Il paese del sesso selvaggio (1972)

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Francesco Barilli (writer)
Massimo D'Avak (writer)

Release Date:

23 May 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Horror | Romance

Tagline:

See! The Torture That Makes a Modern Man Defenseless!

Plot:

A photographer in the rain forest is captured by wild natives, and after months of living with them, he marries the chief's daughter and helps protect the village from a vicious cannibal tribe.

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Cannibal Tribe | Cannibal | Torture | Video Nasty

Cast

Ivan Rassimov	...	John Bradley
Me Me Lai	...	Marayå (as Me Me Lay)
Pratitsak Singhara	...	Taima
Sullalewan Suxantat	...	Karen
Ong Ard	...	Lahuna
Prapas Chindang	...	Chuan
Pipop Pupinyo	...	Mihuan
Tuan Tevan	...	Tuan
Chit	...	Cannibal
Choi	...	Cannibal
Song Suanhad	...	Witch Doctor
Pairach Thaipradt	...	Thai

Also Known As:

Deep River Savages (Europe: English title)
Man from Deep River (International: English title)
Sacrifice! (USA)
Au pays de l'exorcisme (France) [fr]
Cannibalis: Au pays de l'exorcisme (France) [fr]
Mies syvästä joesta (Finland) [fi]
Mondo cannibale (West Germany) [de]
Sfaxte tous kannivalous (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Voreia tou Bangkok (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

93 min | UK:89 min (heavily cut)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | Burmese | Thai

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (2003) (heavily cut) | USA:Not Rated | UK:R (original rating: 1975) | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 (VHS rating) | UK:(Banned) (1984-2003) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Medusa Produzione

Trivia:

Umberto Lenzi was heavily influenced by the American western A Man Called Horse (1970) when making this film. The plots of the two films are nearly identical, and the English title for this film, "Man from Deep River", is even supposed to echo the title "A Man Called Horse".

Quotes:

John Bradley: I'm a human being, like you! I'm a man, not a fish!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Mangiati vivi! (1980)

Repellent but fascinating.

This is often credited as "the first cannibal horror film", although it has less to do with cannibalism than with Italian shockumentaries such as "Mondo Cane". Viewing it is an often repellent but altogether fascinating experience - one that you will not soon forget. Umberto Lenzi's direction, which is a curious mix of skill and amateurishness, combined with the location shooting, give it a documentary-like feel that compensates for the thin and sloppily set-up plot. (***)