"Cannibal Apocalypse" is not a horror movie. The most gruesome deaths occur during shoot-outs; these sequences are more characteristic of Crime and Action genres than of Horror, and while there are a few scenes of people nibbling on each other, it's usually limited to just that.
Instead, this film uses, rather explicitly, a metaphor to address emotionally weighty ambiguities relating to loyalty, leadership, and social disenfranchisement. To be clear, this metaphor was wholly intentional by the cast and crew; in an interview on the DVD, the lead actor explains the metaphor more clearly and concisely than I will be able to in this review.
The general plot is that several soldiers, while fighting in Vietnam, contract (and this is the central metaphor) an ambiguous infection that makes them hungry for human flesh. It sounds like a set up for a fairly straightforward zombie or cannibal movie, but the focus is really on the soldiers' inability to readjust to society, as well as their desperation to be accepted as human beings. They're the "good guys" rather than the horror villains, and we sympathize with them as they try to find dignity in a world where they are fundamentally unable to "fit in." The film's protagonist is the former commanding officer. The most engaging aspect of the film, for me, was this character's difficulty in balancing his loyalty and obligation to support and protect his former troops with his obligation to serve the broader needs of society. I watched this film after recently being replaced as the president of a local organization, and perhaps for this reason, I found the moral challenges faced by this character entirely compelling. It asks the question, which really resonates with me, of how to follow through on an old commitment to lead, support, and protect a group of people after you are no longer officially recognized as their leader and no longer have any official powers with which to support or protect them.
Anyway, it's pretty cool. Even on a superficial level, it's reasonably enjoyable; it's got all of the quirks you'd expect from an old Italian B movie, including goofy music, unnecessary nudity, etc. Recommended.
Instead, this film uses, rather explicitly, a metaphor to address emotionally weighty ambiguities relating to loyalty, leadership, and social disenfranchisement. To be clear, this metaphor was wholly intentional by the cast and crew; in an interview on the DVD, the lead actor explains the metaphor more clearly and concisely than I will be able to in this review.
The general plot is that several soldiers, while fighting in Vietnam, contract (and this is the central metaphor) an ambiguous infection that makes them hungry for human flesh. It sounds like a set up for a fairly straightforward zombie or cannibal movie, but the focus is really on the soldiers' inability to readjust to society, as well as their desperation to be accepted as human beings. They're the "good guys" rather than the horror villains, and we sympathize with them as they try to find dignity in a world where they are fundamentally unable to "fit in." The film's protagonist is the former commanding officer. The most engaging aspect of the film, for me, was this character's difficulty in balancing his loyalty and obligation to support and protect his former troops with his obligation to serve the broader needs of society. I watched this film after recently being replaced as the president of a local organization, and perhaps for this reason, I found the moral challenges faced by this character entirely compelling. It asks the question, which really resonates with me, of how to follow through on an old commitment to lead, support, and protect a group of people after you are no longer officially recognized as their leader and no longer have any official powers with which to support or protect them.
Anyway, it's pretty cool. Even on a superficial level, it's reasonably enjoyable; it's got all of the quirks you'd expect from an old Italian B movie, including goofy music, unnecessary nudity, etc. Recommended.