Search - Cannibal Apocalypse on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Profanity Movie Release: 1980 DVD Release: 03/19/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered,Special Collection Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 36 mins Studio: Image Entertainment Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Horror

Half zombie epic, half cannibal gorefest, this unusual blend of two popular Italo-horror subgenres results in a high-octane thriller that delivers the gory goods. The story involves a group of former Vietnam POW's who contract a bizarre disease in captivity which compels them to eat human flesh. Needless to say, this makes assimilation into post-war American life rather difficult as the gestating disease takes hold on the returning veterans, whose cannibal instincts eventually fight their way to the surface. One such victim is commando Norman Hopper (John Saxon), who is bitten by one of the POW's during a rescue mission and carries the gestating contagion back home. When the soldier who bit him (John Morghen) is released from a veterans' psychiatric hospital after apparently being cured, he makes brief phone contact with Saxon before succumbing to an immediate relapse, leading to a gory rampage and subsequent shootout with police. When Saxon begins feeling the urge to munch -- first developing an appetite for the teenage cupcake next door -- he springs his fellow cannibals from the hospital, leading to another bloody confrontation with the police -- this time in the city sewers. Director Antonio Margheriti (alleged ghost-director of Andy Warhol's Blood for Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein) manages to fuse crime-thriller conventions with gory cannibals-in-the-streets horror without losing viewers' interest, although the drastically-edited video version (under the title Invasion of the Flesh Hunters) suffers badly from the absence of Gianetto De Rossi's chunk-blowing makeup effects. The dialogue, while better than the average Italian post-dubbing job, is so overloaded with profanity that it becomes unintentionally hilarious. Released under a dozen titles, the best-known being Cannibal Apocalypse. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

John Saxon - Norman Hopper
Elizabeth Turner - Jane Hopper
Giovanni Lombardo Radice
Cindy Hamilton
Tony King

Image Entertainment's DVD of Cannibal Apocalypse delivers a lovingly assembled and unexpectedly generous package for fans of this obscure cult favorite. The film's anamorphic letterboxed transfer is a stunner: the rich colors and vivid picture quality make this remastered print nothing short of dazzling. Simply put, =Cannibal Apocalypse's image quality is light years ahead of previous official and bootleg editions of this title and it probably hasn't looked this good since its theatrical run. The audio is limited to Dolby mono, but delivers an amazingly sharp and punchy soundtrack despite this limitation. This DVD also offers a veritable bonanza of extras for the film's fans, including a poster and still gallery, two trailers, two text essays, and the film's alternate U.S. title sequence (for the alternate title Invasion of the Flesh Hunters). There are also two documentaries; "Apocalypse in the Streets" is a throwaway quickie tour of the film's Atlanta locations that is marred by a goofball "host," but "Cannibal Apocalypse Redux" is an impressive making-of documentary that offers an hour's worth of interviews with director Antonio Margheriti and stars John Saxon and Giovanni Lombardo Radice. All three participants in "Redux" are forthcoming with anecdotes about the film and offer up plenty of interesting insights into how Italy's exploitation film industry worked. All in all, Image's DVD of Cannibal Apocalypse is worthy of investigation for hardcore horror buffs and a must for the film's cult following. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide