Eaten Alive! (1980) Mangiati vivi! (original title)

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 Guinea | New York | Cannibal Tribe

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gerald Grant	...	Lt. Creal (uncredited)
Carlo Longhi	...	Dick - Follower of Jonas (uncredited)
Edward Mannix	...	Inspector Logan (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Susan Spafford	...	Sheila Morris (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Jake Teague	...	Inspector Logan (uncredited)
Frank von Kuegelgen	...	Lt. Creal (voice: English version) (uncredited)

Directed by
Umberto Lenzi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Umberto Lenzi		story and screenplay

Produced by
Mino Loy	....	producer
Luciano Martino	....	producer

Original Music by
Roberto Donati		(as Budy)
Fiamma Maglione		(as Maglione)

Cinematography by
Federico Zanni

Film Editing by
Eugenio Alabiso

Production Design by
Massimo Antonello Geleng

Costume Design by
Massimo Antonello Geleng

Makeup Department
Raul Ranieri	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Franco Coduti	....	unit manager (as Gianfranco Coduti)
Evi Farinelli	....	unit manager
Giovanni Masini	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Franco Fantasia	....	assistant director (as Francesco Fantasia)

Art Department
Rodolfo Ruzza	....	prop man

Sound Department
Massimo Mariani	....	sound engineer
Bruno Moreal	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Paolo Ricci	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Roberto Belli	....	chief electrician
Gianni Maddaleni	....	camera operator
Francesco Narducci	....	still photographer
Mario Pastorini	....	assistant camera
Giancarlo Serravalli	....	key grip

Editorial Department
Brigida Mastrolillo	....	assistant editor
Teresa Negozio	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Carlo Maria Cordio	....	conductor (as Carlo Cordio)

Other crew
Franco Galizi	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Dania Film
• Medusa Distribuzione
• National Cinematografica

Distributors

• Eagle Films (1981) (UK) (theatrical)
• VideoMedia (1981) (UK) (VHS)
• Continental Video (1986) (USA) (video) (as "Emerald Jungle")
• Elephant Video Ltd. (1987) (UK) (VHS)
• Video Instant Picture Company (VIPCO) (1992) (UK) (VHS)
• Professional Cine Media (1994) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Astro Distribution (1998) (Germany) (VHS)
• EC Entertainment (1999) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Shriek Show (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Alemannia-Filmverleih (1980) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• EuroVideo (????) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• IVC (????) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Another World Entertainment (2006) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Firebox (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• LD Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Mac Vídeo (198?) (Brazil) (VHS)
• SBP (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Video Classics (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Video Invest AB (????) (Sweden) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Cine International  interiors
• Cineflor  plants and flowers
• Ditta Rancati  set furnishings
• International Sound  sound effects
• NC Studios  sound synchronization

Also Known As:

"Mangiati vivi!" - Italy (original title)
"Doomed to Die" - USA
"Eaten Alive by the Cannibals!" - Europe (English title)
"Eaten Alive: Mangiati vivi!" - USA (DVD box 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 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Portugal:M/18 | Argentina:16 | Ireland:18 (cut UK version) | Norway:(Banned) | South Korea:18 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company:

Dania Film

Trivia:

Scenes originally from the movies Sacrifice! (1972) (crocodile being killed with a small knife, and a woman being killed and eaten by cannibals), Last Cannibal World (1977) (Me Me Lay's death sequence), and The Mountain of the Cannibal God (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:

Jonas Melvyn:Their idea of lunch is fresh, hot entrails soaked in blood.

Movie Connections:

References Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Soundtrack:

Battle Hymn of the Republic

A passable film for the cannibal connoisseur

The film begins in Canada and New York, with an Asian hitman killing his victims by blowing poisoned darts at them. He is then run over by a truck and killed. The police find some film on him, and wouldn't you know, the film contains scenes of a cannibal ritual, which includes a woman named Sheila's(Janet Agren) missing sister. A professor tells Sheila that the ritual is from a tribe in New Guinea, so she travels there and finds Vietnam war veteran Mark Butler (cannibal film regular Robert Kerman) and pays him to find her sister.

The film then goes off into the usual cannibal film thing. The odd animal is killed, they find parts of bodies etc. It turns out that her missing sister is part of a religious community in the jungle lead by a character named Jonas. He brainwashes all his followers, and has strict rules, like no drinking of alcohol. The version I watched was sadly cut, and some gory scenes that were about to be shown then quickly jumped to another scene. The music deserves mention too, a catchy tune plays during the opening credits. The other music during the film is ok. It's not nearly as good as Cannibal Holocaust, or even Lenzi's other cannibal flick Ferox, but if you like cannibal films it's worth checking out.