Sacrifice!

Video Nasty #36

Deep River Savages

1972

HE DARED THE FORBIDDEN RIVER WHERE ADVENTURE ENDS AND HELL BEGINS!

Actual Italian Title: Il Paese Del Sesso Selveggio (literal translation: The Country Of Wild Sex)

Also known as: Sacrifice!, The Man From The Deep River, Man From Deep River, Mondo Cannibale

NTSC Running Time: 93:08

Directed by Umberto Lenzi

Written by Francesco Barilli & Massimo D'Avak, from an idea by Emmanuelle Arsan (Marayat Rollet-Andriane)

Produced by Ovidio G. Assonitis & Giorgio Carlo Rossi

Starring: Ivan Rassimov, Me Me Lai, Prasitsak Singhara, Sulallewan Suxantat, Song Suanhud

Human Body Count: 15 (simulated)

Animal Body Count: 6 (genuine)

Region 1 DVD available from Shriek Show as Man From Deep River

BBFC Status

Why it's a Nasty: Animal cruelty and a scene of cannibalism.

What was cut: The Man From The Deep River was rejected for cinema classification when first presented to the BBFC on September 18, 1975.  When finally approved with an 18 cert on August 22, 2003, 3 minutes and 45 seconds of animal cruelty was cut to be approved for release in the UK.

Current UK Status: Cut 18-cert version available from 88 Films.  Savvy consumers with pick up the R1 DVD from Shriek Show...or just watch the film right here on The Rebellion!

Deep River Savages was seized, but was not successfully prosecuted.

We're halfway through the list!  When I started this back in August of 2010, I didn't think this project would take so long to complete, but life happens and I will not give up.  I'm still having so much fun!

Bangkok, Thailand, 1972.  British photographer John Bradley (Ivan Rassimov) has arrived to document the area with his camera.  He enjoys J&B whiskey and kickboxing, which has his girlfriend rolling her eyes and ditching him.  Alone, but not bothered by her absence, he hits up a bar and is set upon by an angry man with a switchblade.  Bradley struggles with the man, driving the blade into his attacker's gut.  He flees the city, setting out for the Burmese border with his guide, Tuan (Tuan Tevan) on a small boat.  They travel upriver.  Bradley falls asleep telling Tuan about London...and when he awakes, he is alone.

Tuan's body is on the riverbank.  Bradley rushes to him, hoping to save him, but is instead trapped in a net thrown by members of a native tribe.  Believing him to be some kind of fishman due to the wetsuit he is wearing, they don't kill him.  The chief's beautiful daughter (because of course the chief has a beautiful daughter) Maraya (Me Me Lai) is smitten with the newcomer and convinces her father to let him stay in the village as her slave.  Bradley wants to escape and is aided by Taima (Prasitsak Singhara), an elderly woman who speaks English.  But with village warrior Karen (Sulallewan Suxantat) always watchful and the cannibal Kuru tribe nearby, getting out will be more difficult than John Bradley could ever imagine...

Inspired by A Man Called Horse and initiated by a conversation with Emmanuelle Arsan, who hailed from the area, Umberto Lenzi's jungle adventure took the exploitation world by storm in the early 1970s.  Playing in the US as Sacrifice! in the 42nd Street grindhouses, and across Europe as Mondo Cannibale, the film was a big success and launched an entire genre of film.  Inspired by the Prosperi/Jacopetti "mondo documentaries", Lenzi made sure the film was chock full of weird and shocking scenes: animal butchery, bizarre sex rituals, and even a scene of a woman raped and eaten by the neighboring cannibal tribe.  Since this was Italy, the copycats were not far behind, and the Cannibal Boom was in full swing.  But this is where it all started.

So yes, there is animal cruelty in Man From Deep River, and these scenes are the reason it is still not available uncensored in the UK, among other places.  Three snakes, a monkey, an alligator, and a goat are all killed on camera.  Footage of a cockfight is also included, but neither of the combatants perish in the film.  All of these scenes feel like a documentary, with the Thai/Burmese natives performing all of the killings, presumably in accordance with their natural way of life, although I haven't been able to find much documentation on the hows or whys of the animal action in the film.  But the key difference between this film and, say, Cannibal Holocaust is mostly found in the feel of the action.  While Deodato's opus was sleazy and cruel to all involved, Man From Deep River never feels sleazy even when horrible things are happening.  Watch it yourself and decide.  (We'll be seeing more from Lenzi later on when we cover Cannibal Ferox, his 1981 response to Cannibal Holocaust, which is also upcoming.)

