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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cannibal Man, March 8, 2010
This review is from: Cannibal Man (DVD)
A chance argument during a cab ride leaves the cab driver dead at the hands of a poor meat packer. After nearly getting away with murder, Marcos decides the only way to ensure his freedom is to kill the girlfriend that was with him that night and anyone else that comes too close to the truth that is collecting flies in his guest bedroom. CANNIBAL MAN is an extremely misleading title, referencing a single scene where the character uses the meat grinder at work to dispose of the bodies, only to accidentally find himself eating the end product at a local pub. It is cleanly shot, with de la Iglesia implementing many of the same camera and stylistic devices as the Italians. Considering there is only a little gore, the film relies entirely on the strength of its performances to build and maintain a steady tension. Thankfully, Vincent Parra and his surrounding cast portray sincere and empathetic characters even in their darker moments. Marcus is a reluctant killer that kills out of necessity and not enjoyment. This makes his actions that much more disturbing and personal, while his resolution to feed the meat to the grinder is both vile and disgusting. De la Iglesia sets a somber mood through the grim slaughterhouse floor and barren Spanish desert, externalizing Marcos' lonesome and futile struggle to avoid the discovery of his crimes. CANNIBAL MAN is a sad character study sharing much more in common with CHRISTMAS EVIL or THE DRILLER KILLER than the similarly titled Exploitation films.
-Carl Manes
I Like Horror Movies
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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Anchor Bay rescues another so-so obscurity, December 6, 2000
Eloy De La Iglesia's "Cannibal Man" isn't about horror or even cannibalism. Instead, it's more of a parable about lower-class oppression and how the poor are deemed insignificant by the rest of society. Marcos (Vincente Parra), a slaughterhouse worker with a beautiful young girlfriend, accidentally kills a cab driver and as a result becomes increasingly homicidal toward people over the course of one week. He's befriended by an eccentric who lives in an imposing apartment highrise nearby, and eventually Marcos becomes undone by guilt and the fact that he'll never get away with his crimes. "Cannibal Man" is an odd title for this movie, considering there's no cannibalism (save for a brief soup-eating scene, but I don't think that qualifies) and it really comes from an era that preceded the 'cannibal/zombie boom' of the late 1970's and early 80's. The murders are relatively brief and not very inspired by today's standards (how many times have we seen a meat cleaver through the face in slasher films?), but the interaction between Marcos and his friend Nester is what really makes the movie. Morality, and--to a lesser degree--sexuality are questioned in a way that make "Cannibal Man"'s by-the-numbers bloodshed forgivable. Recommended, but view with an open mind. This isn't the horror of Fulci or Argento, but is still worth a look.
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where's the beef?, January 10, 2011
Real slaughterhouse footage and scenes of dirty urban slums set the tone for this stark and obsessive Spanish horror flick. A slaughterhouse employee named Marcos gets attacked by a cabdriver who takes objection when he and his girlfriend are making out in the back seat, and Marcos kills him. This sets in motion a week of killing, first to cover up the cabdriver's death, and afterward to keep the bodies piling up in his bedroom a secret. He tries to dispose of the body parts at the slaughterhouse, but he can't do it fast enough and soon the stench of the corpses is becoming a problem, and Marcos slips further and further into madness.
Weird, pseudo-sleazy film that works even though it doesn't even attempt to live up to its title - there's *no cannibalism*. The dubbing is pretty bad and there's not much gore (most of the nastiness happens off-screen), but there's plenty of atmosphere and a sense of desperation builds in Marco's apartment. The DVD looks great except there is a little "film flicker" in a few scenes - nothing bad though. It's not big on splatter, but it's still worth a look for Eurohorror fans.
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