CORPSE MANIA (Hong Kong, 1981)

Good quality video-cd from Celestial.

review by GÜNTER MÜLLER

"You may regret it, but you'll never forget it" says the back cover of the VCD release. Quite appropriately, I dare to say.

CORPSE MANIA, what a fantastic title! Just say it loud, three times (in a mirror if you like). Let it melt in your mouth. Mmmmmmm, tastes like chicken.

And the movie behind this title! Directed by Kuei Chih-hung (who made the awesome THE KILLER SNAKES, HEX and THE BOXER’S OMEN as well as the shitty and boring HEX VS. WITCHCRAFT und HEX AFTER HEX) in 1981 for the Shaw Brothers studios, CORPSE MANIA begins like an average krimi with a touch of necrophilia thrown in for good measure. Yep, a calm, inconspicous young man has quite a special taste in women: he likes ‘em dead. The factor of disgust bounces up to new heigths when the director shows us naked corpses of women, covered from head to toe with countless (I guess, carefully, some thousands) crawling maggots, and he has the camera exploring every single body part…

Click here for some pics of those disgusting, crawling, revolting, slimy maggots! [sorry, no can do! /Jack]

But then, suddenly, things become totally different. Because about in the middle of the 78 minutes long flick CORPSE MANIA mutates unexpectedly into an exciting giallo!!! Sounds funny, but that’s how it is. And now Kuei Chih-hung is in his element and proves to be in top form. A disguised killer is on the loose, wearing a black coat, a black hat, a white scarf (that covers the lower parts of his face), big sunglasses and – of course – a sharp knife. The only thing missing are the black gloves… then it would have been the classic image of a giallo killer. Now the film shifts a few gears higher, because the killer comes down handsomely and slashes himself through the cast what results in a few wonderful and gory set-pieces: a gory stabbing in a car pleases the heart of the giallo fan, but that was only the beginning. What follows are: cut throats (one of them is slashed under water), smashed heads, and of course a decapitation must not be missing also. The ending is a surprise too, just how it should be.

Two more things: what do you ask a blood-soaked man with a slashed throat lying in front of you? The correct answer is: “Are you okay?” And watch out for the jaw-dropping scene where a blood-filled dummy is thrown from a rooftop. It crashes head-first into the concrete and we actually get to see the face of the victim which is so grotesquely mutilated that it’s hard not to throw up the popcorn.

Mr. Kuei Chih-hung… thank you very much for this great experience named CORPSE MANIA. With this you have more than made up for disastrous slips like HEX VS. WITCHCRAFT. :D
-----------------
First published in 2006.


RELEASES:

DVD
There is a reportedly great English subtitled reg. 1 dvd. Unfortunately it only carries the wrong Chinese dialect (i.e. Mandarin).

VCD
The Hong Kong vcd from Celestial (pictured above) has the correct Cantonese audio (and Mandarin too) and is also subbed in English. Unfortunately it's out of print.

With many HK films you can check which dub is the intended dub at the Hong Kong Film Archive website; Corpse Mania.

ALUCARDA (Mexico, 1975)

