Video Nasty #22
Prisoner Of The Cannibal God
1978
WHEN THE PRICE OF LUST IS DEATH...!
THEIR CULT WAS DEATH...THEIR LUST WAS FOR BLOOD!
Original Italian title: La Montagna Del Dio Cannibale
Other alternate titles: Mountain Of The Cannibal God, Slave Of The Cannibal God
NTSC Running time: 102:47 (restored version)
Directed by Sergio Martino
Written by Cesare Frugoni and Sergio Martino
Produced by Luciano Martino
Starring: Ursula Andress, Stacy Keach, Claudio Cassinelli, and Antonio Marsina
Body Count: 16
Animals Deliberately Killed: 2 (a lizard and a monkey)
Availability: Uncut Region 0 DVD from Blue Underground.
BBFC Status
Why it's a Nasty: Genuine animal cruelty, sexual deviance, and CANNIBALISM.
What was cut: The original X-certificate theatrical release (certified September 14, 1978) ran 96:15 and contained none of the animal violence. It is unclear whether the original Video Nasty was this X version or a more complete, imported cut. The film was awarded an 18 certificate for home media on March 26, 2001 after 2:06 of animal cruelty was cut.
Current UK status: A slightly longer cut (PAL 92:47 compared to the 2001 PAL 92:26) was certified 18 on July 7, 2009.
Availability: Region 0 DVD from Blue Underground, which I have on good authority from some British friends is not the 18 cert version, but fully uncut.
While we have already screened Apocalypse Domani, which (being Italian and featuring cannibalism) is considered a part of the Cannibal Boom trend, that film was not much akin to the others of that short-lived but still much-remembered movement. La Montagna Del Dio Cannibale is much more in keeping with other Cannibal Boom films.
Susan Stevenson (Ursula Andress) lands in New Guinea searching for her husband, Henry. She is met by her brother Arthur (Antonio Marsina), who takes her to the local authorities...who are done looking and want nothing to do with her. Susan will not give up, and enlists the help of Henry's colleague and friend, Professor Edward Foster (Stacy Keach), an intrepid jungle explorer who knows his way around the local wilderness. Edward knows that Henry has headed for a sacred and cursed mountain on a small island nearby, and Susan convinces him to take them there. But both Susan and Edward have hidden motives for the journey, and both will stop at nothing to reach the mountain...a mountain that still shelters a primitive tribe of cannibals!
In 1972, Umberto Lenzi made Il Paese Del Sesso Selvaggio (aka Deep River Savages, which also made the Nasties list), which predates the other Italian cannibal films by five years, but set the tone for what came to be called the Cannibal Boom. 1977 saw Ruggero Deodato join in with Ultimo Mondo Cannibale (aka The Last Cannibal World, but probably best known as Jungle Holocaust), and Emanuelle E Gli Ultimi Cannibali (aka Emanuelle And The Last Cannibals, and the more misleading alternate title Trap Them And Kill Them) was my favorite cuddly pornographer Aristide Massaccesi's signature fusing of cannibal exploitation with the recurring soft porn Black Emanuelle character played by Laura Gemser (note the misspelling that distinguishes the Gemser character from the popular French nymphomaniac). Hot on the heels of Lenzi, Deodato, and D'Amato came Sergio Martino.
Italy is home to some of the most original and visionary directors of world cinema: Dario Argento, Federico Fellini, Michaelangelo Antonioni, Mario Bava, Sergio Leone, Lucio Fulci (some might argue with me on that last one...to which I reply with a screening of Paura Nella Citta Dei Morti Viventi and several slaps to the face). Unfortunately, for every one of these talents, there is a Bruno Mattei, a Claudio Fragasso, a Sergio Martino: guys whose only talent is for copying other successful films because there is a paycheck attached...which comes with career longevity, apparently, since Martino has been working steadily since 1969. He made some well regarded gialli (Il Tuo Vizia E Una Stanza Chiusa E Solo Io Ne Ho La Chiave, released in English speaking countries as Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key starring exploitation darling Edwige Fenech, and I Corpi Presentano Tracce Di Violenza Carnale [which translates to The Bodies Bear Traces Of Sexual Violence], which was sold in English markets under the wildly misleading title of Torso. A better title would have been Rip-off Of Frenzy With A Lot Of Naked Chicks And No Gore. But whatever.), and whatever else studios would pay him to make. He's competent...but not a visionary.
Mountain Of The Cannibal God is at heart an old-school adventure film. The best thing about it is Stacy Keach, who is incredible. The animal cruelty is a lizard gutted and a monkey fed to a python. (Martino tries to deny any cruelty on his part in a DVD extra, which is soon followed by a frame-by frame analysis that proves this to be bullshit. What a weiner. Deodato did much worse in Cannibal Holocaust, and while he may be ashamed of it today, at least he doesn't try to weasel out of the responsibility.) The monkey sequence is REALLY hard to watch, as you can see the terror in its' eyes as the python slowly squeezes it to death. Riveting, frightening, a test of nerves and will. If none of the above sounds good to you, I should probably mention that Andress is stripped nude, tied to a stake, and two female cannibals rub honey all over her. James Bond does not come to her rescue...but she might survive. I ain't tellin'. You'll have to find out for yourself.
