2. Cannibal Ferox (1981)
Blatant rip off of Cannibal Holocaust by director Umberto Lenzi featuring similar scenes of real life animal cruelty, Westerners going wild in the jungle and tormented natives fighting back against their oppressors. Mike, a drug dealer from NYC, is a wanted man so naturally flees to the jungle in Paraguay. Also entering the jungle is Pat, Rudy and Gloria - who are out to disprove notions that cannibals exist. They meet Mike and his friend Joe who has been mortally injured by the natives. Gloria goes missing but due to the extent of Joe's injuries, the group must stay put. Mike seduces Pat and tries to get her to kill a native girl but she cannot do this, so it's up to douchebag Mike to do the deed. Just before he dies, Joe lets slip the truth about him and Mike. They came to Paraguay for emeralds and cocaine however, Mike has been bothering the natives raping and killing young girls. And now they have snapped and are looking for revenge. They track the group and chop off and eat Mike's willy, cauterising the wound so he doesn't bleed to death. Rudy gets a piranha fish based death. The women are put in a hole in the ground and a friendly native gives them a rope to escape because they prevented his death at the hands of Mike earlier in the film. At the same time, Mike breaks free from his cage, shoos the native away and cuts the rope, thus ensuring the women don't escape. He runs off into the jungle but the natives capture him again and this time cut off one of his hands. Pat is impaled through hooks in her breasts and bleeds slowly to death while Gloria watches. Mike gets his head cut open in a crude device and the natives feast on his brains. After some chasing about the jungle, Gloria escapes back to NYC, where wanting to put the whole incident behind her, she tells a bunch of people that cannibalism doesn't exist! While not a patch on Cannibal Holocaust, Ferox, nonetheless, has its own charms. The cheesy soundtrack, the ridiculous plot line, the cheap but effective gore scenes - these things will charm Cannibal Ferox into your heart. It parades itself as having been banned by 31 countries which is some feat. The movie is so silly, I can't see why it would offend 31 people let alone 31 entire nations! For gorehounds, Ferox delivers the goods with graphic brain eating and castration sequences - and it can be purely enjoyed along the lines of a gory hokum horror caper. You won't have a sense of disgust like you do when you watch Cannibal Holocaust. Ferox is like a cartoon in comparison. Do not bother with Region 2 versions of the film which take away all the bloody mayhem and render it a silly jungle tale. The only reason for watching the film is its violent set pieces, not its fine acting or classy direction.