Here's yet another cool review from the Günter Müller WEIRD ASIA archive. I totally agree with Günter's enthusiasm in regards to ALUCARDA!! /Jack ---------------------------------------------- Rare Spanish dubbed VHS from the US (courtesy of Jayson/BoGD) ALUCARDA Director: Juan Lopez Moctezuma Cast: Tina Romero, Susana Kamini, Claudio Brook, David Silva... Mexico/USA 1975 [actually it's NOT a co-production with the USA/Jack] Running Time: 75 Minuten aka INNOCENTS FROM HELL review by GÜNTER MÜLLER 'More blood, loud screaming and nudity than any horror film I can think of', says Psychotronic Video Guide editor Michael Weldon. And it's hard to contradict him. After reading a review in my favourite magazine (Is it) Uncut (?) a few days ago I immediately knew: I gotta see this film! So I ordered it at Blackstar UK and after a week I received the disc. When I put it into my DVD player I must admit that my expectations were very high... and even those high expectations are exceeded with ease! The film was released by Pete Tombs' DVD label 'Mondo Macabro'. It is full uncut and in a wonderful quality considering that the movie is 28 years old. As extras Pete added a stills gallery, a bio- and filmography of the director (who died in 1995 and who worked together with Alejandro Jodorowski on FANDO Y LIS and EL TOPO; seems he learned a lot from him, particularly relating to surrealism), an interview with the director (that was made in 1977), plus a very interesting documentary on the Mexican horror film. Hallelujah! [The documentary Günter Müller refers to is unfortunately only included on the UK reg. 2 version of the DVD. Mondo Macabro couldn't include it on the reg. 1 DVD as it contains film clips which they didn't own the copyrights for for the US market /Jack] ALUCARDA kicks off with Justine (whose parents just died) arriving at a convent which will be her new home. She is received very friendly and almost immediately makes friends with a young woman... the beautiful Alucarda. When they meet a strange gypsy he leads them to his resting place where his wife tries to read the future from Justine's plam ('Shadows and Darkness'). Meanwhile the man shows Alucarda an odd amulet. On the way home they visit an eerie crypt and make a pact ('If we ever depart from this live we shall do it together'). When Alucarda opens a coffin countless voices attack her mind and she runs away in terror. Later, in their room, the mysterious gypsy appears again and the two fall under his spell. A blood pact is made, a ceremony in the woods follows, and even the devil himself seems to make an appearance shortly before the ceremony turns into a sex orgy. Back at the convent it doesn't take very long and the nuns and monks notice that something is very wrong with Alucarda and Justine. From this moment on all hell breaks loose in the convent... It is pretty easy for me to review ALUCARDA because I can't find any negative point. All things match perfectly. There's the wonderful atmosphere of the film that is both mysterious and scary, sad and satanic, despairing and hopeless! The story moves along pretty lively and contains some nice surprises. Watching ALUCARDA makes you wonder if you are seeing an European movie that combines gothic horror with nunsploitation. There are wonderful sets with creaking doors, cobwebbed furniture, scary statues and mummified corpses, in contrast to praying nuns, shining figures of saints and burning candles. The actors and actresses aren't excellent but they are perfect for this kind of movie, above all Tina Romero as Alucarda. She is so convincing in her role, so vulnerable and sympathetic, that her subsequent destiny is very moving. On the other hand it is not so easy to feel sympathy for the 'good guys' (the priests), especially when they search with a steel pin for the 'Mark of the Devil' on a naked girl who is tied helplessly to a cross. The soundtrack underlines the proceedings effectively, and a few sound effects are excellent and cause goosebumps to appear on my hands and back. Also I can't critisize the camerawork, the editing and the direction. Top notch! In the second half of the film enough is happening to make three or four movies out of it. There is flagellation, torture, an exorcism, nuns rolling on the ground in ecstasy, much full frontal nudity, a bloodbath in the true meaning of the word, a gory decapitation and much much more. And the fiery showdown doesn't need to hide behind the spectacular climax in Brian de Palma's CARRIE. ALUCARDA is a brilliant horror film from a time that brought us many gems. Even if some sequences of the movie are pretty hard and unpleasant to watch, the whole movie is very exciting and entertaining. Just keep repeating: it's only a movie... only a movie... And ALUCARDA belongs to the kind of movie that gets under your skin.. and very deeply at that. At least as far as I'm concerned. So I recommend ALUCARDA to all people who have a weakness for 1970s horror films, or who have a soft spot for obscure and strange movies. And of course to all the people who have enough of screaming American teenies, soullessly directed horror shockers constructed by rote, or SFX overkills bristling with state-of-the-art CGI. If you don't belong to those categories you'd better save the money... Anyway, in my opinion, ALUCARDA is THE film discovery of the young year (on a par with the ultra-rare Hong Kong shocker THE WITCH WITH FLYING HEAD (1977) which I finally got into my trembling fingers). A few days ago I didn't even know that this film exists, and now it is in my collection and I'm totally enthusiastic about it. I really do think that ALUCARDA is among the very best of 1970s horror films. To end my raving review the same way that I started it here's another quotation from the Psychotronic Video Guide. '...the strongest, most imaginative, and visual witch movie since Ken Russell's THE DEVILS.' To be honest, I think that ALUCARDA stomps THE DEVILS into the ground... One more thing: I don't think that the catholic church will ever recommend ALUCARDA. I however do it all the more so... ---------------------------------------- First published in 2003. There's a link to the reg. 1 DVD on Mondo Macabro's site here. My Betamax tape from Turkey! Dubbed in Turkish  

VHS from Japan  It should be noted that although this trailer is in Spanish the original language of the film is English, not Spanish. The MM reg. 1 DVD contains both audio tracks.