I was surprised to learn that the original idea for a film about the natives living near the border of Burma and Thailand came from celebrated writer/actress/libertine Emmanuelle Arsan, who hailed from that part of the world and had a business relationship with producer Ovidio G. Assonitis.  She was not involved with the production in any capacity beyond that (although Me Me Lai bears a bit of a resemblance to Arsan and her character's name, Maraya, is very close to Arsan's real name, Marayat).  This becomes even more interesting when you know that one of the most notorious cannibal films of the era was Emanuelle E Gli Ultimi Cannibali (Emanuelle And The Last Cannibals, also known as Trap Them And Kill Them), Joe D'Amato's lone entry into the cannibal genre.  Starring Laura Gemser as the "Black Emanuelle" character she portrayed in several films, it depicts the intrepid and often-aroused reporter heading into the jungle where she witnesses all manner of sex rituals and violence in between romantic entanglements.  That the real Emmanuelle would be the harbinger of the entire disgusting genre, and then herself be homaged in a cannibal film, these are the things upon which cinema legend are based.  I love this stuff.  You can't make it up.

So if you're strong of stomach, love a spot of adventure, and can withstand the onslaught of bizarre that dwells within, give Man From Deep River a shot.  I was hesitant, but it surprised me, and by the time I was halfway through the picture I was fully invested.  Easy to overlook as just another jungle movie, this is a thrilling adventure loaded with gore, sex, and yes, a blatant disregard for common decency.  My kind of program.  Until next time, think twice before you try to flag down a helicopter.  You may not want to get picked up at all.  I'll travel by car.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.

Don't Open The Window!

Video Nasty #35

THEY TAMPERED WITH NATURE - NOW THEY MUST PAY THE PRICE...

 The Living Dead

1974

 

WHATEVER'S OUT THERE WILL WAIT!

Actual Title: Non Si Deve Profanare Il Sonno Dei Morti (Literal translation: Do not profane the sleep of the dead.)
Other alternate titles: Don't Open The Window, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue
NTSC Running Time: 92:49
Directed by Jorge Grau
Written by Sandro Continenza, Marcello Coscia, Juan Cobos, and Miguel Rubio
Produced by Manuel Perez
Makeup & Optical Effects by Giannetto De Rossi
Starring: Cristina Galbo, Ray Lovelock, Arthur Kennedy, Jose Lifante, Jeannine Mestre, Fernando Hilbeck
Body Count: 17
Region 0 DVD and All-Region BluRay from Blue Underground as The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue

BBFC Status

Why it's a Nasty: Face-ripping, gut-munching zombie action.

What was cut: Unspecified cuts were made to an already pre-cut submission when submitted for theatrical certification on January 20, 1975, gaining an X certificate.  The uncut film was released as The Living Dead on video, it was this version that was seized during the Nasty Panic.  An additional 26 seconds were cut when submitted for video certification on November 15, 1985 (making it one of the earliest Nasty titles to attempt going "legit").  The first 18-cert uncut release was approved on May 1, 2002 for Anchor Bay's Let Sleeping Corpses Lie DVD release.

Current UK Status: The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue currently holds an 18-cert for the uncut version.

All-Region BluRay from Blue Underground, R2 DVD from Studiocanal

The Living Dead was seized, but not prosecuted.

London, 1974.  Hip antique salesman George (Ray Lovelock) hops onto his motorcycle and heads out to the country, despite the presence of a lovely young streaker dodging through traffic.  He's got a new house to decorate and wants to get to Windermere before dark.  He stops at a petrol station for a cold drink and is waylaid when Edna (Cristina Galbo) backs her Mini Cooper into his bike, incapacitating it.  The garage attendant is happy to fix it, but there won't be any part deliveries from Glasgow until next week.  Edna agrees to take George to his destination for his inconvenience, and the two are on their way.

