Starring - Claudio Morales (Mondo Cannibal), Lou Randall, and Cindy Jelic Matic (Mondo Cannibal)
Release Date - 2004
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Captured! Tortured! Eaten Alive!"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
As I stated in my previous review, I typically avoid Italian cannibal films because they tend to lack a story and consist mostly of pointless blood and gore. However, the film Mondo Cannibal somewhat changed my opinion of the sub-genre by giving me a bloody and gory flick that actually has a story that it sticks to closely. Mondo Cannibal is the 2004 film from sleaze-master Bruno Mattei. 2004 was a fruitful year for cannibal films and Bruno (working under the name Vincent Dawn as a tribute to Romero an Dawn of the Dead). Bruno, also, released a second cannibal film titled In the Land of the Cannibals featuring a similar story and several cast members from his Mondo film. The film was recently released by Intervision along with Mondo. I reached out to Intervision and they were nice enough to send me a review copy of it along with Mondo. If this film was anywhere as good as the first film then I know I would be in for a good time!
The film follows a team of mercenaries who are sent into the Amazon jungle to track down a general's daughter. She was with a convoy exploring the jungle when they were attacked by a savage tribe of cannibals. The local military were unable to find her body so they assume she is still alive. The mercenaries go deeper and deeper in the jungle and eventually find her living among a native tribe. She is suffering from Stockholm syndrome and attacks the soldiers. They finally give her some tough love and she snaps out of it. They try to make it to the drop zone but are soon followed by the cannibals who know the jungle better than them. 
If cannibal flicks followed a coherent story instead of attempting to make something that could be called controversial then I would probably like them a lot more. Most want to push the boundaries of what can be shown on film. I am completely fine with that but I need a story to go along with it. Most of these films just toss a hand full of people, usually white, in the jungle where everyone wants to eat them. They then toss buckets of blood and gore at the viewer for no reason. I love gore but it has to fit the story. Anyway, In the Land of the Cannibals gives us a solid story that will keep the viewer focused. The acting in this one is solid by the entire cast with most picking up similar roles to the ones they had in Mondo Cannibal. Once again, Claudio Morales brings it giving us another great character similar to his role in Mondo. It is a fun character that controls every scene he is in. Sadly, Claudio doesn't do much in the name of horror anymore. This really needs to change. The story for this one is the same one told time and time again but this time we get a little nod to Predator. The story of people entering the jungle and eaten by cannibals has been told hundreds, if not thousands of times before. What sets a Bruno Mattei cannibal film apart from the others is that he follows the story and does not let the kill scenes control how the movie unfolds. Finally, the film has some great gore and kill scenes but it is watered down in comparison to Mondo Cannibal. What makes this one better, in my opinion, is the dedication to telling a story. Overall, In the Land of the Cannibals is a prime example of what makes Italian cannibal films stand out. I really recommend this one!
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