Sacrifice! (1972)

After a photographer is captured by a primitive tribe, his life is spared and he's accepted into the village after the chief's daughter falls for him, but he has to survive the jungle's harsh life, including the cannibals.

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Francesco Barilli, Massimo D'Avak (as Massimo D'Avack)

Stars:

Ivan Rassimov, Me Me Lai, Prasitsak Singhara

Cast

Credited cast:
Ivan Rassimov	...	John Bradley
Me Me Lai	...	Marayå (as Me Me Lay)
Prasitsak Singhara	...	Taima
Sulallewan Suxantat	...	Karen
Ong Ard	...	Lahuna
Prapas Chindang	...	Chuan
Pipop Pupinyo	...	Mihuan
Tuan Tevan	...	Tuan
Chit	...	Cannibal
Choi	...	Cannibal
Song Suanhud	...	Witch Doctor
Pairach Thaipradit	...	Thai
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nick Alexander	...	Trailer Narrator (voice)

Storyline

A photographer on assignment in the rain forest is ambushed and held slave by a primitive tribe, until the chief's daughter chooses him as her groom. After being initiated by various tortures, he becomes a part of the tribe and helps them against modern dangers and a cannibal tribe they're at war with.

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Plot Keywords:

video nasty | interracial marriage | bloody violence | midnight movie | b movie | 

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Taglines:

LOVED - by a tribal girl who creates a wild Eden!

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is considered to be the first "cannibal film", a subgenre of European exploitation films that was prevalent in Grindhouse cinema in the late seventies and early eighties.

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Quotes

John Bradley: I'm a human being, like you! I'm a man, not a fish!

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Alternate Versions

The film was rejected for a UK cinema certificate in 1975 by the BBFC and ended up on the infamous DPP 72 list of video nasties. It was finally released in 2003 after 3 minutes 45 secs of cuts to remove all the scenes of animal killings. The uncut version was resubmitted for DVD release in 2016, and 3 minutes of cuts were again made to scenes of animal cruelty. Surprisingly the decapitation of the monkey appears to be restored

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Connections

Featured in Trailer Trauma (2016)

User Reviews

Not the Best But Not Bad

This is a earlier film directed by Umberto Lenzi in 1972. This is also considered to be the first of a series of many cannibal films. Although, this film dosen't necessarily focus on the cannibalism but more on character development and story.

Basically, a man goes into the amazon and is captured by a vicious tribe. It isn't until he kills one of their own that he is excepted into the tribe.

I just saw this movie and I thought it was a decent film. Nothing to spectacular but enjoyable nonetheless. The main problems with this film is it tends to drag at many points and the gore is very limited. Another problem with this film is (just like almost all other cannibal films) the fact that they have real animals being slaughtered. Just like in my review of Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox, I just don't understand the use in killing animals on the screen for shock value.

Altogether, this isn't a bad film but nowhere near as good as some of Lenzi's later work. 6/10 stars

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian Burmese Thai

Release Date:

23 May 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sacrifice!

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Box Office

Gross USA:

$35,500

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roas Produzioni, Medusa Distribuzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 89 min (heavily cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1