Cannibal Apocalypse (1980) Apocalypse domani (original title)

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Dardano Sacchetti (screenplay)
Dardano Sacchetti (story)
(more)

Release Date:

August 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

POW's in Vietnam...starved in captivity...released with a taste for human flesh.

Plot:

Giovanni Lambardo Radice and John Saxon are Vietman vets that bring back contagious virus that turn people into cannibals when bitten.

Plot Keywords:

Virus | Shotgun | Atlanta Georgia | Pow | Department Store

Cast

John Saxon	...	Norman Hopper
Elizabeth Turner	...	Jane Hopper
Giovanni Lombardo Radice	...	Charlie Bukowski (as John Morghen)
Cinzia De Carolis	...	Mary (as Cindy Hamilton)
Tony King	...	Tom Thompson
Wallace Wilkinson	...	Captain McCoy
Ramiro Oliveros	...	Dr. Phil Mendez (as Ray Williams)
John Geroson	...	Officer Parker
May Heatherly	...	Nurse Helen
Ronnie Sanders	...	Orderly
Vic Perkins	...	Biker
Jere Beery	...	Biker Leader
Joan Riordan	...	Aunt Tina
Laura Dean	...	Brunette Jogger
Lonnie R. Smith Jr.	...	Biker (as Lonnie Smith)
Don Ruffin	...	Biker - Carlos
Benjamin Rogers	...	Biker
Bill Gribble	...	Doctor in Ambulance (as William H. Gribble)
George Nikas	...	Biker
Doug Dillingham	...	Cop at Flea Market
Ralph Pruitt Vaughn		(as Ralph Vaughn)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nick Alexander	...	Lt. Hill (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Paul Costello	...	Newscaster (uncredited)
Edward Mannix	...	TV Station Manager (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Edoardo Margheriti	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Renzo Marignano	...	Dr. Morris (uncredited)
Renzo Pevarello	...	Hospital Assistant (uncredited)
Susan Spafford	...	Jane Hopper (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Goffredo Unger	...	Mall Guard (uncredited)
Luca Venantini	...	Bobby (uncredited)
Venantino Venantini	...	Lieutenant Hill (uncredited)

Directed by
Antonio Margheriti		(as Anthony M. Dawson)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Antonio Margheriti		(screenplay) (as Anthony M. Dawson)
Dardano Sacchetti		screenplay (as Jimmy Gould)
Dardano Sacchetti		story (as Jimmy Gould)

Produced by
Edmondo Amati	....	producer
Maurizio Amati	....	producer
Sandro Amati	....	producer

Original Music by
Alexander Blonksteiner

Cinematography by
Fernando Arribas

Film Editing by
Giorgio Serrallonga		(as George Serralonga)

Casting by
Sylvia Mays

Art Direction by
Walter Patriarca

Costume Design by
Lucia Mirisola		(as Lucy Morrison)

Makeup Department
Carboni	....	wig maker
Giannetto De Rossi	....	makeup artist
Rocchetti	....	wig maker

Production Management
Louis Pierce	....	production manager
Jerry Stapleton	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joe Pollini	....	assistant director (as Joe Pollins)

Art Department
Alfredo D'Angelo	....	drapes
Ciro Russo	....	props (as Dick Ross)

Sound Department
Nick Alexander	....	dubbing editor
Fernando Caso	....	sound effects
Alvaro Gramigna	....	sound effects
Raul Montesanti	....	sound engineer (as Raoul Mountsaint)

Special Effects by
Bob Shelley	....	special effects coordinator

Stunts
Goffredo Unger	....	stunt coordinator (as Freddy Unger)
Fernanda Dell'Acqua	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ottaviano Dell'Acqua	....	stunts (uncredited)
Don Ruffin	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lonnie R. Smith Jr.	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Antonio Benetti	....	still photographer: action stills (as Tony Bernett)
Sante Federici	....	gaffer (as Fred Stander)
Enrico Maggi	....	assistant camera (as Edwyn Meyers)
Sergio Profili	....	key grip (as Sonny Profiles)
Mario Sbrenna	....	camera operator (as Monty Sanders)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sartoria Russo	....	costumes (as Sartoria Mario Russo)

Music Department
Alexander Blonksteiner	....	conductor

Other crew
Paul Costello	....	script supervisor
E. Rancati	....	furniture (as Rancati)
Peggy Rogers	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Edmondo Amati presents
• José Frade Producciones Cinematográficas S.A.
• New Fida

Distributors

• Almi Cinema 5 (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Eurocopfilms (1980) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Roadshow Entertainment (1981) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Astro Distribution (2000) (Germany) (VHS)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (VHS)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (video)
• Image Video (2000) (USA) (DVD) (uncut)
• Pack-In-Video (1987) (Japan) (VHS)
• Palace Explosive Video (1984) (Australia) (VHS)
• Replay Video (early 1980s) (UK) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (video)
• Video Programme Distributors (VPD) (1981) (UK) (video)

Also Known As:

"Apocalypse domani" - Italy (original title)
"Cannibals in the Streets" - USA

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Italy | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | South Korea:18 | UK:(Banned) (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (2005) | West Germany:18 | Norway:(Banned) (original rating) | Norway:18 (re-rating) (2005) | USA:R | Portugal:M/18 | Hong Kong:III | UK:18 (DVD rating, uncut)

Filming Locations:

De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Edmondo Amati presents

Trivia:

The film watched by Bukowski on the cinema is From Hell to Victory (1979) which starred May Heatherly, who plays the role of the infected nurse Helen.

Goofs:

Continuity: While en route to the hospital with the female police officer, the first exterior view of the Intensive Care ambulance shows there is still light out. At the end of the scene, when the officer dies, a second exterior view shows it is now completely dark. Later, when Hopper and the others escape the institution in another ambulance, it is back to dusk and remains the same in all exterior street shots until they arrive at the gas station.

Quotes:

[seeing a cannibal policeman bite a woman's breast]
Captain McCoy:Oh, my God! Put that down, son!

Movie Connections:

References Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Chow down

In your face horror/action violence is here for you if you want it. Dawson also directed Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula, but the films are often credited to Paul Morrisey. Influenced by, and occasionally imitating both Fulci's Zombie and Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Cannibal Apocalypse is graphic, silly, exploitative fun. It is far similar to the films produced in the wake of Romero's social comment filled classic than the cannibal subgenre suggested in its title that animated after the success of Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust.

Opening with an American attack on a Vietnam camp where two POWs, Charlie (Giovanni Lombardo Radice, of Cannibal Ferox, House on the Edge of the Park and City of the Living Dead) and Tommy (Tony King of The Last Hunter & Sharkey's Machine) are found feasting on a young native girl. The leader of the US squad, Hopper (ex-male model and great regular genre actor, John Saxon) is bitten by one of these madmen, driven to cannibalism by Vietnam horror. Cut to 1982, Charlie is released from an asylum. Top of his to do list is ring his old mate, Hopper. Now married and having an affair with the Lolita-like girl next door (Cinzia De Carolis from Argento's Cat O' Nine Tails) has began developing a taste for human flesh. Fear of becoming a member of his mate's cannibal group, he chooses not to see Charlie. Disappointed with his friend he falls of the wagon and chomps down on a pretty girl in the local cinema.

To cut a long story short, Hopper eventually teams up with his old ‘Nam mates and they go a cannibal spree around the city, infecting all those with a rabies-like virus.

Gore highlights, courtesy of FX wizard, Giannetto De Rossi (Zombie, The Beyond, Living Dead at Manchester Morgue) include - a girl having her breast torn away and eaten, a doctor having his tongue bitten out then spat next to his dying body, a garage mechanic having his thigh sliced like a slab of beef and, the best of all, Charlie has his stomach blown through and the camera lingers on the large football sized hole in his midriff. The gore isn't that offensive but it is excessive. The film was banned in the UK along with many other cannibal films during the Video Nasties scandal and still remains so toady. A DVD is available though on region one full of extras.