Antropophagus (1980)

Director:

Joe D'Amato

Writers:

Joe D'Amato (writer)
George Eastman (writer)

Release Date:

9 October 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

...He's coming for you

Plot:

A group of tourists become stranded on an uninhabited island where they are stalked by an insane, violent, and grotesque killer that slaughtered the town's former residents.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Tourist | Boat | Mansion | Killer

Cast

Tisa Farrow	...	Julie
Saverio Vallone	...	Andy
Serena Grandi	...	Maggie (as Vanessa Steiger)
Margaret Mazzantini	...	Henriette 'Rita' (as Margaret Donnelly)
Mark Bodin	...	Daniel
Bob Larsen	...	Arnold
Rubina Rey	...	Irina Karamanlis
Simone Baker	...	First Victim
Mark Logan	...	Second Victim
George Eastman	...	Nikos Karamanlis
Zora Kerova	...	Carol

Also Known As:

Anthropophagous: The Beast (UK) (video title)
Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper (USA) (DVD box title)
Antropofago (Italy)
Man Beast
The Grim Reaper (USA) (censored version)
The Savage Island
The Zombie's Rage (USA) (reissue title)
L'anthropophage (Canada: French title) (France) (TV title) [fr]
Anthropophagous (France) [fr]
Anthropophalus (Canada: French title) (alternative spelling) [fr]
Der Menschenfresser (West Germany) [de]
Gomia, terror en el Mar Egeo (Spain) [es]
Man Eater - Der Menschenfresser (West Germany) (X-rated version) [de]
Man-Eater (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

90 min | USA:87 min (R-rated version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | UK:18 (heavily cut) | UK:(Banned) (1984-2002) | Norway:(Banned) | USA:R (heavily cut) | USA:Unrated (uncut) | Italy:VM18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:(Banned) | Chile:14 (uncut DVD version) | Australia:R | France:-16 | Singapore:PG | Canada:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company:

Filmirage

Trivia:

When submitted for re-classification in the UK (after being banned for 18 years), the uncut version of this film was never brought before the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). Rather, the heavily cut, R-rated version was submitted, possibly by mistake.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nikos (2003) (V)

Generally despised and loathed "video nasty". I liked it.

Well, I FINALLY got to see this infamous shocker after hearing about it for years. 'Antropophagus' a.k.a. 'The Grim Reaper' is one of the most despised and loathed of all the so-called "video nasties", and director Joe D'Amato seems to be regarded as little more than a figure of fun for many. The people who hate this movie usually call it "boring", "dull", "too slow", and so on for the most part, and then complain about the bad taste of the two infamous gore scenes towards the end. One involving a pregnant woman, the other the killer. I won't go into any detail regarding either scene so as to not lessen their shock value. Now, the strange thing is I inadvertently watched the DVD of 'The Grim Reaper' which cut both of these scenes out, and while I was sorely disappointed not seeing them, I didn't find the rest of the movie dull at all. In fact I thought the movie managed to create quite an effective feeling of dread and suspense throughout. While I don't think the movie is as strong as Fulci's 'Zombie' (which also starred Tisa Farrow), I enjoyed it a lot more than say, 'Zombie Holocaust', which is generally rated higher by many hard core horror fans. So make of that what you will. My advice though is try and see the original uncut 'Antropophagus' for maximum effect.