Cannibal Apocalypse (Apocalypse Domani, 1980)

Good, solid Italian pulp! An outsider in the otherwise fairly straightforward cannibal genre.

When watching this as a Movie Marathon Extravaganza, everyone agreed that this was a nice, gory pulp movie! We disagreed, however, on the fact if this was exactly "horror" in the true sense of the word, or not? A discussion ensued. It's not been resolved as of yet... (Whah ...?)

Horror or not, incidentally, I love a nice long discussion on the subject, it remains an interesting twisted plot. During the Vietnam War, some prisoners of war are freed from the clutches of the Vietnamese by a team led by the super tough John Saxon!
Some time later, John is in longer in the army, but still has nightmares about his time in Vietnam, especially of that rescue action! But he seems to have maintained himself well in society. One day -while being relentlessly and seductively teased by the lovely but very underage girl next door- he gets a call from his Vietnam buddy Bukowski, played by a wonderfully overracting John Morghen - aka the great Italian actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice. Bukowski is scared, afraid that something is going on with him, and asks if John wants to help him. John, however, is busy - with the neighbor girl!
An hour later, his wife tells John that "after having attacked, and even bitten passers-by, a crazed Vietnam veteran is held up in a department store in town! Now, John does decide to help! And that's where the feaces hits the ventilator ...

Smitten by this kitten! The playful girl next door spells trouble.

Vietnam coping dramas such as First Blood, Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver, Combat Shock and the underrated Forced Entry are particular favourites of mine! This little gem can effortlessly fit in the Vietnam Vet Drama genre! An absurd, but working plot, good lovely overracting characters, a nice, thumping music score and wonderfully gory special effects make this an entertaining viewing experience!
Antonio Margheriti knows how to entertain the viewer. Well, it might not be the best cannibal movie ever made, but that was never the intention. After watching Apocalypse Now, Margheriti wanted to make something similar, but even more fucked-up, with more blood, guts, and fury! It turned out to be a beautifully depicted mix of Vietnam, with cannibals, in all its raw power. It is, in fact a Vietnam movie, first and foremost.

Saxon and Radice, Vietnam Blood Brothers for Life!

All in all very entertaining, partly due to the strong play of John Saxon. But also to Giovanni Lombardo Radice, who again embodied a very credible freaky weirdo! The femme fatale neighbor completed this bloody freaky cocktail for me. And that cannibals appear as well is just gravy on the spuds!

For badass Saxon, crazy ass Radice and sweetass fatal gir next door, 4 stars, gnawed to the bone!