This 79-minute documentary does an engrossing and illuminating job of covering the three brutal and controversial Italian cannibal adventure movies that are the main claim to fame for fetching brunette actress Me Me Lai. Lai reveals that she always wanted to be an actress and talks about how after she moved to England she began her acting career on stage and in television prior to making the transition to films. Moreover, Lai points out that Umberto Lenzi used to shout at everybody while Ruggero Deodato was much calmer and hence a lot easier to work with. Lai also remembers Ivan Rassimov as a lovely and helpful person and recalls that the making of "Last Cannibal World" was an especially hard and uncomfortable experience. However, the comments made by various fans are a decidedly mixed bag: Shelagh Rowan-Legg comes across best with her astute and articulate observations whereas Eli Roth in particular goes a bit overboard with the gushy praise. Recommended viewing for Me Me Lai aficionados.
4 Reviews
Just wish it'd been more.
kittenkongshow21 August 2019
By more I mean I wish it had covered all her Career with clips .
But what we have is still a very enjoyable run through Me Me's Cannibal roles (It's an extra on the Man From Deep River DVD) One lovely thing is her surprise on how much she's remembered and thought of - My favorite story though is the video confiscation one from her Police days...I won't spoil it.
Me Me is still a stunning woman and comes across as a genuine and nice Lady, As I'll probably never meet her this is the closest place I can Thank her (not that she'll see it!) for her work.
But what we have is still a very enjoyable run through Me Me's Cannibal roles (It's an extra on the Man From Deep River DVD) One lovely thing is her surprise on how much she's remembered and thought of - My favorite story though is the video confiscation one from her Police days...I won't spoil it.
Me Me is still a stunning woman and comes across as a genuine and nice Lady, As I'll probably never meet her this is the closest place I can Thank her (not that she'll see it!) for her work.
The Queen of Italian Cannibal cinema.
DoorsofDylan1 June 2023
Reading an old issue of the superb British Horror magazine The Dark Side, I was surprised to learn that the 88 Films Blu-Ray/ DVD release of Man From Deep River (also reviewed), featured a long documentary as an extra about the most famous actress from the run of Italian cannibal films. Intrigued by the details of the doc, I decided to upgrade my Deep River, and got set to witness Me Me bite back.
View on the film:
Putting the life on screen behind her for decades as she became a police officer, Me Me Lai gives an excellent extended interview, where she details the differing directing styles of Umberto Lenzi (who loved to scream a lot) and Ruggero Deodato (who took a more calming, considerate manner to directing the cast. )
Following Lai's comments about her disgust at the animal killing scenes in the films, director Naomi Holwill does not shy away from taking a critical look at the genre, rather than taking the easy option of just offering fan service, as the wonderful mix of film festival programmers, movie makers and fans of the titles share their thoughts of the themes and ultra violence featured in the run of cannibal films.
Discussing her decision to leave the world of TV and cinema behind, Lai expresses her surprise at discovering how well remembered her cannibal run has become, leading to fantastic sequences of her taking part in Q&A's where she met Deodato for the first time in decades, and gets invited to be a jury member at a film festival in Spain,as The Queen of Italian cannibal cinema.
View on the film:
Putting the life on screen behind her for decades as she became a police officer, Me Me Lai gives an excellent extended interview, where she details the differing directing styles of Umberto Lenzi (who loved to scream a lot) and Ruggero Deodato (who took a more calming, considerate manner to directing the cast. )
Following Lai's comments about her disgust at the animal killing scenes in the films, director Naomi Holwill does not shy away from taking a critical look at the genre, rather than taking the easy option of just offering fan service, as the wonderful mix of film festival programmers, movie makers and fans of the titles share their thoughts of the themes and ultra violence featured in the run of cannibal films.
Discussing her decision to leave the world of TV and cinema behind, Lai expresses her surprise at discovering how well remembered her cannibal run has become, leading to fantastic sequences of her taking part in Q&A's where she met Deodato for the first time in decades, and gets invited to be a jury member at a film festival in Spain,as The Queen of Italian cannibal cinema.
Entertaining Documentary on Lai
Michael_Elliott10 March 2018
Me Me Lai Bites Back (2018)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
This seventy-nine minute documentary takes a look at actress Me Me Lai who is best remembered for appearing in a handful of Italian cannibal movies. She pretty much disappeared after her last film credit but here recently historian Calum Waddell was able to locate her. This documentary talks about her film career as well as catches fans up on what she has been doing the past thirty-years before being re-discovered.
ME ME LAI BITES BACK is a highly enjoyable documentary that features interviews with Lai herself as well as Waddell, Eli Roth, Ruggero Deodato (from a film screening), Mike Hostench and Shelagh Rowan-Legg. As you can tell, there are more genre experts here than people who were actually involved with the films themselves but that's okay because all of them do a very good job at talking about the highs and lows of the cannibal genre and what impact that Lai had on them.
It should go without saying but the greatest thing about this documentary is getting to hear from Lai as she shares stories about how she got involved with these films, her thoughts on them at the time they were made, how difficult they were to make and of course the nudity that was required. She tells some very good stories about the production of the films and talks about the differences between Deodato who she worked with on JUNGLE HOLOCAUST and Umberto Lenzi who made MAN FROM DEEP RIVER and EATEN ALIVE!
If you're a fan of the actress or of the genre then you'll certainly enjoy this documentary. It contains clips from the movies in question and does a nice job at catching us up with Lai.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
This seventy-nine minute documentary takes a look at actress Me Me Lai who is best remembered for appearing in a handful of Italian cannibal movies. She pretty much disappeared after her last film credit but here recently historian Calum Waddell was able to locate her. This documentary talks about her film career as well as catches fans up on what she has been doing the past thirty-years before being re-discovered.
ME ME LAI BITES BACK is a highly enjoyable documentary that features interviews with Lai herself as well as Waddell, Eli Roth, Ruggero Deodato (from a film screening), Mike Hostench and Shelagh Rowan-Legg. As you can tell, there are more genre experts here than people who were actually involved with the films themselves but that's okay because all of them do a very good job at talking about the highs and lows of the cannibal genre and what impact that Lai had on them.
It should go without saying but the greatest thing about this documentary is getting to hear from Lai as she shares stories about how she got involved with these films, her thoughts on them at the time they were made, how difficult they were to make and of course the nudity that was required. She tells some very good stories about the production of the films and talks about the differences between Deodato who she worked with on JUNGLE HOLOCAUST and Umberto Lenzi who made MAN FROM DEEP RIVER and EATEN ALIVE!
If you're a fan of the actress or of the genre then you'll certainly enjoy this documentary. It contains clips from the movies in question and does a nice job at catching us up with Lai.
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