John Saxon Takes on the Cannibal Apocalypse
Director: Antonio Margheriti
Writer: Antonio Margheriti, Dardano Sacchetti (Screenplay) Dardano Sacchetti (Story)
Starring: John Saxon, Elizabeth Turner, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Cinzia De Carolis, Tony King, Wallace Wilkinson
Plot: Giovanni Lambardo Radice and John Saxon are Vietnam vets that bring back contagious virus that turn people into cannibals when bitten.
Tagline – When you think you’ve seen it all…think again.
Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Splatter Fest
Story: Cannibal Apocalypse starts as two men return from Vietnam Norman Hopper (Saxon) who returned to his family with the nightmares still haunting him and Charlie (Radice) who has been recovering from a virus he caught while over there.
While both have become infected by the virus which causes them to want human flesh, but keeping their human form, Charlie finds himself causing a siege in public, while Norman has the nightmares reminding him what happened and tries to talk Charlie down. As the virus the two have starts to spread the mayhem unfolds for the latest infected.
Thoughts on Cannibal Apocalypse
Characters – Norman is one of the soldier that returned from Vietnam, he was bitten by fellow soldier, but has gone back to his normal life apart from the seductive girl next door. Norman is one of the few people that has battled the virus without giving into it. Charlie was infected for longer and returns like an abandoned veteran, he is drawn to the cannibalism, as he starts to spread the virus. Mary is the neighbour of Norman that gets the school girl crush on him which leaves her facing the trouble of what he could become.
Performances – John Saxon is the big drawn in this movie, he is a popular horror actor and you can see why, best in an authority role and the captain of a unit works for the performance he must give here. Giovanni is good as the unhinged man trying to get used to the new state he finds himself in. both Turner and Carolis are good but this films never wrote the women to be strong.
Story – The story does offer a different spin on the zombie movie, we have the spread of a virus which turns people into flesh eaters, but they do keep their brains about them which is the unique take on the film. the film does also play into the idea that we never know what could have come back from a warzone in virus form. For the style of film the story works without being anywhere near testing for the audience.
Horror/Sci-Fi – Most of the horror comes from the gore, which is as gruesome for the time as you could imagine. The sci-fi elements come from the idea a virus could spread the way it does.
Settings – The setting show us how the virus spreads from the warzone to the big cities and how hard it would be to contain.
Special Effects – The effects are practical, they work for the gore shows the team could work with the budget.
Scene of the Movie – Who needs eyes
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The best gore moments are edited too much.
Final Thoughts – If you were a fan of the 80’s gore based movies, this one will be one for you, but if you want a deeper story you will not be enjoying this one.
Overall: 80’s Horror fans enjoy.
