Well, it sure does take a lot from Cannibal Holocaust.
Make Them Die Slowly (1981)
Directed By: Umberto Lenzi (Almost Human)
The Prologue
OK, so let’s not try to fool anyone here. Make Them Die Slowly is also known more widely under the title, Cannibal Ferox. But for the Cheezy Flicks release of the film, they went with the alternate title, Make Them Die Slowly. But regardless of what you call it, this Italian exploitation film from 1981 has often been compared to Cannibal Holocaust, and with very good reason. Now we’ll get into all of that during the review, but I will say this. The film isn’t bad, but had it been more original it would have been a whole lot better. It’s OK to pay tribute to something, people do that all the time in movies. But to pretty much trace a film that came out a year earlier in a lot of areas, isn’t the best method ever.
The Movie
A small group of anthropologists take to the jungles of Colombia to study the culture of a small indigenous Columbian tribe – a tribe of primitive peoples with a controversial, cannibalistic history. When they arrive however, they find that a local band of drug dealers have moved into the area, and have taken to using the naive natives to harvest the cocoa leaf for them as slave labor. After a while, the natives are tired of being tortured and worked, and turn on their masters – as well as the hapless anthropologists – filling the screen with gruesome splatter in the process!
So what does this movie do that is like Cannibal Holocaust? Well, we get a couple actors from that film in this one, be it in smaller roles. We also have some of the very same animals killed on screen that were killed in Cannibal Holocaust. For one, a big ass turtle. But I must say that this time around the turtle (while again legit killed), isn’t done as stylishly..or perhaps as brutally, as the one from Cannibal Holocaust. That may actually be a very good thing, but the thing is it had already been done in a movie a whole lot like it. So why not come up with something else? Yeah, we get an anaconda squeezing some poor animal to death, but did we watch this because we wanted to see animals killed??
As far as the story, it’s a little different from the other film we’ve been talking about, so we can give credit for that. It’s not the most interesting tale every told, but it’s good enough to hold your attention. It also doesn’t waste too much time getting to the point, and you can never go wrong with that. And how is the gore in the film? The gore is pretty good. It does use a lot of the same ones from the other movie, but it adds a few of it’s own to the mix, and for the most part those are really cool. I won’t spoil it, but there is one pretty cool scene involving a naked woman and some hooks. I think once you’ve seen this, that will be the thing that stands out. And rightfully so, because it’s well done and looks really cool.
So, yeah..it’s a bit of a copycat. But that being said, it’s not too bad in it’s own right. It’s been banned in many different areas, but that’s due to the animal killings. And they probably kill more animals than they do humans, so it’s not an easy watch if that stuff bothers you. But on it’s own as a cannibal movie, if you aren’t a fan of Cannibal Holocaust, or have not seen it, I can see where this one would stand out a whole lot more to you. I’d say with the faster pace of things, and the obviously cannibalism antics, this is a film that could be a lot of fun in a party setting. I just wish it was a little more original.
The Conclusion
If you want to own this film and not have to pay as much as Grindhouse Releasing whats for their version, you can get it at Cheezy Flicks for a much better price. I think when you compare $4.99 from Cheezy Flicks to the $16.99 Grindhouse wants, it might not be that hard of a choice if you just want the film and don’t care about special features.
The Rating (6.5/10)
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