Customer Reviews

Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cannibal and Zombie films are a unique genre in horror film making as both are American influenced yet it took a few inventive and often times plagiaristic Italian producers to push the genres to the extreme. Eaten Alive is a collection of these films with informative reviews by the author Jay Slater. The book explores the early films of Italian directors such as Mario Bava and Jess Franco and how American director George Romero's Dawn of the Dead would influence the magnum opus of the genre Zombie Flesh Eaters. Classic shockers such as Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox are included as well as lesser known yet equally gruesome films by Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi and Michele Soavi . Included are exclusive interviews with the directors and actors who brought life to these films as well as hundreds of films stills. The perfect book for those who wish to explore the most extreme of films from the Masters of the Cannibal and Zombie Menace.

Finally, somewhat of a definitive study on Italian exploitation films. Bravo! This has reviews and sometimes interviews of all the zombie and cannibal films ever made in Italy. I'm a diehard fan of horror, and especially like the Italians ones, that were generally more graphic than their American counterparts. The writers often acknowledge that the films are bad. My favorite actor, Giovanni Lombardo Radice is now ashamed to have been a part of such films and pities their fans. I find it ironic he would pan his only claim to fame. I love how Giovanni hams it up, and the animal cruelty he shuns. That's part of their appeal- they're so wacky and over the top, you can't help but love them. There are many posters from the films to spice it up. I got this for a college project, and it helped out big time. The clerks where I ordered it from noted the gross cover art. Slater and company really outdid themselves with this book. If you're a fan of Italian exploitation, look no further.

...I devoured this book in a single afternoon. The reviews on the 'important' films in the genre are extensive and honest, and while there were a few films that I wish had more coverage, that is just the tiniest gripe when, actually, I am so grateful for all the information that was packed between the covers. The way I see it, there is no way I'll ever be able to track down each of these titles, so being able to read about them - as well as fit them snugly into the history of the genre, regardless of how small their impact might have been - is a wonderful treat.

The classics (The Fulci films especially, and Cannibal Holocaust)each are covered well, and the cross-referencing of films and authors throughout is great, as are the overviews of zombie cinema given at the beginning of the book.

Eaten Alive is for completists and those interested in delving into the strange world of Italian Splatter alike. I highly recommend this. Keep Shambling!

...

This book effectively catalogs the Italian cannibal/zombie genre from its beginnings in the early 60's through the late 80's. The timing of their ascendance, not surprisingly, coincides with an explosion of sexual and artistic permissiveness in Italy, with its inevitable backlash against the church. The book is largely a cinematic catalog, describing the setting, plot and acting for each film. You can count on a description of how, a) gory and b) sexy each film is. The pictures are fairly graphic, and I would surely keep this book away from the kids. As a series of reviews, I highly recommend the book.

If I was disappointed in any way, it is that I felt that the philosophical underpinnings of the genre was missing. Fulci and Romero weren't just making gory movies, they were making social statements. The recurring images of primitive tribes feasting on flesh, the dead rising from their graves to prey on the living are surely no accident. I would have appreciated a broader overview of the social/religious/political/gender issues. I sense that there is a college master's level thesis there. This book would have been a nice place to publish it. Alas, it is missing.

I have one small beef. I would have appreciated a cross-reference to the films, in the form of an index or the like, and a filmography of the directors. It too, is alas, missing. Without it, the broader context can not be seen. For example, how do these films fit in against, say, Black Sabbath, a cornerstone horror film of the period?

Notwithstanding my reservations, I was glad to see this book published and enjoyed reading it. If you have seen one or two of these rarities, and are hoping for a broader look, this is a good place to start.

Jay Slater, Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies (Plexus, 2002)

I was hoping, in Eaten Alive!, for a real critical study of the cannibal and zombie subgenres of Italian horror in the late seventies and early eighties. That's not what I got. Instead, it's a list, with reviews of the films by various folks (mostly Slater himself, but with guest reviewers of some stature as well, e.g. David J. Schow) and a few interview pieces with various cast and crew on various films.

For what it is, it's a good enough book. Slater obviously has quite a comprehensive video collection, and there's probably at least one flick in here you've never heard of, no matter how well-versed you are in the genre (I'd heard of about ninety percent of them before reading this, and I've been well-versed in the genre since... well, I remember seeing the original TV trailer for Fulci's Zombie, if that tells you anything). Just expect Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese instead of Four Senses of Dante Alighieri in Film, and you're liable to enjoy it much more. ***

This is a great book. The information it contains goes beyond what most horror movie books get into. The interviews (Catriona MacColl, Ian McCulloch among many more) are very nice to read into behind the scenes of these undiscovered gems. Due yourself a favor and buy this book.

A great little companion for people just venturing into the Italian cannibal and zombie sub-genres. Loads of great scans of original poster artwork of classics like Anthropophagus The Beast, Zombie Holocaust, Zombie Flesh Eaters, etc. Some very good interviews (to the reviewer above, its Giovanni Lombardo Radice aka John Morghen, not Giovanni Rabisi). A very, very entertaining read for sure. If you're interested in more obscure and graphic sub-genres of horror, definately pick this up.

A very enjoyable tome about one of the cinema's most bizarre, maligned and mis-understood genres. This comprehensive book has some insightful interviews with some of the key actors, producers & directors involved in the boom of Italian made zombie / cannibal films of the late 1970's through to the early 1990's. Definitely belongs on the bookshelf of any fan of the living dead !

( My only bone of contention - Author Jay Slater talks about the incredible shark vs. zombie sequence in Lucio Fulci's "ZOMBI" and remarks about the shark trainer dressed as a zombie working with a real shark in a tank. Whilst, I certainly was not involved in the making of the film, I can tell you there is no such thing as a "shark trainer" for tiger sharks such as the one shown in "ZOMBI". Training sharks is like herding cats...it cannot be done ! Furthermore, large predatory sharks such as tigers, great whites, bronze whalers etc. cannot tolerate being cooped up in tanks no matter how large. Within hours they begin stressing, and within days they get very ill and die. That's why you won't find large predatory sharks in any aquarium / ocean park in the world ( check it out for yourself ). I would suggest the shark was "caught" by sedating it in some fashion, and kept that way during a tight filming schedule within a natural reef area. Highly illegal now in most countries to interfere with endangered species of many sharks, but possibly acceptable behaviour amongst low budget, gung ho Italian film makers back in 1979 ! )

From the 1970s to the 1990s you get 264 pages of Italian moviemakers that produced the goriest exploitation films ever made, using recurring plot devices of cannibalism and putrefied zombie flesh eaters. Eaten Alive! dissects this outrageous period, setting it within its cultural and cinematic context. With an introduction explaining the origins of the gruesome genre, the book charts every bloody step, from the renowned Pasolini, who employed cannibalism as a satirical metaphor, to shocking "documentaries" such as Cannibal Holocaust, an acknowledged influence on The Blair Witch Project. Informed, irreverent contributions from legends of the modern horror scene round out this fascinating book.

Reading the summary of this volume, you might reasonably expect a good bio of this neglected subgere of horror filmmaking...but you would be wrong. The first 10 percent of the book does indeed overview the origins of Cannibal and Zombie films, but the bulk of the volume is a hodgepodge of reviews and (mostly short and not very illuminating) interviews with stars and directors. The reviews themselves range from near brilliant (mostly Jay Slater's stuff) to borderline retarded (the Cannibal movie review by an Italian actor is damn near unreadable). Bonus points for some great--and obviously rare--poster artwork. Not bad, and not a bad price. Just keep your expectations moderate.