CANNIBAL TERROR (1981)

In the annals of the sub genre of cannibal gut muncher flicks, this may very well be the bottom of the barrel. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Lets synopse, shall we?
Seems these three hoodlums kidnap a young girl and hold her for ransom. When they get wind of the cops they head for the jungle to hide out. Of course, it's a jungle full of cannibals and things go from bad to worse very quickly.
Sounds typical, doesn't it? Let's run a few things down, shall we?
First off, half of the cannibals are white and some are sporting some lovely hairdos inspired by Elvis complete with sideburns. First time ever I saw cannibals with sideburns. Doesn't really work for me. You can tell that most of the actors were winging it and not in a good way. Most of the ad libbed scenes are painful to watch and none of them have any idea how to just do some business in front of the camera. It came across on the level of an elementary school play. A really crappy elementary school play.
None of the women are that attractive and you kind of wish they would keep their clothes on.
During one of the slaughter scenes there is no attempt to disguise the pig carcass they are splitting open. I mean the woman wasn't that attractive to begin with, but she wasn't a pig.
With all of this negativity all I can say is that Watching Cannibal Terror was one of the best times I have had in a while. It's really so bad it's good. All the aforementioned stuff was met with howls of laughter at The Waltz Compound. My favorite scene was where the old man lead the criminal who raped his wife out into the jungle and tied him to a tree. Then he whistled for the cannibals who were just out in a field crouched down. When they heard the whistle they came running. I think they were channeling Lassie for this scene and I almost lost it. Definitely a high point in the flick.
And while I keep mentioning the word jungle throughout because, as we all know, cannibals live in jungles, yeah this was more of a forest. It looked like they shot the damned thing in Michigan!
Add to all of this the best Easter Egg ever; a ten minute interview with Jess Franco where he confesses to writing Zombie Lake, makes this one of the best discs I have seen in quite some time. The entertainment value coupled with the historical significance of the Easter Egg, makes this one of the most important DVD releases this year.
The good folks at Severin Films must be commended to bringing this obscure classic to light. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go. Time to watch this puppy again. I need a good laugh.