Cannibal Ferox (1981)
Directed by Umberto Lenzi
Starring Giovanni Lombardo Radice
93 mins; R18+; Colour

Previewed Release: R1 Grindhouse Releasing
Tagline: Make them die slowly.
Country of Origin: Italy


The Film:

Umberto Lenzi is sorta like a poor-man’s Ruggero Deodato – both create uber-violent cannibal movies, but Deodato managed to pass Cannibal Holocaust off as an arthouse flick, while Lenzi is more camp. Holocaust is far more powerful, thus it is a better film. But in being less disturbing, Ferox is easier and more entertaining to watch, and is therefore on a par with Deodato's fantastic, groundbreaking classic. However, it should also be acknowledged that Lenzi was one of the first to kick off the Italo-cannibal cycle, with his film Man from Deep River (1972; Ferox was titled Woman From Deep River on its original release).

University student Gloria, along with her brother Rudy and friend Pat, travel to the Amazonian jungles in order to disprove the myth of cannibalism and finalise Gloria's university thesis. Their car breaks down in a swamp and the trio are forced to continue their expedition on foot, where they come across two men: Joe, who has been shot through the shoulder, and the roguish Mike (Radice). They tell a horrific story of their capture by a tribe of cannibals, who tortured a third member of their party, leaving Joe and Mike to escape. However, another version of events soon emerges - Mike, a coked-up criminal in search for diamonds, tortured the natives for information on the location of prized gems. When they wouldn't yeild, Mike killed them brutally. Now, the natives have their revenge, but not just on Mike - Gloria, Rudy and Pat are all set to die slowly...

The Release:

Grindhouse Releasing don't put much out, but they certainly take care of what they do. Ferox comes uncut, with a commentary, interview, galleries, liner notes and trailers. Certainly not as comprehensive as Holocaust, but as good a release as you're likely to get. The audio/visual quality is superb. Siren have released an uncut version of Ferox for Australia, but it hasn't got one special feature and, for $30 AUD, a Grindhouse import would be nearly cheaper. And its only on a Grindhouse release where you get that awesome opening theme.

The Bottom Line:

There are a few things that strike you about Ferox, especially when compared with Holocaust: the violence and animal slaughter is one such point. As Holocaust was being prosecuted as a snuff film, Ferox was granted free release. The animal killings, when performed by humans, were quick and devoid of cruelty, whereas the animal-on-animal deaths wouldn't look out of place in a National Geographic doco. The whole 'cannibal' thing is also pretty questionable: this could work as a Hills Have Eyes type film - the only cannibal element may involve a few quick scenes of natives chomping down on vital organs and the like. The acting is typically poor and the direction generally inept, but you don't watch any Italo-exploitation film for Oscar-winning performances by cast and crew. Ferox is an excellent film for its genre, and on par with Holocaust as being the forerunner of the cannibal cycle.

Clerks (1994)

Directed by Kevin Smith

Starring Brian O'Halloran & Jeff Anderson

92 mins; R18+; Black and White

Previewed Release: R4 Siren Entertainment

Tagline: Just because they serve you, doesn't mean they like you.

Country of Origin: USA

The Film:

When Kevin Smith burst out into film with his $27 500 debut feature (where song rights cost more than the film itself to make), few would have been able to predict just how successful Clerks was to be, spawning numerous rip offs and a sequel directed by Smith himself.

Clerks surrounds the life of two twenty-something clerks - Dante (O'Halloran) who is a clerk at the Quick Stop convenience store and his friend Randal (Anderson), who works at the video shop next door. Dante's got some issues with his girlfriend and her 36 past boyfriends and, when an old flame comes to town, he's torn between the two women. Randal on the other hand, just doesn't care about anything - he'll gladly close up the store to play hockey, destroy a woman's coffin at her wake and sell cigarettes to children under six.

The Release:

For a distributing house who usually cares about cult classics, Siren have really shafted Clerks. Not one special feature (not even a trailer). Region 1 beckons, namely in the form of a very comprehensive tenth anniversary edition.

The Bottom Line:

If you like movies, you've gotta like Clerks. That's what it boils down to. When it was released in the tenth anniversary edition in the US, it received an NC-17 rating, a commercial kiss of death and one of the first given to a film based solely on language. So the humour is, admittedly, an acquired taste. But you can't help but smile as Randal order twenty hilariously-titled porn movies in front of an eight year old girl and her mother, or when Dante's girlfriend has sex with a pensioner who masturbated himself to death. This is very, very funny stuff and the black and white, VHS quality aesthetic gives it all the more a voyeuristic feel. Something else Clerks stands for is a cinematic rags-to-riches story: director Kevin Smith has gone from indie filmmaker to someone who studios trust enough with multi-million dollar budgets. Kudos to the actors, Smith and his offbeat script and everyone else who contributed to Clerks; it may well be the funniest film ever made.