Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jungle Exploration: A Cannibalistic Meat-N-Greet, November 30, 2002
Slave of the Cannibal God, a movie that I avoided for some unknown reason for quite a long time until picking it up in a movie four-pack (and then unedited) recently, was actually something of an entertainingly gruesome trek into the depths of South American jungle (especially in its strangely uncut version), dealing with not only cannibalism but also with cultural reasons as to why a person should never kill a spider around a native on a full stomach. Although I've yet to see a format of this movie that I would call beautiful, this one isn't that bad, drifting somewhere between a stored VHS tape and an older format DVD. The movie itself revolves around the dubiously enchanting Susan Stevenson (Ursula Andress) and her strangely Germanic brother Arthur as they head for South America in search of her long lost, and presumably deceased, explorer/husband. Once there, they find the local police of little help and are instead prompted to enlist the help of the, in the words of one local official, "weird Dr. Edward Foster." After finding and speaking with him a bit - discovering that he and Arthur have a shady past together and that he does seem to have some higher brain-function disorder- he tells them that that Susan's husband had possibly not gone into the jungle itself but had instead headed to a little island which, roughly translated, houses The Mountain of the Cannibal God. He further tells them that this place is off limits because its believed to be cursed and that strange happenings do indeed go on there, some of which he knows a little too much about. Why her husband would go there, he cannot answer, but with a pout of the lips and a bit of sweet talk by a receptive wife, he's off to find the good doctor. As any good jungle exploration movie would have it, he enlists the help of some locals along the way, all of which are obviously disposable, and all of whom provide some seriously bloody bait for the eyes to digest. Between traps that kill in some not-so-nice manners, cannibals that like to play with spears and knives before grabiing a meal and going, and the atypical fleeing that all smart natives do when the going gets though, we run through them rather quickly. Still, this problem is short-lived as our little group of miscreants finds themselves a fresh supply of innocents (at a mission, of all the places) to have butchered, and even pick up another explorer - with the help of a now sexually active, utterly receptive wife - to help them along their way. Then comes the real guessing game, the one that pits questionslike: what's actually going on, what motives lie hidden in these obviously convoluted minds, how bloody can the movie get before these fools turn back, how often will clothes find themselves discarded in a place filled with so many poisonous entities, and why the wife and her brother be carrying a Geiger counter? Yes, its a thrilling answer as to why one should stay home and only dream about jungle exploration.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cheesy, low-budget Italian shock cinema goodness!, February 28, 2005
After watching other classics such as Umberto Lenzi's "Cannibal Ferox" and Ruggero Deodato's "Jungle Holocaust", I decided to give this little flick a try and I've got to admit that I wasn't disappointed whatsoever! Sergio Martino's "Mountain of the Cannibal God" (AKA "Slave of the Cannibal God") is one of the best cannibal films ever made, despite the so-so acting and some weak dialogue thrown in here and there. It stars Ursula Andress (Who was also the very first Bond girl in "Dr. No" back in 1962) as beautiful Susan, who heads to New Guinea with her brother, Arthur (Antonio Marsina) in search of her husband who has been missing for three months.
With the help of anthropologist, Dr. Edward Foster (Stacy Keach) and explorer, Monolo (Claudio Cassinelli) they venture to the island of Roka, which is also the home to the Ra Ra Me. (TRANSLATION: Mountain of the Cannibal God) What they discover is the terrifying Puka, a cannibal tribe believed to have been extinct for many years. Along the way, they fall prey to all the dangerous booby-traps and cannibals lurking in the jungle in some of the most grotesque and shocking footage ever caught on film! (Who can forget the ambush and instant decapitation scene?) But when Susan and Monolo are captured by the Puka their only hope is escape, or risk becoming a sacrifice to the Cannibal God!
In my opinion, this is a VERY underrated Italian horror film and deserves more credit than what it is given. As I stated earlier, the acting is about average and the dialogue can drag here and there, but fans of the genre and gore buffs alike will definately get a kick out of the gory makeup and effects! However, as I also mentioned in my review for "Cannibal Ferox" this is absolutely NOT a movie for the faint of heart or those who are easily offended by such material! In addition, you'll also need a strong stomach to watch the whole movie and small children (Heaven forbid) should not view this film, or they may be forever traumatized! Everyone else: EAT UP! :)
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very tasty little snack , May 4, 2008
Another 70's cannibal flick, this is much better than expected. You've got the hot, scantily-clad Ursula Andress and her crew on a quest through the jungles of New Guinea. They get ambushed by some blood thirsty savages of course. This tribe looks extremely heinous. Their masks are what really stood out for me in this movie--some dirty, potato sack looking bags with holes cut out for the eyes. Freaky! When the maniacal tribe leader sees Ursula, he might develop a different kind of hunger.
You've got all your basic cannibal flick essentials--blood, gore, decapitations, nudity, violence with animals. The acting and dialogue are good enough not to hamper the story. It may not be extremely original, but hey, if it ain't broke...
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