Antropophagus (1980)

A group of tourists become stranded on an uninhabited island where they are stalked by an insane, violent, and grotesque killer that slaughtered the town's former residents.

Director:

Joe D'Amato

Writers:

George Eastman (story) (as Luigi Montefiori), Joe D'Amato (story) (as Aristide Massaccesi)

Stars:

Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone, Serena Grandi

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tisa Farrow	...	Julie
Saverio Vallone	...	Andy
Serena Grandi	...	Maggie (as Vanessa Steiger)
Margaret Mazzantini	...	Henriette 'Rita' (as Margaret Donnelly)
Mark Bodin	...	Daniel
Bob Larson	...	Arnold
Rubina Rey	...	Ruth Wortmann
Simone Baker	...	First Victim
Mark Logan	...	Second Victim
George Eastman	...	Nikos Karamanlis (Klaus Wortmann) / Antropophagus
Zora Kerova	...	Carol

Storyline

Tourists take a boat to a remote island, where they find that most of the people have disappeared, and something is stalking them. They find a hidden room in the big mansion on a hill, and an ancient diary, which gives them clues to the source of the terror.

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Plot Keywords:

grindhouse film | video nasty | serial killer | drive in classic | psychotronic film | 

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Taglines:

THEY RIP OUT YOUR FEAR AND FEED ON IT! (The Zombies' Rage)

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian German

Release Date:

9 October 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Zombie's Rage

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmirage, Produzioni Cinematografiche Massaccesi (PCM) International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 87 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Luigi Montefiori (aka George Eastman) who co-wrote, co-produce and as well as portrayed the villain of disfigured cannibalistic serial killer Nikos Karamanlis in the film, stated when he went to the premier to see it at the old Cinema Metropolitan in Rome with the producer, only a few people were in the theater watching the movie, then people started to leave and one couple were still inside the same theater with Luigi Montefiori and the producer. Soon when the scene of the pregnant woman was being strangled by the killer and eventually rips her fetus out to eat it, the couple got up and walked out offended due to the horrific scene (even though it was a skinned rabbit but it was something new and disturbing for the time by 1980). Only Montefiori and the producer we're the only ones left inside watching the rest of the film.

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Quotes

Carol: There's evil on this island. An evil that won't let us get away. An evil that sends out an inhuman, diabolic power. I sense its vibrations now. The vibrations are an intense horror. It will destroy us! The very same way it did all the others!
Andy: Shut up, Carol!

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Alternate Versions

The only version ever submitted in the UK is the heavily edited R-rated print known as "The Grim Reaper". This version is missing the sequence where the creature devours the fetus plus the climactic scene where he attempts to eat his own entrails (the film ends abruptly after he is stabbed with the axe).

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Connections

Referenced in Atop the Fourth Wall: The Movie (2015)

User Reviews

Another Reason to Avoid Greek Islands

A group of young adults go to a Greek island, where things go from bad to worse when they find that everyone on the island -- with the exception of a blind girl -- has been killed. Clearly, they didn't see the exploitation film "Island of Death" to learn why Greek islands are bad. What they encounter is a man who is more beast than anything, with an insatiable thirst for human blood and flesh.

This film has floated around under various names -- "Grim Repaer", "Man Eater" and the misspelled "Antropophagus" to name a few -- for quite some time, gaining notoriety for its banned status in England and two scenes which had to be cut when it was finally released (one involving a man eating his own intestines and the other with a baby being ripped from a womb and devoured). The hype is more than enough to get people to see the film, though it's tame by today's standards. (I hate to reference "Island of Death" yet again... but if you want to be shocked, the goat scene in that one easily outdoes anything shown here).

I enjoyed this one. There's something about older horror films, even those with poor film quality, that have a value to them modern films lack. And the cannibal, played by George Eastman, is a disgusting creature in his own right. Even without the publicity or the previously cut scenes (now restored in many versions) Eastman is convincing and works well. (For what it's worth, the blind girl is also pretty cool -- on par with the blind girl in "Castle Freak" -- and I'm very glad they scripted her in to this one.) Decent plot, decent characters, decent blood and gore. Unless you're impatient with older films, this is one that is worth your time and I can see myself seeing it again and again if the opportunity presents itself. Make sure you get an uncut copy. You don't need those extra scenes to enjoy this film, but if you're going to view it, you may as well get the full effect and see what lead to the banning in the first place. You'd be surprised what gets people riled up.