{jatabs type="content" position="top" height="auto" skipAnim="true" mouseType="click" animType="animFade"}

[tab title="Movie Review"]

Eaten Alive (1980) - Blu-ray Review

Movie Review

5 beersCannibalism! Purification! And really shitty southern accents! Keep on giving us the EuroSleeze, Severin Films!  Banned in 38 countries for the dick slicing, women raping, and snake eating scenes of tasteless trash, Eaten Alive! finally gets a proper HD release.  And I couldn't be happier with the results.  

The Battle Hymn of the Republic has never before sounded so brazenly bizarre than it does in director Umberto Lenzi’s Eaten Alive!, an excruciatingly gruesome film – that weaves bonus bits from human sacrificial movies – about, you guessed it, cannibalism. Lenzi, who died late last year, devoted his entire career to genre films and it shows with a slick knowledge of what audiences like in horror and spy flicks.  

And one of his many genre specialties was making solid films about human eating humans. Tiny bridges over raging waters? Vampire bats? Hammering legs into the ground, you say? Where the hell do I sign up?

But this horror film is different as it merges adventure-like dramas with spy tropes all tangled in a bizarro tale about cannibalism. Eaten Alive! begins with a series of assassins that are quickly paced, filled with rapid zooms, and are as on point as any spy movie. Except this guy, armed with a blowgun and darts tipped with cobra venom, kills his targets with one thrust of air. And the onlookers don’t know what to make of it. One gets it in the ear. Another gets it in the chest. And a third never sees the dart coming.

From Niagra Falls to New York City, this dude kills and kills and kills again until he meets his untimely demise as what looks like a Mack truck makes mashed potatoes out of his body while he attempts to cross 49th Street. The dude should have looked both ways before crossing the street. Idiot. Even the police detective looking into his death thinks so.

Cue the disco music as the opening titles roll across the screen. Yes, that’s how this bizarre trip into the jungles of Sri Lanka begins. Strange things have been happening in New York City and it seems to be stemming from a cult leader named Jonas (Ivan Rassimov) and a group of ecology freaks that bow down to him. Jim Jones anyone? That’s what seems to be the inspiration for this tale about the search for the missing Diana (Paola Senatore) by her worried sister Sheila (Janet Agren) and Mark (Robert Kerman), the man she has hooked up with to navigate the brutal landscapes.

From real crocodile slaughters to monkeys getting killed by huge ass snakes, this bloody crossing by canoe straight into a heart of darkness is a brutal tale of massacre. Men are grabbed by alligators and pulled into the water to meet their demise. Others are flayed alive and eaten. And Sheila and Mark are no closer to the answers they seek. Is it worth it? There’s torturous danger at almost every turn and, as they get closer to the cultists, they begin to understand what they are up against.   Yum yum.

From vicious rapes to ghastly kills, there ain’t no one surviving Eaten Alive! and that includes its audience.   But can you look away? I certainly couldn’t. This is intoxicating stuff. This cult classic is now available on 1080p thanks to Severin Films and their stunning uncut, uncensored, and remastered HD transfer.

Taste the rainbow.

 

[/tab]

[tab title="Details"]

Movie Details

Eaten Alive (1980) - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 92 mins
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Writer: Umberto Lenzi
Cast: Robert Kerman, Janet Agren, Ivan Rassimov
Genre: Horror | Adventure
Tagline: Trapped in a jungle of crazy flesh eaters! The terrifying nightmare that became reality!
Memorable Movie Quote: "Their idea of lunch is fresh, hot entrails soaked in blood."
Theatrical Distributor: Continental Distributing (dubbed)
Official Site: Release Date: October 25, 1985
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: February 13, 2018
Synopsis: An insane assemblage of flesh-ripping mayhem, depraved sexual brutality, and even the Jonestown massacre.

 

[/tab]

[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Eaten Alive (1980) - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Severin
Available on Blu-ray - Febraury 13, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.66:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Severin Films presents Eaten Alive! on blu-ray with an aspect ratio of 1.67:1. The brand new 2017 HD scan with extensive color corrections looks sharp and has zero concerns. It looks brand spanking new as its new 2K scan brings out the grain and details in the gory film. Colors pop. Locations are detailed. And the blood is ruby red. There is a nice grain level throughout. Blacks are rich and nicely saturated. There really isn’t a flaw to be found. This is grain-heavy for a reason. The film often shifts from 35mm to 16mm while the found footage of animals being killed – intentionally shaky and amateurish – is reviewed. The colors are warm and constant as is the image. Black levels are solid as are the skin textures. You've never seen this film like this, the new color scheme gave me a whole new appreciate for the beauty of this important movie. The sound is presented here in a crackling DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

Supplements:

Commentary:

None

Special Features:

Severin Films gives buyers an interview with director Umberto Lenzi, a feature length documentary on Me Me Lai’s roles in cannibalism flicks, an interview with production designer Antonelo Geleng, archive interviews with the cast, and a 2013 Q&A with Lenzi.

Welcome To The Jungle: Interview With Director Umberto Lenzi
Me Me Lai Bites Back: Feature Documentary On The Queen Of Cannibal Movies
The Sect of The Purification: Interview With Production Designer Antonello Geleng
Archive Interviews With Actors Ivan Rassimov and Robert Kerman
2013 Q&A With Umberto Lenzi from the Festival of Fantastic Films, UK

 

[/tab]

[tab title="Trailer"]

[/tab]

[tab title="Art"]

Eaten Alive (1980) - Blu-ray Review

[/tab]

{/jatabs}