Umberto Lenzi's "Mangiati Vivi" aka. "Eaten Alive By The Cannibals" of 1980 is one of the gruesome Cannibal-movie classics of the early 80s. It is not quite as (in)famous as Lenzi's "Cannibal Ferox" of 1981, but it's easily equally effective, and definitely one of the absolute must-sees for fans of shocking Italian Horror exploitation. Alongside Ruggero Deodato, who is responsible for the only true masterpiece of the Cannibal sub-genre, the brilliant "Cannibal Holocaust" of 1980, director Lenzi is THE master of this nasty and controversial sub-genre, and may also be credited as its pioneer, since his very own "Paese Del Sesso Selvaggio" aka. "Deep River Savages", was the first movie of the kind in 1972. This "Mangiati Vivi" is easily one of the nastiest highlights of the genre, and has a particularly interesting plot, as the film is, among other things, about a bizarre purification cult that resembles Jim Jones' infamous 'People's Temple'. The film features a lot of sleaze, and the violence is extremely disturbing and engrossing, and even though these vicious scenes are not as frequent as it is the case in "Cannibal Ferox", they are extremely vicious and sometimes hard to watch, even for well-trained exploitation lovers like myself. The cast contains several Cannibal-genre regulars, Robert Kerman ("Cannibal Holocaust", "Cannibal Ferox") and beautiful Me Me Lai ("Deep River Savages", "Jungle Holocaust), who plays a native girl, as always, and Exploitation-star Ivan Rassimov. The music was generally great in these Italian Cannibal flicks, and "Mangiati Vivi" has an excellent score (actually, it's partly the same score as in "Cannibal Ferox"). People who are sensitive about violence should avoid this film since it shows what the title promises - people being mutilated and eaten alive. Animal-protectors and vegetarians are also not well-advised to see this, due to the vicious scenes in which actual animals were killed (probably more than in any other Cannibal movie). To all the fans of shocking exploitation and ultra-violent Eurohorror out there, however, "Mangiati Vivi" is an indispensable Shock-classic that must not be missed. Definitely not a movie you'll forget quickly! Highly recommended!
Review of Eaten Alive!
