Primitive Desires (1978)
"La montagna del dio cannibale" (original title)

A girl and her brother fly to New Guinea to look for a lost expedition, led by her husband, which has vanished in the great jungle.

Director:

Sergio Martino

Writers:

Cesare Frugoni (screenplay), Cesare Frugoni (story),

Stars:

Ursula Andress, Stacy Keach, Claudio Cassinelli

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ursula Andress	...	Susan Stevenson
Stacy Keach	...	Professor Edward Foster
Claudio Cassinelli	...	Manolo
Antonio Marsina	...	Arthur Weisser
Franco Fantasia	...	Father Moses
Lanfranco Spinola	...	Consul Burns
Carlo Longhi	...	Phil, the pilot
Luigina Rocchi	...	Sura
Akushula Selayah	...	(as Akushla Sellajaah)
Dudley Wanaguru
T.M. Munna
M. Suki
Giovanni Masini
Franco Cuccu
Franco Coduti	...	(as Gianfranco Coduti)

Storyline

Susan Stevenson and her brother Arthur get off a plane in Papua New Guinea, looking for her missing husband. They team up with, Dr. Edward Foster. The three head into the jungle, get in more than a few fights amongst themselves, and view lots of gratuitous animal cruelty, notable an iguana getting eviscerated.

---

Plot Keywords:

jungle | new guinea | cruelty | animal cruelty | iguana | 

---

Taglines:

When the price of lust is death..!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Horror

---

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mountain of the Cannibal God

Filming Locations:

Central Province, Sri Lanka

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dania Film, Medusa Produzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 92 min (heavily cut) 103 min (extended) 86 min (R-rated) 96 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the snake eats the monkey, it is supposed to be natural footage of one animal eating another. There are many leaves around the shot, and one of them is very clearly added during editing to hide a device to launch the monkey into the snake's mouth. (A frame by frame analysis of this is on the unrated Blue Underground DVD.)

---

Crazy Credits

The title card reads "The Mountain of of the Cannibal God".

---

Connections

Referenced in Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981)

User Reviews

A fine example of it's genre...

I decided to buy the uncut and digitally remastered version of 'Mountain of the Cannibal God' after having read some online reviews, (which were pretty mixed), and after having watched the trailer for the film on some of the other Vipco Screamtime Collection DVDs.

The Horror film genre is one that particularly interests me, as does the sub-genre of Cannibalism and films that have been previously banned, and I feel that this film delivers all that can be expected of it.

There are interesting plot twists and developments, (although the story is very straight-forward), the dialogue is simple but effective and well executed for a film of this genre, it has the former Bond girl Ursula Andress 'in all her beautiful glory', it has an intriguing musical score, lashings of violence and gore that are shot in a fairly realistic fashion, and even an annoying cannibal dwarf! What more could you possibly ask for?

Although perhaps at not quite the same level of entertainment and cinematic quality of a film like 'Cannibal Holocaust', which is far more tense and shocking, this is nevertheless an extremely highly under-rated and enjoyable film that is more than well worth a look if you are interested in this type of genre. However, if you do not like this type of film, then it certainly isn't a film for you - just leave us enthusiasts to enjoy and appreciate it in our own company.

The DVD sleeve hails it as 'one of the best cannibal films you'll ever see' - and I must say that I wholeheartedly (excuse the pun) agree. Go watch it now!

10 out of 10.