DEVIL FETUS (Hong Kong, 1983)

VHS / Hong Kong / FS / Cantonese audio / English subs / alternative edit to DVD & VCD versions


DEVIL FETUS
aka MOH TOI
aka MO TAI
Hongkong 1983
Directed by: Lau Hung Chuen
Cast: Lui Sau Ling, Ngaai Dik, Lo Pooi Pooi, Lau Dan, Ho Pak Kwong, Leung Saan, Gam Wing Cheung...
Running Time: 88 min.

by GÜNTER MÜLLER
If I’m informed correctly DEVIL FETUS should be easily available on VCD, in wonderful widescreen, both in subtitled and unsubtitled versions! I also own a DEVIL FETUS tape, that has English subtitles, but sadly is a horrible full screen version. It should go without saying that the subtitled widescreen disc is the way to go. [Note: Devil Fetus is now available on a fully uncut, letterboxed DVD in Hong Kong/Jack] All those versions seem to be fully uncut too, by the way. DEVIL FETUS is rated Category III, and to be honest, I can’t explain why. Sure, it’s gory and bizarre, but I think it won’t get a CAT III rating if released today. And if you’re expecting gratuitous sex and/or explicit sexual violence because of the rating - you definitely are wrong! There are a few spoilers ahead so read at your own risk!

The film opens with a girl who buys a statue in an auction, from where at night a monster gets out of, and it does exactly what monsters out of statues usually do: it rapes the girl (parallel’s to the excellent THE RAPE AFTER (1983) are obvious; accidentally, both movies were made in 1983!). At this time you think that the girl will produce an offspring that jumps out of her womb and kills various people in many gory ways, right? Wrong! The confusing story deals with possessed people, dogs and furniture, who attack various characters and try to finish them off. They don’t succeed most of the time. Then why is this one called DEVIL FETUS, you wanna know? Don’t ask me, I have not the slightest idea. But who needs a fetus when the movie is as entertaining as this one, with a few outstanding set-pieces and gory highlights?




Such as a man who rips the decayed flesh on his face away and reveals crawling and writhing worms underneath. A girl who vomits live worms (also seen in CENTIPEDE HORROR (1982) and SEEDING OF A GHOST (1983), yuck!). A nice dog who is possessed and attacks a man, and in the fierce struggle gets killed with a sword (I do hope not for real!) Later, it (the dog) is eviscerated and another possessed guy munches on his guts in best Italian cannibal movie fashion (I again hope not for real!). A big bird (an eagly maybe) is killed by cutting its throat (this sadly IS for real). The absolute highlight: a man is trapped in a small room, when suddenly the walls are closing in on him. It’s nice that one side has a glass window, so we are able to witness the slow crushing of his head in wonderfully gory fashion! Yeah! This scene is incredible! One of my favourite head-crushings of all time, even better then the classic sequence in the unrated THE TOXIC AVENGER (1985). And then there is the showdown where the monster appears out of a possessed man (it rips his skin away), gets decapitated, but a few heads grow instead of the old one, and all of ‘em are decapitated too. The last shot is one of the most wonderful in Hong Kong horror cinema history, with a severed head - after attacking a woman - being killed with a sword and then the head starts to decay before our very eyes via stop-motion! This effect looks a bit cheap and phony, but it is very inventive and incredibly charming (think of the stop motion scenes in THE EVIL DEAD (1982) and BASKET CASE (1982), and you get the idea). Well done, folks! Give me more of this! With scenes like that, who cares if the movie makes any sense (which it doesn’t)? Certainly not me!

