6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A young man, working as a butcher, accidentally kills a taxi driver. His girlfriend wants to go to the police so he has to kill her too. He then has to kill his brother, his brother's fiancee and his father, who have become suspicious. He gets rid of the bodies by taking them to the butchery...
Starring: Vicente Parra, Emma Cohen, Eusebio Poncela, Vicky Lagos, Ismael MerloHorror | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
While it may be at least a bit more of a mainstream lifestyle choice these days, being a vegetarian (which I've been for most of my life) really used to raise some people's hackles back in the day for some reason, and I used to get regularly peppered with questions as to why I would have decided to not eat meat. I was never one to really feel the need to defend a decision that truly only affected me, but for my more relentless inquisitor who insisted they required some kind of "answer", I would sometimes refer people to The Animals Film for those desiring an ostensible explanation. The Animals Film is an absolutely devastating documentary narrated by Julie Christie which has a pretty gut wrenching display of the way humans treat their fellow creatures on the planet, including unbelievably graphic footage showing how various species are "processed" (what a euphemism!) to become food. The opening few minutes of the so-called "International Cut" of Cannibal Man would probably suffice just as well, though, since it has extremely disturbing footage of what goes on at your typical slaughterhouse as cattle are killed, gutted and prepared for "market". Kind of interestingly, the longer "Extended Cut" of the film which Severin also includes on this Blu-ray disc moves that sequence to a bit later in the film, which at least in terms of the context of providing a jolt for a horror outing right off the bat may not have been a wise decision, even if in its postliminary position in the longer version it still retains considerable power.
The Cannibal Man* is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1 for both versions. Per
usual Severin practice, about the only technical data is offered on the back cover of the release, where it's stated "now featuring both the international
and extended Spanish Version newly scanned from the original negatives for the first time ever". I didn't notice any material difference in the quality
of the footage shared between the two versions, with both looking at least similar and I'd argue identical with regard to color, grain and occasional
damage. The extended version's additional footage can also show the same kind of similar damage with regard to speckling and other blemishes, but
otherwise has the same good suffusion and generally nicely resolved grain as the shared footage. There are some occasional rough looking patches,
especially some of the darker moments where grain can get fairly gritty looking. But a number of close-ups have impressive fine detail, as can perhaps
be made out in some of the screenshots accompanying this review.
*While the cover and credits listing on the back of this release offer the title as Cannibal Man (without a definite article), the Main Menu as
well as the title listing on the credits of the international version state The Cannibal Man.
Note: Screenshots 1 through 13 are from the International Cut. Screenshots 14 through 17 are from the Extended Cut.
Both versions of the film feature English and Spanish language tracks presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono. The Spanish language track is noticeably hotter on the extended version, to the point that there's actually a bit of crackle at moments like the opening theme music. Both tracks show signs of (probably total) post looping, so that sync is "loose" (as they say). I didn't notice quite the same kind of amplitude difference on the tracks of the international version, though it is evident if, for example, you toggle tracks when the theme music plays in that version. All of the tracks offer decent fidelity in terms of delivering dialogue, score and effects, but there can be an overall boxy sound and there are occasional minor signs of wear and tear in the form of pops and cracks. Optional English subtitles are available.
The Cannibal Man ends up being a kind of mixed bag (with or without body parts stuffed inside, which will be understandable after you watch the film). It's almost comically repetitive after a while, with victim after victim showing up to greet Marcos and then conveniently get murdered by him, but on a whole gamut of other levels it's a fascinating dissection (no slaughterhouse pun intended) of a man caught by the vagaries of fate and his own temper into an escalating series of tragedies. Add on the socioeconomic aspect as well as a homoerotic angle and the film may offer enough for even a vegetarian to make it through the devastating footage of cattle being "processed". With a number of potential major caveats offered in terms of what individual viewers can stomach, and perhaps especially in light of the really excellent supplements included, The Cannibal Man comes Recommended.
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