People are voting emotionally.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Hoping to dispel cannibalism as a myth created by 16th century conquistadors to justify the subjugation of native tribes, an anthropology student, her brother and his girlfriend get more than they bargained for when venturing into the Amazonian jungles in this Italian horror film. Banned in many places upon initial release, 'Cannibal Ferox' has acquired quite a reputation over the years and there are certainly some shocking scenes - most notably when one woman is held by hooks. From a special effects point of view, the film is innovatively shot and edited in order to make it seem like many grotesque things are happening to the friends when it is really just implied. The best aspect of the film though is the whole notion of the film's heroine wanting to disprove cannibalism, yet finding herself at odds with her theories. Much like 'Cannibal Holocaust' - to which it is often compared - 'Ferox' plays with the notion of the characters bringing their misery upon themselves, with the actions of two emerald smugglers they meet a chief catalyst. This is a far from perfect motion picture with mostly second-rate acting and a subplot involving an urban police investigation constantly subtracting from the immediacy of the jungle action, but with a spine-tingling mix of music and sound effects and a chilling final scene, there is a lot more to 'Ferox' than just its controversial violence.

Agreeably trashy story stars Lorraine De Selle as Gloria Davis, an NYC anthropology student who's basing her thesis on the idea that cannibalism does not exist and never has existed. She couldn't be more wrong! Venturing into the Amazon with her brother Rudy (Danilo Mattei) and friend Pat (Zora Kerova), they run into not only the local Indio tribe of flesh eaters, but the immortal jerk character Mike Logan (Giovanni Lombardo Radice). Mike went on the run while owing money to the Brooklyn mob, heading for the Amazon to get rich mining for emeralds. The ensuing carnage is pretty much all thanks to mad man Mike.Admittedly, horror and exploitation of this variety isn't for everybody, especially if you dislike seeing animals killed for the sake of entertainment. But Mike is such a great villain, and the gore is so vivid and juicy, that fans of the jungle and cannibal genres should be more than satisfied. Both Lombardo Radice and Kerova have horrible fates waiting for them. The story cuts back and forth between the action in the Amazon and the action in NYC, as both the cops and the mob mount intense searches for Mike, putting the pressure on his roommate Myrna (Fiamma Maglione) to...pardon the expression...spill her guts.The music by Roberto Donati and Ms. Maglione is great fun, the photography & scenery are quite impressive, and the performances entertain solidly. Lombardo Radice is a total hoot, and it's nice to have Robert Kerman on hand as an investigating detective. The film also comes complete with basically the same subtext as the previous years' "Cannibal Holocaust", that it's us so-called "civilized" people who drive the more primitive humans of the planet to commit acts of violence.A must for anybody who digs trashy Italian genre filmmaking.Eight out of 10.

The film begins with the murder of a drug addict in an unknown apartment by some gangsters looking for a man named Mike Logan. As the police begin their investigation into the shooting, the action relocates to the Paraguayan jungle, where two students, Gloria (Lorraine De Selle) and Rudy (Danilo Mattei), and one tag-along Pat (Zora Kerova) are making their way into the heart of the jungle looking for native tribes who have been accused of cannibalism. Gloria is out to disprove the claims of cannibalism for her dissertation, and after they come across two mangled bodies of tribesmen, they also come across Mike Logan carrying his injured partner Joe (Walter Lucchini), who both claim to have been attacked by savage cannibals.Between 1977 and 1981 there was a huge boom in cannibal films. They boasted exotic locations, horrific gore, real animal killings, and the threat of the unknown in the primitive tribes. It was Ferox's director Umberto Lenzi who kick-started the sub-genre with Deep River Savages in 1972, but they only really hit their stride in 1977, when the Grindhouse theatres were at their most popular. The cannibal genre died out pretty quickly, thankfully, as they represent everything that is ugly about the horror genre, and Cannibal Ferox, possibly the second most notorious after Cannibal Holocaust, is no exception.The gore and violence is by no means convincing, or even disturbing, but it is clear from the off that the film's sole purpose is to be more repulsive than anything else before it. Multiple cocks are hacked off (and one is eaten - yummy), a woman is lifted into the air with fish- hooks through the breasts, there is an eye-gouging, and of course, no cannibal film would be complete without a bit of the ol' brain eating. This is all well and good and what can be expected from an Italian exploitation film at the height of the nasties era, but the animal killings are simply needless.I always found myself defending Cannibal Holocaust for the animal cruelty, as that is a genuinely good film, and the horrific animal scenes really do add to the horrible and deeply unsettling atmosphere. But after seeing Ferox, I realised there is really no excuse for it. Regardless of the film's quality, there is no place for the pointless killing of animals. Radice refused to wield the knife during the pig- killing scene, and in the DVD commentary, director Lenzi said 'Robert De Niro would have done it!', to which Radice replied 'Robert De Niro would have told you to f**k off!'Anyway, the film really is pretty damn awful. Why the action keeps shifting back to New York is anyone's guess. Mike is a wanted drug pusher that legged it off to Paraguay in search of cocaine and a fortune in gemstones, but surely knowing this is enough? There is a rescue attempt near the end that looks like joining the two stems together, but nothing comes of it. It seems to be there only to add a few more minutes onto the running time, allowing the film to render itself a feature. As you would expect, the acting/script/story is guff, but the strange thing is the moral message it seems to be putting out. When it revealed that Mike was lying and it was in fact him that attacked the tribe (shock horror), it seems to be a 'don't judge a book by it's cover' type message. But when the tribe acts out their revenge, they revel in the torturing.Well anyway, the real torture victim was me, who had to sit through this. There's a few more cannibal films to get through for the nasties project (maybe I'll leave them to Marc), and although I'll welcome (if that's the right word) another viewing of Cannibal Holocaust, I have to say that I would be happy not to have to sit through another cannibal film. And there's always the Mondo sub-genre I suppose!www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Cannibal Ferox was made as a response to the huge success of the controversial Cannibal Holocaust, that was a masterpiece, not just for the violence and gore, but even for it's message.Cannibal Ferox delivers nasty gore (for some reason i think that it's nastier than Cannibal Holocaust), that's why 31 countries banned it (well, some of the 31 countries actually lifted the ban) ! The musical score is awesome, Roberto Donati and Fiamma Maglione did an awesome job, the music is chilling and scary, probably, even better than the music of Cannibal Holocaust.Just like Cannibal Holocaust, we have real scenes of animal cruelty.....i am warning you, PETA members.