DEVIL FETUS is maybe one of the weirdest movies I ever had the pleasure of watching. There’s so much going on, and little of it makes any sense, so you sit there, shaking the head, and wondering what the hell is going on. A very entertaining, bizarre and gory horror movie from the wonderful 1980s, not to be missed! I think I will never forget the excellent head-crushing and the last image (of the severed decayed head ‘rolling’ towards the camera and grinning into it) when the credits start to roll...

DEVIL FETUS was Lau Hung Chuen’s debut movie as director. He followed it with THE GHOST INFORMER (1984), A CHINESE LEGEND (1991) and THOSE WERE THE DAYS (1996) among others. Beside being a director, he made himself a name as a very competent cinematographer. His credits include UNDECLARED WAR (1990), QUEEN’S HIGH (1991), THE SWORD STAINED WITH ROYAL BLOOD (1993) and THUNDERBOLT (1995). The producer of DEVIL FETUS is a certain Lo Wei, well-known as the director of the Bruce Lee starring THE BIG BOSS (1971) and FIST OF FURY (1972).
The review is based on the unsubtitled VCD. I didn’t bother to watch the subtitled full screen tape again, sorry. There’s too little time anyway.

Review by Günter Müller first posted on his now discontinued "Weird Asia" site.

Dark & nasty Hong Kong: THE RAPE AFTER (1983) [review]

THE RAPE AFTER (minor spoilers)
Director: Tom Lau Moon-Tong
Cast: Melvin Wong Gam San, Chang Hing Yue, Chun Wai Man, Ha Pin, Wong Yat Fei, Chan Yau Hau, Hung Law Bat...
Hong Kong 1983
Running Time: 91 min.
aka YIN ZHONG aka YAM CHUNG
Translation of the original title: 'Licentious Seed' or 'Lewd Seed'

by GÜNTER MÜLLER
The story is a bit complicated, so I reduce it to the most important things. Shu Ya, a young model, gets involved with photographer Mo Hsieh Sheng , who stole a strange statue from a temple. He takes her home to take advantage of her, but both get very drunk and fall asleep. In the night, a demon (seems he emerged from the statue) appears and rapes the young woman in her sleep. The photographer falls in love with another woman (Li Ting Ting, who is the daughter of the master of the temple from where he has stolen the statue).

In the meantime, the model learns that she is pregnant. Mo takes her to a dubious doctor who performs abortions. But during the abortion, a storm with thunder and lightning turns up, and the abortion is seriously disturbed. Shu Ya decides to keep the baby, and Mo takes her to the hospital. On the ride there, the two begin a dispute about the future of the baby, and a fatal accident happens. Mo survives, but Shu Ya burns alive in the car wreck. She promises revenge. "You'll pay for what you've done!"

Later in the morgue, an autopsy is carried out on the horribly burnt corpse, when suddenly (after cutting open the womb) hands snatch at the doctor and pull his face into the guts. In the ensuing struggle his head comes off. A slimy baby is seen crawling away from the corpse, tearing out the umbilical cord. Later, very strange and terrible things happen around Mo, his girlfriend Li and the master. Mo, with the help of some priests, tries to find out the cause of the strange happenings and fights back.


THE RAPE AFTER is an excellent but sadly almost unknown horror classic from Hong Kong. Made in 1983 by Tom Lau Moon-Tong (his only movie as director), THE RAPE AFTER mixes various influences to a highly effective brew.

The story seems to be straightforward, but you are wrong thinking that. There are a few subplots involving the mother and the retarded brother of Shu Ya, as well as the family of Li Ting Ting and her father, the master. Most of this stuff happens in the first half of the movie, making the structure of the plot a bit slow and complicated, but after the baby is "born", the action never eases up.

This movie is without a doubt one of the best and goriest horror movies made in Hong Kong in the 1980s. An undisputed classic of horror cinema if you ask me. There is absolutely no comedy in between the proceedings (which often is the case in Hong Kong movies), making this a very dark and disturbing film. I really go as far as to say that THE RAPE AFTER is equal to European horror classics from Fulci and Argento. Even zombies make a fine appearance in this excellent film.


