Cannibal Apocalypse Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Cannibal Apocalypse Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 31, 2020

Antonio Margheriti's "Cannibal Apocalypse" (1980) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailers; exclusive new interview with actor Tony King; vintage documentary on the production history of the film; and more. In English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The vet

Like most Italian genre films that emerged during the late ‘70s and ‘80s this film was promoted to the public with a number of different and quite colorful titles -- Cannibal Apocalypse, Cannibals in the Streets, Invasion of the Flesh Hunters, Savage Holocaust, etc. The VHS release of the film that I remember used the current title from the Blu-ray release, with the vintage cover art that is featured on the back side of the main Blu-ray cover.

The action begins in the jungles of Vietnam, where veteran soldier Norman Hopper (John Saxon) and his boys attack a Vietcong camp and after an intense shootout release a few captives who have suffered greatly and no longer look human. (Just moments before they are pulled out of a giant pit, the captives are seen devouring a bloodied human body). The horrors of the rescue mission then invade Hopper’s mind and become a permanent part of his nighttime dreams. Years later, one of the captives, Charlie Bukowski (Giovanni Lombardo Rasdice), emerges in the area where Hopper lives and attempts to contact him, and after they fail to establish contact goes on a killing spree. When the news reaches Hopper he rushes to calm down Bukowski and make him surrender to the authorities, but soon after becomes just as deranged.

Director Antonio Margheriti, who is credited on the film as Anthony Dawson, uses a fairly unimpressive story to deliver a very familiar mix of Italian genre thrills. What this means is that his film does a lot of work to build a very particular type of atmosphere which is supposed to become its greatest strength.

Unfortunately, while certain parts -- like the ones where Hopper struggles to suppress his transformation -- bring proper chills, there is plenty of material that works against them. For example, the young girl that attempts to seduce the vet brings in completely different energy that causes permanent damage to his integrity. Another good example is the street fight with the thugs where the film essentially doubles down on conventional action and then loses its ability to build and control the crucial atmosphere that is supposed to make it attractive.

The technical merits of the production are something of a mixed bag as well, though in the ‘80s this was a common weakness that wasn’t easy to avoid because of budget limitations. Margheriti likely had a decent budget to work with, but as noted earlier there is plenty of material that isn’t managed particularly well and as a result a lot of it looks uneven. Also, the more elaborate action sequences where supporting actors and stuntmen have important work to do often look rushed, with peripheral activity that can appear flat-out suspicious as well.

Alexander Blonksteiner, who worked with Umberto Lenzi on a number of high-profile action films, is responsible for the great music that routinely floods the action.

*Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray release of Cannibal Apocalypse is sourced from a brand new 4K master. The version of the film that is included on it is fully uncut and is approximately 97 minutes long (01:36:47).

Cannibal Apocalypse Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Cannibal Apocalypse arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from a very beautiful new 4K master. The entire film looks very healthy, vibrant, and impressively stable. I projected it and was also very pleased with its very consistent and excellent fluidity levels. (If you can upscale to 4K, do it, and you will get even superior visuals). There are no traces of compromising digital adjustments, such as degraining and sharpening. The color scheme boasts good, solid primaries with very fine ranges of nicely balanced nuances. In fact, this is one of the best grading jobs that I have seen done on an Italian film in recent months. Overall image stability is outstanding. Finally, there are no specks, damage marks, cuts, stains, debris, or other similar age-related imperfections to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Cannibal Apocalypse Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The film has a very strong soundtrack that does a lot of good work to enhance its atmosphere. Fortunately, the audio does not show any traces of aging and the music sounds terrific. There are a few action sequences with decent dynamic activity as well, though folks that appreciate the more complex and aggressive modern audio mixes that appear on big-budget productions will be unimpressed. There are no encoding anomalies.

Cannibal Apocalypse Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Cannibal King - in this new video interview, actor Tony King recalls how he landed his role in Cannibal Apocalypse and what it was like working on the film under Antonio Margheriti's direction. The interview was produced by Walt Olsen. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080p).

• Cannibal Apocalypse Redux - this vintage documentary focuses on the production history of Cannibal Apocalypse and the evolution of Italian genre (horror) films during the '80s. Ir features clips from archival interviews with director Antonio Margheriti, John Saxon, and Giovanni Lombardo Radice. In English and Italian, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. In English, not subtitled. (55 min, 480/60i).

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Cannibal Apocalypse, sourced from a VHS. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i).

• Teaser - a vintage Japanese teaser for Cannibal Apocalypse, sourced from a VHS. (1 min, 480/60i)

• Alternate Title Opening Sequence - using the Invasion of the Flesh Hunters title. Sourced from a VHS. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 480/60i).

• Apocalypse in the Streets - a video tour of Atlanta, Georgia, featuring many key locations that are seen in Cannibal Apocalypse. In English, not subtitled. (7 min, 480/60i).

• Commentary - an exclusive new audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas.

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following titles from Kino Lorber's catalog:
  
  1. Nightmare Beach
  2. Parasite
  3. Baby Blood
  4. Rawhead Rex

Cannibal Apocalypse Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is pretty easy to tell why John Saxon was not particularly impressed with Cannibal Apocalypse. This film attempts to be a couple of different things -- a cannibal chiller, horror film with a social conscience, and something of an exotic action thriller on steroids -- but ends up being only a collage of ideas that struggle to coexist and eventually compromise each other. It has its moments, but it feels like it should have been a much more coherent, and possibly even wilder, film. I still think that it could be somewhat attractive if seen in the wee hours of the night, but it is a small film that ultimately only seasoned connoisseurs of Italian genre cinema would appreciate. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from a very beautiful new 4K master and has a nice selection of exclusive new and vintage bonus features. RECOMMENDED (but only to the fans).