Mangiati vivi! (1980)

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writer:

Umberto Lenzi (story)

Release Date:

20 March 1980 (Italy)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror

Tagline:

They didn't have a chance!

Plot:

A young woman teams up with an adventurer to find her missing sister in the jungles of New Guinea and they stumble upon a religious cult led by a deranged preacher whom has located his commune in an area inhabited by cannibals.

Plot Keywords:

Cannibal | Jungle | New York | New Guinea | Dart

Cast

Robert Kerman	...	Mark Butler
Janet Agren	...	Sheila Morris
Ivan Rassimov	...	Jonas Melvyn
Paola Senatore	...	Diana Morris
Me Me Lai	...	Mowara
Fiamma Maglione	...	Alma (as Mag Fleming)
Franco Fantasia	...	Brother Reeves
Franco Coduti	...	Karan (as Gianfranco Coduti)
Alfred Joseph Berry
Michele Schmiegelm	...	Native girl
Mel Ferrer	...	Professor Carter

Also Known As:

Doomed to Die (USA)
Eaten Alive by the Cannibals! (Europe: English title)
Eaten Alive! (International: English title)
Eaten Alive: Mangiati vivi! (USA) (DVD box title)
Mangiati vivi dai cannibali (Italy) (alternative title)
The Emerald Jungle (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

92 min | UK:85 min (heavily cut)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | UK:18 (re-rating: 1987) (heavily cut) | UK:X (original rating: 1981) (heavily cut) | Italy:VM14 | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Ireland:18 (cut UK version) | Norway:(Banned) | South Korea:18 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Italy

Trivia:

Scenes originally from the movies Il paese del sesso selvaggio (1972) (crocodile being killed with a small knife, and a woman being killed and eaten by cannibals), Ultimo mondo cannibale (1977) (Me Me Lay's death sequence), and La montagna del dio cannibale (1978) (castration scene, footage of a snake eating a monkey, and a man being pulled into the water by a crocodile), were edited into this movie.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious stunt double when Butler is fighting Karan.

Quotes:

Professor Carter: Cannibals. Instead of buying frozen meat in the supermarket, they get theirs fresh from people like you. One way to solve the problem of starvation in the world.
Inspector Logan: Is this any time for wisecracks?

Movie Connections:

Edited from La montagna del dio cannibale (1978)

Soundtrack:

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

Worth watching for the gore.**Spoilers**

"Mangiati Vivi" aka "Eaten Alive" is a decent cannibal flick.Yes,it is also a big mess.You've got Stone Age cannibals,a Jim Jones-type cult,hired assassins and brutal animal butchery thrown on-screen every five minutes just to keep the viewer awake.As for the gore,one has to wait an inordinate amount of time for the crimson to really start flying,but the last half-hour has some truly revolting mayhem on display.One native has his penis cut off before being speared.A woman has her breast cut off then eaten;another girl is completely dismembered."Eaten Alive" is quite nasty at times,but it is a joke in comparison to "Cannibal Holocaust" or even "Make Them Die Slowly".If you love Italian splatter cinema you won't be disappointed.Highly recommended.