Right from the beginning, the film has a dark and threatening atmosphere. Until the rape by the demon (which has more the feeling of love-making; there is no struggle and the woman responds to the demon's touches) there are no supernatural elements, but in spite of this, the movie is dark and depressing. There are sad scenes with the deformed brother, or long shots of the stinking and rats-infested room where Shu Ya's mother lives.

The director takes his time to tell the story, showing many details in the depressing life of the model. After the rape, or more exactly, after the fatal accident, the film takes a completely different turn and becomes a revenge spectacle like you have never seen one before. Well maybe you've seen one: SEEDING OF A GHOST (1983) is even more bizarre and gory. What makes it even more shocking is the fact that the revenge is warrantable. The man (Ho) is not directly responsible for the happenings. Sure, he stole the statue and unknowingly frees the demon, but the impregnation and the accident are not directly his fault.

The second half of the movie is awesome. You can't deny a European feeling to the action. There are many wonderful setpieces, in which terrible things happen. Dario Argento's SUSPIRIA or Lucio Fulci's THE BEYOND come to mind when seeing the second half of THE RAPE AFTER. One of the best set-pieces I've ever seen involves a priest in a dark room, who is attacked by rats and birds. This is filmed very effectively from the opposite direction to the light, so an eerie look with creepy shadows is created. Then some birds fly through a torch, catch fire and attack the priest, turning him into a living human torch. This scene (and many others) has almost a surreal quality to it, is beautiful to look at and has a nightmarish feeling at the same time. But there are more setpieces like this.

There are some surprising twists and turns, as well as great shock scenes (for example the discovery of a corpse in a closet and a rat crawling out of its mouth). But in contrast with most of the new generation of horror movies (especially the teenie-slasher cycle), THE RAPE AFTER doesn't rely solely on "boo-scares" to shock and disquiet the viewer. It's the tone, the atmosphere and the story that counts!


One scene in particular reminds me on another sci/fi-horror classic. The scene in question is the examination of the hideously burned corpse of the woman, which has many similarities to the burned remains found by scientists in John Carpenter's THE THING (1982). And it also is put to great effect in this film.

Director Tom Lau Moon-Tong does not cut away at the murder scenes (he also edited the movie, by the way) and shows a few brutal and shocking killing sequences that don't need to hide from European gore classics. An axe in the head or ears being torn off are made very competently. Apart from that the movie is very atmospheric and spooky. Most of the creepy scenes are filmed with a cold blue light that looks fantastic. The music is very eerie, unusual, and loud, creating strange noises that make your hairs stand up. And the cast is pretty good and believable too. So if you have the chance to get hold of this excellent film don't hesitate a second. You won't be disappointed!

Reviewed by Günter Müller (originally posted on "Weird Asia")


RELEASE INFO:

DVD:
No releases anywhere

VHS:
Hong Kong - fullscreen, Cantonese audio, English subtitles, one slight cut.
Japan - letterbox, Cantonese audio, Japanese subtitles, fully uncut

VCD:
Hong Kong - fullscreen, Cantonese & Mandarin audio, English subtitles, fully uncut!!!

Note: Altho the HK video-cd and VHS are both from Ocean Shores the VCD offers the fully uncut print whereas the VHS is cut! As far as I'm informed there is no laserdisc release.

- A fan has made a fan-edit that adds restored English subtitles to the Japanese VHS version with slightly bettered picture quality. This is a fan version and not for sale anywhere but it's downloadable from a certain torrent site.





[click the Dutch and HK VHS/VCD cover scans for proper size]

Big thank you's fly out to Stephen Gladwin for providing me with the HK VCD scans. And equally big thanks goes to Peter from Cinehound for the Dutch scan and for uploading the trailer. Also many thanks to Günter Müller. Cheers mates!

