Is Eaten Alive! a Hidden Treasure or Dumpster Fire?

Blu-ray Distributed By: Severin Films / February 13, 2018

Eight years after he first unleashed the Italian cannibal craze, spaghetti splatter master Umberto Lenzi (NIGHTMARE CITY, CANNIBAL FEROX) returned to the jungle for this “graphic” (Monster Hunter), “sordid” (Geek Legacy) and “extreme” (Horror News) gut-muncher that still packs the power to rip your d*ck off. EuroSleaze hall-of-famers Robert Kerman (CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST), Janet Agren (CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD), Ivan Rassimov (THE MAN FROM DEEP RIVER) and Me Me Lai (JUNGLE HOLOCAUST) – along with Hollywoodlegend Mel Ferrer (WAR AND PEACE) – star in this insane assemblage of flesh-ripping mayhem, depraved sexual brutality, and even the Jonestown massacre. EATEN ALIVE! is now presented uncut, uncensored and fully remastered in HD for the first time ever, with all-new Special Features that slit open the legacy of this definitive cannibal classic.

Jimbo’s Take  (2.5 / 5)

If you are reading this, I’m willing to bet you’ve already made up your mind whether you will watch Eaten Alive! or not. If you are part of the camp that says, “Nope! No way! Not my thing.” I want to encourage you to read until the end of this review. I may not change your mind on the film, but maybe you’ll have a different appreciation for the film, its director, or the genre.

Director Umberto Lenzi accidentally stumbled upon, and gave birth to, the cannibal exploitation film with The Man from Deep River (1972). Even though Deep River’s primary focus wasn’t on cannibalism, but rather a modern take on a Pocahontas love story, it would set the usual baseline focus on exotic customs and locations, graphic violence, nudity, and animal cruelty.

The Man from Deep River was a hit worldwide, and the producers wanted a follow-up. Lenzi was not interested and the follow-up would be given to Director Ruggero Deodato, who would eventually make Cannibal Holocaust (1980), the most graphic, shocking, and effective film in the cannibal film canon.

 Lenzi would come back to the cannibal sub-genre, directing three in all, with 1980’s Eaten Alive! (Not to be confused with the 1976 Tobe Hooper film of the same name). Like The Man from Deep River, the film itself has less to do with third-world cannibalistic tribes but focuses more on a woman looking for her missing sister, and the Jim Jones like death-cult they discover in the southeastern jungles of India.

Janet Agren (Hands of Steel) stars as Sheila, the aforementioned woman looking for her sister. A man of Asian descent is killing New Yorkers with venomous blow-darts. After the killer is accidentally rundown and killed by a truck, the police recover a film that help Sheila in her search for sister Diana (Paola Senatore). Sheila travels to Southeast Asia and recruits the help of Mark (Robert Kerman), a Vietnam vet who only agrees to help after being offered a large sum of cash.

The pair make their way to the jungles and are soon confronted with a scene of barbarism. Lenzi lifts a cannibal scene from The Man from Deep River and, through clever editing, re-purposes it to meet the producer’s cannibal quota. The pair narrowly escape and are rescued by the disciples of Jonas, who escort Sheila and Mark to their village.

Things seem hunky-dory at first, especially when Sheila meets group leader Jonas (Ivan Rassimov of Man from Deep River) and learns that her sister is alive. However, events quickly turn south when the couple witness a ritualistic “divorce.” Diana emerges with fellow disciples naked and apparently drugged. The followers observe as Mowara (perpetually naked cult icon Me Me Lai) is forced to lay on the ashes of her deceased husband and her three brother’s-in-law each get to copulate with her. Is all of this simply part of a culture that westerners don’t understand or something much worse?

Jonas turns his attention toward Sheila, drugging her with a kind of cobra venom juice to impose his mind control. Mark, Diana, and Mowara band together and are forced to consider what is worse, Jonas or the cannibal tribes preventing their escape?

Eaten Alive! is not for the faint of heart. The Italians have a tendency to push good taste past the point of no return, and then take about 10 more steps afterwards. Even though Lenzi was more interested in telling a story about a Jim Jones cult, Eaten Alive! still has all of the prerequisites – gore, physical mutilations, castration, nudity, rape, molestation, animal cruelty, and of course cannibalism.

