then I'll give 5 stars and purchase. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

sick sick sick...great great great
I have been looking forever for a copy of this film , and especially on Amazon and had not been able to find it...the reason is because for some strange reason this film is being released under it's original Italian title Buio Omega ( Blue Holocaust) . This is actually nonother than most true horror fans and fans of Joe D'Amato (Aristide Massaccesi) know this film as Buried Alive. The re-titling had caused quite a bit of confusion because the movie itself was available but those checking this review out thinking it's one you've never seen it's BURIED ALIVE (1979)

The story is this and it's quite sick as this being next to Cannibal Ferox (Make Them Die Slowly) the most revolting disgusting piece of filmmaking ever captured on screen , and I have a strong stomache too but was unable to stomache the atrocities in this film ...so thats why it has a special place in my heart.

It involves a taxidermist with a messed up childhood who enjoys the pleasures of a cold blue dead body...enough said

If you want to go on a diet ..I guarantee 1 viewing of this film will make it so you never eat anything again

Highly recommended

Good Movie, but DVD should've been better
Beyond the Darkness is a genuine Italian horror flick by Joe D'Amato, the director of the Grim Reaper and several porn flicks. Unlike several Italian horror films, this one has a very simple plot.

The story centers around a rich spoiled brat named Frank, who on the side is a taxidermist and has a girlfriend named Anna. But unfortunately, Anna has an illness (the illness is not described in the film). One day, the housekeeper named Iris and an old lady practice voodoo, without Frank's knowledge, using pictures of Anna. Suddenly, Anna gets weaker and weaker in her hospital bed, until she dies in Frank's arms during a hospital visit.

Since he is so factuated with his girlfriend, Frank steals Anna's body from the grave. In order to preserve her, he removes all her insides in a graphic scene which may not be appropiate for all viewers. (For safe keeping, if you have a weak stomach, do NOT eat a hearty meal before viewing this scene.) Along the way, Frank kills two females (a pot-smoking hitchhiker and an aspiring athlete) and disposes their bodies along with his housekeeper Iris, who turns out has a strange fondness for Frank way beyond a mother-son relationship. Later on, Iris advises Frank to get rid of Anna's body and marry her to fufill the emptiness he has, but he refuses, leaving to a bloody climax that has to be seen.

Beyond the Darkness strangely enough is a good movie to deal with the theme of necrophilia (hope that is spelled right). It is surpising well-acted; however, the main problem is the DVD. The images of the movie are very good, but the real problem is the sound. Throughout, you could probably hear hissing. The score by the band Goblin is so brilliant, but unfortunately the Dolby Digital Mono sound brings it down to non-existence. Media Blasters has done a good job brining back forgotten movies from the Italian horror genre (read my reviews for Zombie Holocaust and Burial Ground), but have yet to release a Shriek Show DVD with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Hopefully in the future, they will release feature films with improved audio.

Other than the DVD's faults, this is a good movie. Other features include a 10-minute interview with Cinzia Monreale, who plays Anna and is also well know as Emily, the blind zombie from The Beyond; a 30-minute audio interview with the art director of the film; several trailers; and posters and stills of Beyond the Darkness. Also, there is an easter egg (go to scene selections and go to the second set of chapter selections where you can find a symbol of a girl). The extra contains video posters of porno films that Joe D'Amato directed.

Don't forget, check out the movie.