CANNIBAL MERCENARY (Thailand, 1983) review #1

Reviewed by Günter Müller (originally posted on "Weird Asia")

[also check out review #2 by Andrew Leavold]



aka MERCENARY (US vhs)
aka EMPLOY FOR DIE (Thai vcd)
aka JUNGLE KILLERS - CANNIBAL MERCENARY (German dvd)



"This story is told ... by the man who can not forget a brutal war"

VHS / USA / fullscreen / English dub / no subs / 102m44s
[click scan for bigger size]


VCD / Thailand / fullscreen / Thai audio / no subs / original Thai version
[click scan for bigger size]



By GÜNTER MÜLLER (originally written for his sadly long gone site "Weird Asia")


CANNIBAL MERCENARY
aka MERCENARY
aka MERCENARY CANNIBAL
aka MERCENARY CANNIBALS
aka JUNGLE KILLERS - THE JAGUAR PROJECT
aka THE JAGUAR PROJECT
aka LAST BREATH [This alternative title is NOT correct. The mistake stems from a post on Dvdmaniacs where Linn Haynes (RIP) mentioned it was the film's original title but he confused the film with another war film from Taiwan called "Last Breath" and which is known internationally as "Jungle Heat" /Jack]

Thailand 1983
Directed by: Hong Lu Wong
Cast: Lek Songphon, Sugud Namchan, Rom Rachan, Sormud Charekchema...
Running Time: 103 min.

Ready for one of the most infamous and sought-after Asian exploitation flicks of all time? Yes? Fine! ‘Cause here it is, the notorious CANNIBAL MERCENARY, one of the goriest jungle shockers ever to hit the screen!

CANNIBAL MERCENARY tells the story of Wilson, a former soldier who scrape a bare living in a clinic and is haunted by memories of the horrible war he has taken part in. His only daughter is seriously ill and this makes him even more disillusioned. One day he is visited by a Colonel who offers him 500.000 dollars for a secret mission - for his native country, he adds earnestly. After a short time of hesitation he accepts the offer, mainly because with the money he is able to finance his daughter the much-needed operation. Soon he finds himself back in Vietnam, as a leader of a small group of mercenaries, and his first objective is to find his contact who will give him further details of the operation. The jungle turns out to be pure hell, full with kill-happy enemies, nasty booby-traps, dangerous animals and an unpleasant climate. The mood is extremely tense and the slightest spark can be the trigger to a terrible explosion, as all the guys are extremely irritated and their nerves strained to the limits.

Soon the group is decimated but the surviving mercenaries continue their mission unperturbed. Finally they meet a woman who turns out to be their contact person. After some more ordeals (some of the men are mistaken as enemies, tied to the ground, and pissed on) Wilson and his men have a breather in a small village, but not for long as the enemies are already informed of Wilson’s arrival and want nothing more than to get rid of him. Eventually the woman spills the beans and informs Wilson about his mission: he has to kill a certain disloyal Colonel who lives in this area and is the head of a well-organised drug trafficker organisation. How brutal and uncompromising this Colonel is can be seen in his camp where he tortures prisoners and slowly hangs them to death. And, as fate will have it, our group of mercenaries finally falls into the evil hands of the crazy Colonel, and to their horror they find out that most of the Colonel’s men are bloodthirsty cannibals who particularly like to feast on fresh human brains. So, once again, one question remains: who will survive and what will be left of them?

Before the film kicks off we can see an on-screen information that “this story is told... by a man who can not forget a brutal war!” This is followed by several images of war, like tanks rolling around, machine gun fire, and numerous explosions. Then the dark story slowly unfolds on the screen, bar the slightest trace of humour. We get to know the ‘hero’ of the piece, a disillusioned, cynical ex-soldier who voluntarily goes back to the horrors he can not forget in order to help his sick daughter. And as soon as Wilson enters the jungle we learn immediately that this is the kind of movie that makes no prisoners. “It’s either kill... or be killed” as one character points out accurately. Soon the group stumbles upon a few Vietcongs and before you can ask yourself ‘what will Rambo do in a situation like this?’ our heroes eliminate the enemies by decapitation, slashing their throats, crushing their skulls or simply gunning them down. All this is presented in a vicious, gruesome, but realistic and effective way and you know right away that CANNIBAL MERCENARY isn’t your ordinary jungle action flick.