Whipping through gorgeous countryside, and bulling their way past a truck designated as belonging to the morgue in Manchester, George agrees to drop Edna at her sister's house, despite the delay this will cause.  Edna's sister Katie (Jeannine Mestre) is strung out on white horse and her photographer husband Martin (Jose Lifante) is planning to put her in rehab (Sequestering themselves far from the city for a year has apparently done nothing to prevent Katie from scoring a fix).  Edna is determined to be there for her sister, but doesn't remember how to get there.  George stops at a local farm to ask directions and is troubled by extermination equipment being employed by the farmer: a new technology using radiation that causes insects to become aggressive and kill each other off.  And while George is getting directions, Edna steps out of the car for a smoke only to be set upon by a filthy drifter (Fernando Hilbeck) with bright red eyes and an unquenchable thirst for blood...

This Spanish/Italian coproduction is a somewhat unique take on the zombie subgenre, and it's refreshing.  Neither a voodoo-curse scenario nor a George Romero imitator, The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue starts out slow and gradually increases in intensity until it becomes all-out mayhem in the fiery, blood-soaked finale.  (Most of the violence takes place in the final half-hour.)  Although the interiors were filmed in Rome, the exteriors were filmed on location in the North of England and the scenery is beautiful, all skillfully lensed by cinematographer Francisco Sempere.  Beautiful too, but in an entirely different way, are Giannetto De Rossi's makeup effects.  De Rossi, who worked with Lucio Fulci on numerous occasions, contributed to no less than FIVE Video Nasties (Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Beyond, The House By The Cemetery, and Cannibal Apocalypse) and is still working today.  With multiple instances of gut-munching and a fantastic axe-to-the-head, his effects hold up well even by today's standards.  (It was also Edgar Wright's inspiration for the fake "Don't!" trailer in the Rodriguez/Tarantino Grindhouse project, based on the original English-language ad campaign under the Don't Open The Window title.)

The cast is competent and gives the material more than they likely thought it deserved.  Lovelock is outstanding as George, with his hippie good looks and cheeky-bastard attitude, he's a lot of fun.  Galbo, who left acting in the 1980s to become a professional dancer, does damsel-in-distress with aplomb, and Arthur Kennedy (an accomplished American actor who appeared in over one hundred films beginning with the 1940 Jimmy Cagney potboiler City For Conquest and continued up until his death in 1990) gleefully munches the scenery as a violent lunkheaded police sergeant who smacks suspects whenever he pleases.  His disdain for George and his "faggot clothes" keeps him conveniently focused on the red herrings while zombies terrorize the countryside and newborn babies maim hospital staff (the infant in question is so small, new, and adorable you'd have a hard time believing it was capable of such savagery, and I found myself wondering who allowed their clearly newborn infant to participate in this project - whoever they are, I salute them).

It's easy to see why this one still garners attention.  Besides the technical success and quality cast, the story, motivation and behaviour of the zombies, and the truly awesome setting all helped to propel this many-titled diversion from the sea of imitators into exploitation fandom (being banned as a Nasty certainly helped as well).  It takes quite a while for things to turn grisly, but the viewer is never bored, and once the festivities truly get underway, you won't be able to take your eyes from the screen.  (Although, despite the title, the film doesn't actually take place in Manchester, but rather South Gate.)  I heartily recommend watching this one on BluRay because of the restoration.  The film looks great and even the mono soundtrack is clear as a bell.  I didn't have much expectations towards enjoying this one (it looked rather dreary in trailers), but I was pleasantly surprised at what a crowd-pleaser it turned out to be.  Seek it out.

So, if there's a truck in your neighborhood purporting to be the latest and greatest in pest control, send them on their way.  They might be dispensing something more sinister than they could ever know.  I'll be sticking to flypaper and Raid.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.

The Seven Dreaded Gateways...

Video Nasty #34

 The Beyond

1981

 

...AND YOU SHALL LIVE IN TERROR!

Original Italian Title: ...E Tu Vivrai Nel Terrore - L'Aldila! 
Also known as: 7 Doors Of Death
NTSC Running Time: 87:23
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Written by Dardano Sacchetti, Giorgio Mariuzzo, and Lucio Fulci
Produced by Fabrizio DeAngelis
Starring: Catriona MacColl (as Katherine MacColl), David Warbeck, Cinzia Monreale (as Sarah Keller), Veronica Lazar, Pierluigi Conti (as Al Cliver), Maria Pia Marsala
Body Count: 16
Availability: BluRay & DVD releases from Grindhouse Releasing

BBFC Status

Why it's a Nasty: Fulci's trademark over-the-top violence.