Vile and Repulsive Gothic Horror Story...
The mid-seventies to mid-eighties was a prolific period for italian horror directors like Lucio Fulci and Umberto Lenzi who constantly pushed the boundaries of bad taste with increasingly exploitative and gore soaked epics like Zombie, The Beyond, Cannibal Ferox and Eaten Alive.
One of the genre's most productive directors was Joe D'Amato, who was primarily a director of hardcore porno films, but who contributed some impressive entries to the Euro-horror genre with Anthropophagus, Emmanuelle and The Last Cannibals and Beyond The Darkness.
D'Amato never flinched at fusing soft-core pornographic content with over the top gore and extreme violence. While a film like Emmanuelle and the Last Cannibals is a successful attempt to meld softcore porn and gross out horror, Beyond The Darkness simply presents violence as pornography. The viewer is assaulted with just about every nausea inducing visual imaginable: eye gouging, dissection, dismemberment, cremation, cannibalism...its all here in vivid technicolor to disgust the audience resulting in a unique viewing experience.
I must say I had mixed feelings about this film at first, and there were times when I seriously considered hitting the eject button on the DVD player, thats when I realized what a triumph this film must be. As a jaded horror film enthusiast I have seen just about everything (Last House On The Left, I Spit On Your Grave, Fulci's catalogue of films), and this managed to disturb and shock the heck out of me.
The story is simple enough, a young man named Francesco and his maid Iris preside over a large estate secluded in the italian countryside. When Francesco's lover suffers an untimely demise, Francesco sinks into dementia and psychosis resulting in an orgy of murder and necrophillia. Aided by Iris, the pair torture and murder any passerby unfortunate enough to discover that Francesco has stolen his lifeless girlfriend's corpse and is preserving it within one of the bedrooms. This leaves ample time for Francesco and the much older Iris to indulge their bizarre sexual relationship as well(students of the Oedipal complex take note).
The DVD booklet lists a series of obscure influences that Beyond The Darkness draws from, I found it amusing that no mention of Robert Bloch's Psycho was made-it is evident that D'Amato borrowed liberally from Bloch's story and Hitchcock's classic film adaptation of the same name. The climax in particular with the discovery of the preserved corpse in the cellar is almost a direct steal from Hitchcock's far superior work.
Directors like Jacques Tourneur and Alfred Hitchcock showed us a long time ago that horrors that are not explicit and that are left to the imagination are far more effective. The power of suggestion goes a long way to creating mood and atmosphere, something that this film sorely lacks. Had D'Amato not so completely relied on excessive gore as a cheap gimmick, this film could have truly been a classic. As it stands the film is just not frightenning and creates no tension, except maybe in the final fifteen minutes. It is absolutely shocking for its unrelenting portrayal of gruesome scenes, but left me feeling that this film could have been much improved in the hands of a more capable director. As it stands I cannot imagine watching this disgusting spectacle again anytime soon and I would question the sanity of anyone who actually enjoys watching this repeatedly. A film this extreme is prime fodder for those conservative groups who argue that subversive films have a detrimental effect on society, and in this instance I cannot say I disagree totally. This should absolutely never be seen by children, people with weak stomachs or weak minds.
What we do have here is a feast for gorehounds and sleazy exploitation fans with a fair amount of nudity, hot european chicks and tons of very convincing gore effects. So convincing that a rumour persists that real corpses were used in parts of the film.
Finally, Shriek Show has done a great job on this DVD, the perks include: Reversible cover art for the DVD, a wonderful interview with actress Cinzia Monreale and a bunch of trailers for Shriek Show's other releases including the tedious House On The Edge Of The Park. The video looks pretty good for a low budget film this old, though I found the audio to be average at best. Also, there is a hidden bonus feature: go to scene access, just before chapter six you will see an icon of a naked woman, click on this and you will see a gallery of posters for Joe D'Amato's hardcore (...)titles.

Classic Italian Exploitation
Buio Omega is one of my all time favorite films.

An Italian shocker about a man named Frank who cant cope with the loss of his grilfriend. He decides to unearth her corpse, remove its intestines and preserve it, so he can continue to love her. At this Maniacal state, Frank (with the help of Iris) kills whoever will come in between him and his obsession.

Full of visceral images such as decapitation and dismemberment, discetion, acid baths and throat rippings, Buio Omega is one hell of a movie. Joe D'amata is a man who knows how to shock.

For strong stomachs only
Beyond the Darkness is a pretty far-out gore movie, and it has attracted a hefty amount of criticism. My first viewing of it left me unimpressed (strangely), but on reflection, I realised...hey-this movie has EVERYTHING, so I sought out the DVD and re-appraised it. Now I think it's one of the quintessential Italian splatter movies of the 1980's, and even by today's standards, it still packs a punch. Be warned, there are scenes in this movie that will definitely make the squeamish want to leave the room. The plot opens with a young man called Frank, distraught over the death of his fiancee, Anna. His way of coping with it? To steal the dead body from the morgue and keep the corpse preserved in his house. Luckily, the young man practises taxidermy, so cue the first long gore scene as he strips, disembowels, drains and rebuilds the corpse of his beloved (played by a very patient and unselfconscious Cinzia Monreale). But things don't go smoothly for the lovelorn hero, most notably because of the constant meddling by his housekeeper/lover, Iris. This bizarre character seems to constantly switch between chiding and helping Frank, most notably doing so when they have to dispose of a hitch-hiker that has stumbled across the hideous secret of Frank's charnel house. Probably topping the embalming scene in terms of repulsive detail, this lengthy sequence lets us watch Frank and Iris as they chop up the body and drop it chunk by chuck into an acid bath, which eventually gets flung into the garden, which show nicely how the body had been reduced to lumps of gristle and the odd bone...mmm.
Those are just the highlights, there's a whole catalogue of smaller atrocities on display as the mis-matched pair attempt to live normal (!) lives with the corpse of Anna upstairs in the spare bed. If this kind of thing is what you want from a horror film, then be assured, you don't get short changed in Beyond The Darkness. Sadly the script, photography, direction and acting are pretty under-whelming, plus the dubbing is awful (you'll be reaching for earplugs each time the doomed hitch-hiker opens her mouth - she has a hideous "Dick Van Dyke" style cockney accent), but lets face it, this is splatter cinema, not Orson Welles. Its definitely one for the gore market, and it ambles along well enough with enough, even throwing in a surprise ending of sorts. This DVD presentation is the definitive way to see the movie, uncut and vividly coloured. It's most certainly for a niche market audience, but if you want to have something seriously notorious in your DVD collection to shock your friends with, you will be wanting this. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Excellent
This film was excellent. Me and my fiance bought it along with a bunch of other slasher films and found it to not only contain gore but also the interspersed softcore porn was a bonus!!

