18. Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)
Flesh eating hijinks which are set in urban America and not the usual jungle fare, Cannibal Apocalypse is an entertaining movie which plays more like an action film rather than a straight horror. While they were in Vietnam, Charlie Bukowski (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) and Norman Hopper (John Saxon) pick up a virus that makes them crave human flesh. Norman is able to control himself but Charlie and his fellow Vietnam vet pal - Tommy - have less luck and begin to feast on any people unfortunate to cross their path. The film charts the slide of Norman from 'normal' bloke to unrepentant fellow cannibal of Charlie and Tommy. Along the way there are shoot outs and a feud with the most ridiculous bikers ever seen on celluloid. Charlie cops a fantastic blow to the abdomen from a shotgun and we can see right through the torso. The virus spreads and infects policemen but eventually the cannibal threat is neutralised. Or is it? The closing sequence sees Norman's young neighbours storing bits of their grandmother in the fridge. Good fun from beginning to end, and a credit to director Antonio Margheriti, Cannibal Apocalypse made it onto the DPP's 39 prosecuted Video Nasties list in the early 1980s. It took over 20 years later in 2005 for the film to be resubmitted to the BBFC and it was passed with two seconds of cuts showing rats getting napalmed (this scene fell foul of the BBFC's cruelty to animals policy). The soundtrack is also 1970s cheesetastic. Lead actor - John Saxon - was very upset about the film. Initially intrigued by the premise of the movie, he was not pleased to find himself in an Italian exploitation film. He refuses to talk about the movie so he must have been pleased by the ban in the 1980s and mortified by its re-release in 2005. He should be delighted to have taken part in an Italian cannibal film! It looks good on any actor's CV. Saxon should be proud that he helped to create this cult classic that will forever linger in infamy while the rest of the movies he starred in are forgotten. Controversial because: cannibalism is not a topic to delight the censors, Norman bites a pubescent girl in the stomach while trying to have oral sex with her.