It’s understandable if this is not your “cup of tea”. If I were to be completely honest, I’m not much of a fan of this sub-genre either. Cannibal Holocaust turned my stomach years ago because of how completely effective that films proves (hard to watch, but highly recommended if you have the intestinal fortitude). However, even if this film does not seem of your liking or interests, Severin Films has created a blu-ray experience that transcends the main title. It’s one of the rare times when I would argue the supplemental documentaries are infinitely better than the feature film.

The documentaries don’t solely focus on the making of Eaten Alive! but offer a broader contextual appreciation for the people involved in the project. The nearly feature length documentary about Me Me Lai is incredibly fascinating and worth the price of the disc alone. Even if you have zero interest watching a film that appears to benefit from the barbaric treatment of women, I guarantee you’ll be captivated by Me Me’s story and perspective.

But for many, the scenes of brutality will be too much to handle. Even if the barbaric treatment of women, or the excessive gore doesn’t get to you, almost everyone hits the breaks when animals are killed on screen for real. And again, the disc’s documentaries do a great job of putting this brutality into context.

So even if Eaten Alive! is not your kind of entertainment (it’s not mine either), I still highly recommend this release for the above and beyond effort Severin Films put into the overall presentation and package. Highly recommended!

Jamie’s Take  (3 / 5)

There is just something about this sub-genre that I like but it’s a genre that I cannot recommend to someone unless I really know their tastes. The cannibal genre didn’t last too long (early 70;s to mid-80’s) and rightfully so. They tend to be depressing, misogynistic, and at times truly appalling as there are moments of animal slaughter that is simply unforgivable.

However, these films simply don’t give a shit. They are the bad boys in high school, they are the headbangers that you were afraid of. These cannibal films pushed the envelope that no film dares cross these days. I admire that and applaud the likes of Lenzi and Deodato who simple put their Italian middle fingers up in the air to anyone who didn’t approve. They are giving their sicko fans like myself something to ‘chew’ on, pun intended.

While this doesn’t make Eaten Alive! a good movie, the gorgeous photography, un-intentional silly dialog, graphic violence, and full frontal nudity does.

Since Jim already gave you all the lowdown on the film’s plot, I won’t bore you with repeating it only that this movie was very heavily inspired by the Jim Jones cult and even shows footage of the dead bodies discovered at the cult camp in one of the film’s many documentaries that Severin has put in this disc.

Most of the film though takes footage from not only Man From Deep River but also Jungle Holocaust and Lenzi has edited these bits of footage into his own movie. Lenzi had no qualms about ripping off other films, in fact the opening sequence with an assassin in New York killing off escaped cult members is very much reminiscent of his later gore epic, Cannibal Ferox. This is not to say that Eaten Alive! pulls a Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 on us but lets just say several moments in this film are taken from other (and better) cannibal films.

Severin’s brand new blu ray looks pretty nice despite some scratches and blots that seem to be on the original negative. This looks much better than my old Media Blasters DVD so an upgrade was deserved and needed. Colors look nice and the image enhances the film’s beautiful cinematography, making one want to go to Sri Lanka where the film was shot. Viewers can watch the film with a Spanish track, Italian track or an English track.

While most of the special features have been ported over from the previous release, the one to note is the one Jim mentioned above – the Me Me Lai full length documentary. This doc is a very interesting look at this cult icon who has been a recluse for years until her daughter pulled her back into the limelight. Also note, there is a great Q&A session with Lenzi where he admits that this film, along with his other cannibal films are not his favorites at all and he only likes them because they made the most money.

While not for everyone, Eaten Alive! does offer gore hounds the goods (breasts and penises get lopped off and eaten as if no big deal). This is not for the weak of heart and while I enjoy Eaten Alive! for what it is, I can see others being disgusted by it. As the great Dennis Mulvey says, “I warned you!”

Hidden Treasure/Dumpster Fire?

Jimbo:	(2.5 / 5)
Jamie:	(3.0 / 5)
Average:	(2.8 / 5)

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Special Features

• Welcome To The Jungle: Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi
• Me Me Lai Bites Back: Feature Documentary On The Queen Of Cannibal Movies
• The Sect Of The Purification: Interview With Production Designer Antonello Geleng
• Archive Interviews With Actors Ivan Rassimov and Robert Kerman
• 2013 Q&A With Umberto Lenzi from the Festival of Fantastic Films, UK
• Reversible Cover Art