Not only that but it also had a smoking monkey in it as well - awesome.

Didn't Emanuelle used to involve mostly eroticism?
If you want erotica then this isn't the Emanuelle film for you. Yes, there are a couple of so-so love scenes, but the one lesbian scene is pratically non-existent, and the obvious focus of this one is the blood and gore content. I expected more erotic content, and instead got mostly gruesome scenes that I didn't particularly expect. Remember that scene in "Tarzan the Ape Man" where a nude Bo Derek was tied up and bathed by native women? That scene was erotic. Nothing like that one this video.

Sex, Cannibals and Rock & Roll!
That pesky minx, Emanuelle, has met her match this time! Now she's dealing with a vicious(what other kind?) tribe of cannibals, along with some other unfortunate souls. Joe D'Amato tries to weasel in on Lenzi/Deodato's territory, but adding his own personal touch. In this case, he tries a marriage of gory Italian style cannibal flick and softcore porno. Emanuelle manages to hit on, and/or sleep with just about every man and woman in this film-A Real Party Chick! What else could you ask for when you're on a perilous trek through cannibal territory? Laura Gemser is extraordinarily sexy, if you didn't already know. Basically, the first hour of the film is dedicated to all the characters exploring each other rather than the Amazon. There are four female characters and 3 of them(one is a nun, but even she's not safe from a nude scene) seem to have the hormones of a 17 year old guy. After this rather unexciting hour the cannibals decide to crash the party. There's alot of nipple eating in this film. I'm not sure why this is the cannibals' first choice before they dig into the rest. I guess they see them as hors d'oeuvres or something. I'm not quite sure if I like the mixing of genres all that much-I guess I's prefer strictly one or the other. It's not bad though; It still makes for goodtime, sleazy midnight viewing, which is all you can expect from Italian horror cinema. One bizarre scene is worth the price of admission alone: Emanuelle and some other lady are bathing naked in a river while a chimpanzee sits onshore watching them, clapping and smoking a cigarette. Funny.

The Classic Cannibal Flick
"Trap Them and Kill Them" aka Emmanuelle and the Last Cannibals is simply put the best of the cannibal exploitation genre and for a good reason. The plot is very simple, starts in New York, and ends up in the cannibal infested tropics, on a forbidden island. Sexy Laura Gemser is the investigative reporter who must find out what is going on with the strange symbol found on the victim in NYC. The jungle adventures are absolutley erotic, as everyone is constantly jumping each others bones. Including Gemser, and the sexy young blonde. That is until they run smack into the cannibals, and are inevitably captured, tortured, and eaten. Well, except for the sexy little blonde, who is stripped naked, and, well um, lets just say the cannibals had "other" ideas for her. Emmanuelle, however, is on the way, and to the rescue! Laura Gemser is without a doubt, one of the sexiest women in the world, of all time. She has an exotic look to her that is an incredible mixture of Native American, Polynesian, and Asian. She had long legs that stretched to eternity long before Stacy Keibler hit the WWE. And a belly you could bounce a quarter off of. She simply, WAS sex. Sensual, exotic, and every inch a woman. This film was LONG overdue on DVD, except that I am still having trouble tracking down a copy, but I'll get one if it's the last thing I do. Me me Lai of "Jungle Holocaust" fame is a razor close second, but Gemser wins in the end. Lets say it here, the absolute queen of 70's exploitation. All Hail Gemser!

Truly Unique Cannibal Horror Film!!
Not being a fan of cannibal films, but a huge fan of Italian horror in particular, especially Lucio Fulci, my expectations were kind of low. However, I found myself pleasantly surprised!! At some point during my teens I must have seen every Emmanuelle film in existence as they are broadcast on cable here almost every weekend, this one however eluded me until I saw this fine dvd from shriek show. This is a very unique entry in the series indeed being equal parts softcore porn, jungle adventure and gross out horror. The story is paced well enough with the action really exploding in the last half hour. There is enough T&A and sex scenes interspersed thoughout to keep it interesting as well as many very sickening gore scenes that will keep gorehounds happy. The story is simple: Sexy reporter(Laura Gemser), after an encounter with a female cannibal in a mental hospital, journeys to South America to find proof of cannibalistic tribal practices. She hooks up with an anthropologist and a big game hunter and his wife along the way. Many meet gruesome fates before the end credits roll-but I wont spoil the film for prospective buyers. All in all, a very enjoyable film and far superior to other cannibal films that I have seen such as Cannibal Ferox and Slave Of The Cannibal God. Now if only shriek show would hurry and release an uncut version of D'Amatos's Anthrophagus (aka The Grim Reaper). In closing, if you are looking for nail biting suspense and oscar caliber performances you might want to look elsewhere, but if you are looking for a true Euro sleaze and trash fest with liberal doses of gratuitous sex and excessive violence you could do a lot worse than picking up this dvd!! The extras are slim though, only a couple of short trailers and a still gallery, would have been nice to have a commentary track or an interview with Gemser. Oh well!! ... Read more