Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980)

 

 

Warning: this review contains graphic descriptions of sex

 

 

 

AKA: Sexy Nights of the Living Dead, Queen of the Zombies

 

 

Dir: Joe D'Amato

 

 

Starring: Laura Gemser, George Eastman, Dirce Funari, Mark Shannon

 

 



 

What’s this? Mark Shannon, George Eastman and Dirce Funari fucking on a Caribbean island and then being attacked by zombies? Sound familiar? Well it should, ‘Erotic Nights of the Living Dead’ shares the same cast and setting as Porno Holocaust, with pretty much the same plot too. One of the differences between the two, though, is an appearance in this movie by the resplendent form of Laura Gemser – which gives it some major brownie points in my book.

 The third instalment in my Joe D’Amato series, Erotic Nights was shot back-to-back with Porno Holocaust and the two aren’t exactly worlds apart as a result. I won’t bother discussing the plot because I’d just be repeating myself.

 

That’s not to say this movie doesn’t mix things up a bit. After a bit part in Holocaust, George Eastman (Antropophagus and this films writer) takes the lead this time with Mark Shannon in support.  It’s quite funny, because both Eastman and LauraGemser were evidently not comfortable having real sex on camera. D’Amato doesn’t even try to hide the fact: in the scenes where their characters get intimate, Eastman keeps his trousers on the whole time! No such hesitation from the rest of the cast though as we’re treated to more endless scenes of penetrative sex on camera, warts and all (literally – looking at you Mark Shannon!)

The problem with being so similar to Holocaust is that Erotic Nights shares a lot of that film’s shortcomings. Like its predecessor this film is also at least 30 minutes too long with very little to show for it. Whereas on first viewing Porno Holocaust, I could just about tolerate the running time. During this movie I kept anxiously looking at my watch, begging for the thing to end.

However, like this films predecessor the horror portion of the film keeps things interesting.  The zombie effects are decent and the gore, though brief, is well-done. What’s more there’s a whole graveyard full of zombies instead of just one this time.

So out of the two films, which one is better? Personally, I prefer Porno Holocaust – it’s piles on more of the sleaze. But that’s just my own personal preference. Like I say, they pretty much run together, so your favourite may depend on which one you watch first.

Porno Holocaust (1981)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warning: This review contains graphic descriptions of sex

 

 

 

AKA: Sex Killer: Mutant Overgrown Man-Child, Orgasmo Nero II - Insel der Zombies

 

 

Dir: Joe D'Amato

 

 

Starring: Mark Shannon, George Eastman, Dirce Funari, Annj Goren

 

 



The early 1980s was certainly a unique time for film; one we’re unlikely to experience anything of it’s like again. I mean, when else could a movie like Porno Holocaust possibly be made?

The second instalment in my Joe D’Amato season is a sleazy cocktail of gore-filled horror and hardcore pornography that only signor Massaccesi could dream up. It’s a film I simply find fascinating in a rather bizarre way. Probably because this is a movie very much of its time; something that one could not possibly comprehend existing in today’s world.

Italian porn star Mark Shannon heads up a team of scientists (George Eastman, Dirce Funari and Annj Goren) who take a trip to a remote Caribbean island to investigate suspected effects of radiation pollution. Once there however, they are stalked by a vicious mutated zombie who begins picking off members of their expedition one-by-one.

 



Of course, this synopsis of the movie’s plot doesn’t account for the many scenes of hardcore sex that occur throughout. It’s this unique cross-over of pornography and horror that’s the films major attraction for me.  Modern day porn is so formulaic; its producers wouldn’t dare propose an idea like this. This would all be academic if the horror elements didn’t deliver, but, though not perfect, it works. The gore set pieces and the monster’s make-up effects aren’t phoned in as you might expect. It seems there was a genuine effort made to make the horror elements convincing. 

 

The flip side to the porn/horror crossover is that this is probably not an ideal movie for porn lovers. The jump from the erotic to the grotesque would be quite off-putting if you were simply watching this movie for arousal. But then again that’s the great thing about Porno Holocaust: it can’t be pigeon holed. 

 

Another bone of contention with critics of this film – one that I’m inclined to agree with – is the length of its running time. Porno Holocaust clocks in at just short of two hours. That’s an awful lot of time to spend on a story that involves people fucking on an island and being bumped off by a zombie! Though I personally didn’t find the film boring, I did have to stop myself checking the clock at times.