What was cut: Quite a lot.  When originally released to cinemas with an X certificate, the running time was shorn to 85:32, losing most of the extreme gore.  This X-cert version was the Video Nasty cut of the film released by Vampix.

Current UK status: The Beyond is available uncut with an 18 cert on BluRay and DVD from Arrow Films

The Beyond was not prosecuted under the OPA.

Louisiana, 1927.  An angry mob storms the Seven Doors Hotel, intent on dispatching Schweik, a painter, whom they regard as an "ungodly warlock".  They drag him down to the basement, beat him with a chain, nail him to a wall, and dump quicklime on his corpse.  Roll the opening credits.

Cut to 1981.  Fifty-four years later, Liza Merrill (Catriona MacColl) has relocated from New York City to run her newly-inherited hotel, the Seven Doors.  Things go wrong almost immediately.  A painter tumbles from a scaffolding after seeing a face in a window, injuring himself much worse than you would imagine.  Dr. John McCabe (David Warbeck) is summoned and he carries the painter off to the hospital.  Liza has two employees who "came with the hotel" - Martha (Veronica Lazar) and her son, Arthur (Gianpaolo Saccarola).  Arthur is mentally impaired and Martha is just plain creepy.  And Liza makes a new friend, Emily (Cinzia Monreale), a blind girl she meets on the bridge above Lake Pontchartrain.

The real trouble starts when Joe The Plumber (Giovanni De Nava) shows up to fix the flooding in the basement, he opens up a decaying brick wall - a wall keeping Schweik's reanimated corpse contained, and also something else.  The hotel sits atop one of the seven gateways to hell...and now the door is open.

Let's be up front about this: I LOVE this movie.  The Beyond is a masterpiece.  Filmmakers have tried to craft movies into dreams (or nightmares) many times, but few if any have succeeded as Fulci did with The Beyond.  The entire feel is ethereal, from the sepia-toned opening to the existential terror of the final frames.  Several inconsistencies in the film (Schweik's corpse being referred to as "six years old", Emily's insistence that Schweik was killed in his room rather than the basement) add to the dream rather than detract from the reality - nothing is clear cut in a dream, everything is fluid, nothing is what it seems.  The voice of the disembodied narrator, a voice we here only twice towards the end of the film, speaks the immovable truth beyond it all - "...and you will face the sea of darkness, and all therein that may be explored..."

Fresh off the triumph of Paura Nella Citta Dei Morti Viventi (Fear In The City Of The Living Dead, also released as The Gates Of Hell), Fulci wanted to further push the eerie atmospheres and otherworldliness he explored in that film.  The Beyond is the result.  The film keeps you on your toes, never letting you feel like you have a handle on what is happening.  After losing her husband, a woman goes to the hospital autopsy room to dress his body for his funeral.  She sees something that scares her and gives a yell - but we, the audience, never see anything.  A glass vase of acid overspills its rim and disintegrates the woman, now lying on the floor, as her daughter watches in stunned horror.  No, it doesn't make sense.  It doesn't have to.  It works.  Fulci has no trouble pulling us along through his nightmare, we go willingly, seeing the sights with unlikely acceptance.

The gore is unrelenting.  Everywhere, there is blood, and lots of it.  Fulci goes for the eyes numerous times, but no part of the anatomy is safe.  Originally wanting to make a haunted house feature, Fulci's German financiers wanted zombies in the picture.  He obliged, leading to the famous hospital shootout in the final reel.  There is humor here, too - Fulci's cameo as a city clerk insisting on his early lunch, Dr. McCabe attempting to reload his gun by putting a bullet down the barrel.  But it's not enough to keep everything bad from happening to everyone.  All roads lead to the Seven Doors.

The Beyond is a must-see.  It ranks with Seven Samurai, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Jaws as one of the finest motion pictures ever put to celluloid.  It is greater than it has any right to be, one of those special films that transcends everything and gives you a unique experience.  This isn't one to rent, this is one for your personal collection.

Until next time, and I hope with won't be too long from now, remember what we talked about the last time we were at a bayou hotel (Death Trap, see Video Nasty #9) - it's probably better to look for nicer accommodations.  And definitely don't let them put you in room 36.  I'll be sticking with Motel 6 myself.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.