Well, that was... uhm, different. I've been putting off buying this one for far too long. I knew it was only a matter of time, besides, I've seen all the others. As revoltingly interesting as the others are, I had to know what the black sheep of the Cannibal sub-genre was really like, and if its bad reputation was nothing more than a bad reputation.
This Spanish-French obscurity has the reputation as a cheap knock-off just because the gore, the cannibals, as well as the entire vibe of the movie is completely different, not to mention no real jungle to speak of, but mainly because of the obvious lack of an Italian director.
Alright, well, that about sums it up. Cannibal Terror is a cheap knock-off of an already "misunderstood" sub-genre, but that doesn't mean this movie deserves to be hated. Besides having a swell score, and unintentionally humorous dialog, there's a little girl who's voice is dubbed by an adult, which always goes over well in low-budget European horror.
Let the unfitingly inspirational music begin. Some quaint Euro-scenery. Now, as the story goes, a trio of inept kidnappers who steals the little girl of a rich couple and figure that a fake French Jungle with crickets dubbed in the background would be a suitable place to hide out, besides, the local cannibals are fake, yes they do eat human flesh, but it's also very, very fake-looking, so, it's all good.
The original plan for collecting a ransom is derailed when one of the kidnappers decides to rape the wife of the guy lending out his place for a hideout. New plan, rapist gets tied to a tree near fake-cannibal country by angry husband while the other 2 run off into the jungle and suffer perhaps an even worse fate.
Ouch!! This film constantly screams "Not Italian" at the top of its lungs, which is the only thing drowning out the fake crickets. If Italian Cannibal icons such as Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox is what you're used to then Cannibal Terror will seem like a Cannibal movie from another dimension, or perhaps a sick joke posing as something it clearly is not... Or is it?
There are subtle qualities in this one that I prefer over "the real ones", although, they are few and far between, but I think the biggest problem most fans of the genre would have is the gore quality, I've just never seen gore like that before, but wow, it sure was a hell of a lot, regardless of what that stuff actually was.
The Cannibals, who I swear I heard one of the characters refer to as Indians are plain and simple, the worst cannibals ever. Some of them are clearly white, some of them have sideburns, but in their defense, they seem a bit more level-headed and fair than their authentic counterparts.
When watching Cannibal Terror, don't compare it to the others, compare it to something overrated from Jess Franco and you won't go wrong. Awkward dubbing, pointless one-liners, unintentional humor, an obvious euro-vibe and ineptness from all directions is what you should expect. because it's exactly what you're getting. Don't hate Cannibal Terror, it tried. 7/10