 

Many of these Italian exploitation films can be for the most part forgettable, but they often contain a scene(s) that will stick in your mind after the film has finished. This might be a nice gory special effect, a really gross moment or just something downright bizarre. In Porno Holocaust such a scene arrives around the half-way point, and it involves the monster sticking it’s erect zombified penis into the mouth of a woman and killing her with it’s toxic semen! Wow.

Porno Holocaust will probably bore a lot of people with its bare-bones story, plodding pace and over-long running time but it’s interesting if you’re looking for something a bit more ‘out there’ from the usual sexploitation stuff.

 

 

 

Anthropophagus (1980)

 

WARNING: This review contains SPOILERS and scenes of bloody violence

 

AKA: Grim Reaper

Dir: Joe D'Amato

Starring: Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone, Serena Grandi, Mark Bodin, George Eastman, Zora Kerova. 

A gory classic. Prolific Italian sexploitation peddler Joe D’Amato (aka Aristide Massaccesi) created a cult classic with his first attempt at an exclusively horror-minded film. Although he was no newcomer to horror, his previous efforts tended to mix porn with horror, with the former tending to dominate (e.g. Erotic Nights of the Living Dead, Love Goddess of the Cannibals and Porno Holocaust – see what I mean!) Unfortunately, Antropophagus (aka Grim Reaper) gained notoriety in Britain as it became a Video Nasty after it ended up on the DPP’s most wanted list. But that probably added to the cult surrounding the film.

The film opens with a German couple holidaying on a Mediterranean island who meet a grisly end (this scene also features a shameless rip off of Jaws). We then meet Julie, played by Tisa Farrow (Zombie Flesh Eaters [1979]) who hitches a ride to the island with a group of friends including pregnant Maggie (Vanessa Steiger aka Serena Grandi) and Clairvoyant Carol (Zora Kerova of Cannibal Ferox [1981]). On the journey, Maggie asks Carol to tell her fortune but Carol foresees something terrible in the group’s future. Once they land, the group discover that island is deserted; all the residents appear to have disappeared without a trace. As the group spend the night in the deserted town they begin to be stalked by a sadistic killer with a taste for human flesh who starts to pick them off one by one. Can any of them survive?

 

As gory as this film is – and we’ll get onto that later – it’s also very suspenseful too. The deserted island is very creepy and there are several moments to make the audience jump out of their seats. George Eastman (aka Luigi Montefiori, also the films writer) gives a great performance as the iconic cannibalistic madman stalking the island. The acting is pretty decent for this type of film and the characters are a pretty likeable bunch. D’Amato used to be a cinematographer, and he demonstrates this throughout; the scenery of the island is captured beautifully.

But now, we didn’t tune into an Italian exploitation flick for the lovely scenery though, did we? We came to see some blood and boy is there plenty on show here. Some of the most ultra-violent and disgusting gore sequences ever filmed can be found in this film. The scene that is most remembered, and probably what got the film into hot water with the censor, is where Eastman rips Maggie’s unborn foetus from her womb and proceeds to chow down. Yum!

My only flaw with this film is that it makes an attempt at a back story for Eastman’s monster, about how he was forced to eat his wife and son after being trapped out at sea in a lifeboat. My problem is that this wasn’t fleshed out more. It barely takes up three minutes of the film and it would’ve provided a bit of interesting exposition if gone into more detail. You’d have thought that, since he wrote the damn film, that Eastman (Erotic Nights of the Living Dead [1980])would want to spend a little bit more time on his own character, but sadly no.

Overall I think Anthropophagus is a very scary horror film and will interest more people than just the gore-hounds. I’ve heard others remark that the film is boring, but I disagree with this; it’s fairly short and there’s plenty going on to keep you interested. Maybe they were referring to the cut version, of which I have seen, and it’s worse than torture to sit through. Seriously, all the gore is left out; it’s like watching a musical with all the songs missing!

 

Although initially banned under the Video Recordings Act (1984) Antropophagus is now available on DVD in the UK under the Grim Reaper title after it was resubmitted to the BBFC and approved. Unfortunately, some clever sod (read: idiot) resubmitted the CUT version (see above) so if you’re looking to buy this movie be sure you get a hold of the uncut release.