That's all for now, my friends, and I'll probably be away for a while. I'm working long hours and will welcome another daughter in just a few days...but don't worry, I won't forget about you. I'll leave a light burning and some sleazy VHS cassettes in case you drop by. And when you're in the jungle, always do what your guide says. Otherwise you might step in a bear trap...or worse. I'll do the same. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
While we have already screened Apocalypse Domani, which (being Italian and featuring cannibalism) is considered a part of the Cannibal Boom trend, that film was not much akin to the others of that short-lived but still much-remembered movement. La Montagna Del Dio Cannibale is much more in keeping with other Cannibal Boom films.
Susan Stevenson (Ursula Andress) lands in New Guinea searching for her husband, Henry. She is met by her brother Arthur (Antonio Marsina), who takes her to the local authorities...who are done looking and want nothing to do with her. Susan will not give up, and enlists the help of Henry's colleague and friend, Professor Edward Foster (Stacy Keach), an intrepid jungle explorer who knows his way around the local wilderness. Edward knows that Henry has headed for a sacred and cursed mountain on a small island nearby, and Susan convinces him to take them there. But both Susan and Edward have hidden motives for the journey, and both will stop at nothing to reach the mountain...a mountain that still shelters a primitive tribe of cannibals!
In 1972, Umberto Lenzi made Il Paese Del Sesso Selvaggio (aka Deep River Savages, which also made the Nasties list), which predates the other Italian cannibal films by five years, but set the tone for what came to be called the Cannibal Boom. 1977 saw Ruggero Deodato join in with Ultimo Mondo Cannibale (aka The Last Cannibal World, but probably best known as Jungle Holocaust), and Emanuelle E Gli Ultimi Cannibali (aka Emanuelle And The Last Cannibals, and the more misleading alternate title Trap Them And Kill Them) was my favorite cuddly pornographer Aristide Massaccesi's signature fusing of cannibal exploitation with the recurring soft porn Black Emanuelle character played by Laura Gemser (note the misspelling that distinguishes the Gemser character from the popular French nymphomaniac). Hot on the heels of Lenzi, Deodato, and D'Amato came Sergio Martino.
Italy is home to some of the most original and visionary directors of world cinema: Dario Argento, Federico Fellini, Michaelangelo Antonioni, Mario Bava, Sergio Leone, Lucio Fulci (some might argue with me on that last one...to which I reply with a screening of Paura Nella Citta Dei Morti Viventi and several slaps to the face). Unfortunately, for every one of these talents, there is a Bruno Mattei, a Claudio Fragasso, a Sergio Martino: guys whose only talent is for copying other successful films because there is a paycheck attached...which comes with career longevity, apparently, since Martino has been working steadily since 1969. He made some well regarded gialli (Il Tuo Vizia E Una Stanza Chiusa E Solo Io Ne Ho La Chiave, released in English speaking countries as Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key starring exploitation darling Edwige Fenech, and I Corpi Presentano Tracce Di Violenza Carnale [which translates to The Bodies Bear Traces Of Sexual Violence], which was sold in English markets under the wildly misleading title of Torso. A better title would have been Rip-off Of Frenzy With A Lot Of Naked Chicks And No Gore. But whatever.), and whatever else studios would pay him to make. He's competent...but not a visionary.
Mountain Of The Cannibal God is at heart an old-school adventure film. The best thing about it is Stacy Keach, who is incredible. The animal cruelty is a lizard gutted and a monkey fed to a python. (Martino tries to deny any cruelty on his part in a DVD extra, which is soon followed by a frame-by frame analysis that proves this to be bullshit. What a weiner. Deodato did much worse in Cannibal Holocaust, and while he may be ashamed of it today, at least he doesn't try to weasel out of the responsibility.) The monkey sequence is REALLY hard to watch, as you can see the terror in its' eyes as the python slowly squeezes it to death. Riveting, frightening, a test of nerves and will. If none of the above sounds good to you, I should probably mention that Andress is stripped nude, tied to a stake, and two female cannibals rub honey all over her. James Bond does not come to her rescue...but she might survive. I ain't tellin'. You'll have to find out for yourself.
That's all for now, my friends, and I'll probably be away for a while. I'm working long hours and will welcome another daughter in just a few days...but don't worry, I won't forget about you. I'll leave a light burning and some sleazy VHS cassettes in case you drop by. And when you're in the jungle, always do what your guide says. Otherwise you might step in a bear trap...or worse. I'll do the same. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
