As far as I am concerned, "Antropophagus" does not truly exist under the title of "The Grim Reaper." Rest assured, this is a murdered movie, and its corpse continues to be devoured to this very day.

Many movies, ie. Video Nasties, are once killed by the censors but are later resurrected and brought back to life by people who realize that they are adults who can and will watch an uncut Italian exploitation horror film if they want to. Thats why companies like Anchor Bay and Shriek Show are our saviors.

If it were up to companies like Diamond Entertainment or Nutech, the torture of extreme horror flicks would be every bit as common like we were still in medieval times. We are not in medieval time. We are in the present. The only legit company to release "Antropophagus" is in fact Nutech, and it is under the title of "The Grim Reaper." This copy is butchered like it was edited by the film's lead antagonist. Pieces are missing, the sound is terrible, and the picture is almost non existent.

It is vile and wrong that this movie has not been released uncut...legit. I say legit, because I, my friends, have attained a true DVD copy of "Antropophagus" in its complete and uncut form. Even though it is a bootleg, I do not care. There are extras and there is a DVD case with a box cover. That's all I need.

With a movie like "Antropophagus," the hunt is usually always better than the movie itself. Admit it, it is always fun to seek out an uncut gorehound flick, when the only version that exists is edited. I personally will not rest until I see the 210 minute version of "Caligula," even thought I know that will never happen.

When it comes to "Antropophagus," though, I can now get a few extra hours of sleep. As for the film itself. It isn't the best movie in the world, but I am glad I own it. The movie is fun, entertaining, and it has the presence of a good villain. The gore scenes, when intact, are believable and often stomach churning, depending on who is doing the viewing. What could be a full on spewing event for someone else is a mere twitch of the eye to me, or sometimes a hand on the mouth or the raised eyebrow.

The plot is your typical slasher movie fare. A group of young individuals which include a pregnant woman and a tarot card reader among others, arrive on an island to spend a vacation. The island though has been mysteriously vacated, and when our heroes find skeletal remains among various points of the island, it is wise for them to want to get out of there. Too bad their boat as sailed off without them.

One by one they are picked off in some truly ghastly ways, and I'm sure you've heard about the fetus devouring scene, which is a selling point to this film. It is cut out of "The Grim Reaper," no pun intended. Zora Kerova from "Cannibal Ferox" plays Carol the tarot card reader in this film, and thank god she got a break after being dangled by hook in her breasts from "Ferox."

Slasher films normally have to have a sweet villain to succeed in some way. Jason is a successful slasher villain, while the Einstein/ghoul masked idiot in "Savage Weekend" is on the bottom of the scale. I really like George Eastman in this movie, who plays the zombie-like cannibal man. He looks kind of like what Gallagher may look like ten years after his passing.

What I like about this villain is that, yes, he is the typical slasher villain, meaning he walks slowly, carries a knife, is deformed, and doesn't say anything; but there is a good story behind his character. There is even a disturbing and well acted on Eastman's part flashback scene that shows him pre-Reaper.

Personally I have always felt that one of the most annoying flubs in and movie are the scenes that are supposed to take place at night, but are obviously filmed in the daylight. More often than not they are spliced in with scenes that actually are filmed at night. Flubs like that insult my intelligence. "Antropophagus" has a flub like that, but you know what, George Eastman eats a fetus, so I'm in a forgiving mood.

Joe D'Amato directed this film, and there are as many cut D'Amato DVD's as there are uncut, which is a fare warning to all of you reading this. D'Amato succeeds at giving us a well made Italian slasher movie. The downfall comes in the form of a very slow start. It does take a while to get going, and I believe it is aware of that too, because the gross out death scenes seem like a payoff more so than usual.

The script was written by George Eastman himself, and honestly I don't think people give Eastman enough credit as a writer. To me he is to exploitation writers as to D'Amato is to exploitation directors. Some of his credits as a writer include D'Amato's own "Caligula: The Untold Story," plus there's "Stage Fright" which is one of the best slasher films ever, American or Italian. He also penned "Black Sex," "Erotic Nights of the Living Dead," and even "Rosso Sangue" (aka "Antropophagus 2")

Many films that take a hunt to capture an uncut version aren't worth it. This movie is. It isn't a great movie or even a very good movie, but it delivers in what it advertises. That's all it needs, really. It's got the blood, the guts, the villain, and even a very beautiful and retro Tisa Farrow. With titles like this and "Zombie," Tisa Farrow is the unrecognized scream queen.

I ordered this movie from a site called midnight1.com, which is where I buy my bootleged DVD's. With enough money and recognition, these people could be the next Anchor Bay or Shriek Show. They released "Antropophagus" uncut, and gave it the original title (not "The Grim Reaper") so they certainly deserve any acclaim they get.

The movie "Antropophagus" is a fun experience. Nothing more, nothing less.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD