Ultimo mondo cannibale (1977)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Ruggero Deodato

Writers:

Tito Carpi (screenplay)
Gianfranco Clerici (screenplay)

Release Date:

March 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror

Tagline:

Can this modern man survive in a Stone Age world?

Plot:

An oil prospector escapes from capture by a primitive cannibal tribe in the Philippine rain forest and heads out to locate his missing companion and their plane to return home.

Plot Keywords:

Cannibal | Escape | Jungle | Primitive | Part Of Trilogy

Cast

Massimo Foschi	...	Robert Harper
Me Me Lai	...	Pulan
Ivan Rassimov	...	Rolf
Sheik Razak Shikur	...	Charlie
Judy Rosly	...	Swan
Suleiman	...	Native
Shamsi	...	Native

Also Known As:

Cannibal (UK) (video title)
Carnivorous (USA) (reissue title)
Jungle Holocaust (USA) (DVD box title)
Last Cannibal World (International: English title)
The Last Survivor (USA) (censored version)

Runtime:

92 min | Sweden:82 min (heavily cut) | USA:82 min (R-rated version) | South Korea:85 min (heavily cut) | UK:87 min (heavily cut) | Australia:82 min (heavily cut)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 (re-rating: 2005) (uncut) | Norway:(Banned) (1982-2005) | Australia:R (re-rating: 1984) (heavily cut) | USA:X (1984 release) | USA:Unrated (uncut) | UK:18 (re-rating: 2003) (heavily cut) | USA:R (heavily cut) | Australia:Refused Classification (original rating: 1977) | UK:X (original rating: 1977) (heavily cut) | USA:X (1984 re-release) | Germany:Not Rated (DVD rating) | West Germany:18 (uncut) | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating: 2007) | Finland:K-18 | France:-18 | Iceland:(Banned) | Italy:VM18 | South Korea:18 (1995) | Sweden:15 (heavily cut)

Filming Locations:

Malaysia

Company:

Erre Cinematograsica S.r.l.

Trivia:

The film was originally conceived as a sequel of sorts to Umberto Lenzi's Il paese del sesso selvaggio (1972). Lenzi was originally attached to direct, but the project fell through when the producers refused Lenzi higher payment. Although the idea was eventually scrapped, the original "sequel" concept is still readily apparent, as Me Me Lai and Ivan Rassimov star in both films.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Banned from Facez 2000, Part Two (2000) (V)

An adventure in the jungle.

Jungle Holocaust opens with some beautiful shots of a small aircraft flying over a seemingly endless jungle. The four people on the plane are going to the middle of said jungle to check up on a mining crew one of them sent out there. When they get there the camp is of course empty, and all that they find of the inhabitants is a heavily decomposed head. They end up having to stay the night in the plane because the pilot, understandably, will not fly over the jungle in the dark. At this point their situation goes from bad to worse as they have to deal with getting separated, a tribe of natives who just happen to be cannibals, being lost, and being far out of their element.

The movie centers around Robert Harper (Mossimo Foschi) and his ordeals with the cannibals and the jungle in his struggle to get home. The character development is a highlight as the events take their toll on Robert's psyche. He becomes more savage, animal like, and at times it seems, insane. Actor Mossimo Foschi does a very good job portraying all of this, by the way. Actress Me Me Lai is never clothed, a plus in my book, and performs well, though her obviously fake breasts do detract from the believability as she is supposed to be playing a native.

There isn't much gore but some of what there is can get a bit strong. Some will find a scene with a crocodile particularly hard to watch.

Overall Jungle Holocaust is one of the best of the Italian Cannibal genre and is oddly uplifting for this kind of film. Highly recommended.