Surprisingly, the acting is quite good and convincing. Special mention must go to the guy who plays Wilson, who gives us a credible and memorable performance of the broken anti-hero. But the other cast members are pretty good too, and one can almost feel their pain when they are confronted with the most horrific things imaginable. The camerawork is also very good, as it manages to give us the impression that we’re almost amidst the terrible goings-on (it’s really a shame that the camerawork can’t be fully appreciated as the only remaining uncensored version of this film is in horrible full screen). While the editing is not that good the music certainly is. Although some pieces are lifted from the Goblin soundtrack of the European version of DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) I have to say that these pieces also work very well in this movie and perfectly underline and intensify certain key sequences. The story is interesting too, even though some parts have a lot in common with Francis Ford Coppola’s APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), mainly the Vietnam setting and the crazy Colonel. The idea to add some brain-eating cannibals to the already cruel proceedings eventually lifts the film into ultra-gore territory.

Truth be told, I have to say I came away with mixed impressions. On the one hand it portrays the horrors of war very well, and on the other hand it revels in unnecessary brutality and detailed gross-out gore moments. I think the ambition of the makers (if there ever was one) is somehow marred by this exploitative approach, though gorehounds certainly will be more than pleased by the on-screen violence. There are decapitations, slashed throats, knife wounds, bullet hits, crushed skulls, bisections, castrations, bullets in the heads, swords through bodies, and arrows that bore into flesh. But all this probably can’t prepare you for the gory sights in the finale, when one unfortunate man is buried up to his neck and his unprotected head is cracked open with hammer and chisel in loving detail. Blood gushes, the brains are exposed... and soon the hungry cannibals have the feast of the day. Before you have time to recover from this shock another prisoner has his eyes gouged out by the insane Colonel! No wonder the major part of these scenes are missing from the export print.

Even if the splatter effects look quite cheaply they are very realistic and pretty convincing and no worse than those seen in Italian cannibal gut-crunchers. CANNIBAL MERCENARY is an immensely gripping, brutal and shocking exploitation flick and when the 103 minutes running time are finally over all you can admit is that it does live up to its notoriety. The great ending is kind of schizophrenic by the way. One part of it is happy and optimistic, while the other part is very dark and nihilistic. This somehow reflects the whole movie that sometimes is a riveting anti-war film and sometimes a cheap and ultra-violent exploitation flick. The cover scan seen on the top is from the German DVD release, but before you surf happily to your next online shop let me tell you that this version is the export print of the movie, which infamous producer Tomas Tang cut together some time in the 1980s. While the full uncut CANNIBAL MERCENARY runs 102 min. 25 sec. the export version runs a mere 82 min. 38 sec. Both lots of story elements and most of the gorier moments are cut out, and - to add insult to injury - someone shot brand new scenes with three American idiots searching for a treasure that later were inserted into the movie. This doesn’t make much of a sense, but in this way the running time clocks in at over 80 minutes, since about 30 to 35 minutes (minimum!) are removed from the original version! So do yourself a favour and stay clear of the export version.

As stated above the uncut and uncensored CANNIBAL MERCENARY is the version to look out for. It was released in the 1980s in the USA on tape (with the on-screen title MERCENARY), but this version was out of print years ago so chances are pretty much nil that you are able to track it down. This version (as far as I know the only uncut release of this great film) is in a horrible full screen format and dubbed into English, and not very good at that. The German DVD states that it is based on the only remaining print of the movie but I refuse to believe this and continue hoping for an uncensored, widescreen DVD in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future.


DVD / Germany / letterbox / English + German dub / 83 min cut & paste version!!!

[not only is this German dvd heavily cut, it has also received the 'Thomas Thang treatment'! In other words; yes it's a cut 'n' paste version with inserts of Western actors to make it look more, well, Western!!]

UK / dvd-r / fullscreen / English dub / uncut 104 minute version.

This UK bootleg from ZDD contains the long uncut version from the US tape. The picture quality is good and as there is no official release available at present time this is the only way to buy the uncut film.



Thanks to Günter Müller for sending me his old review from "Weird Asia".

Also thanks to Andrew for his review.

And lastly but certainly not least big thanks to Kiba of Cinehound forum who sent me the scan of the Thai VCD cover.

Cheers, mates!!