Slave of the Cannibal God

{{Short description|1978 Italian horror film directed by Sergio Martino}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Slave of the Cannibal God

| image = Mountain_of_cannibal_god_poster3.jpg

| caption = Italian theatrical release poster by Enzo Sciotti

| director = Sergio Martino

| producer = Luciano Martino

| writer = Cesare Frugoni
Sergio Martino

| narrator =

| starring = Ursula Andress
Stacy Keach
Claudio Cassinelli
Antonio Marsina

| music = Guido & Maurizio De Angelis

| cinematography = Giancarlo Ferrando

| editing = Augenio Alabiso

| studio = Dania Film
Medusa Distribuzione

| distributor = Medusa Distribuzione

| released = {{Film date|1978}}

| runtime = 99 minutes

| country = Italy

| language = English
Sinhala

| budget =

}}

Slave of the Cannibal God (Italian title: La montagna del dio cannibale, literally The Mountain of the Cannibal God) is a 1978 Italian horror film starring Ursula Andress and Stacy Keach, with English dialogue, that was filmed in Sri Lanka. The film was also widely released in the U.S. in 1979 by New Line Cinema, and released in the U.K. under the title Prisoner of the Cannibal God, with a poster designed by Sam Peffer.Branaghan, S. & Chibnall, S. (Ed.) (2006) British film posters: An illustrated history. London: British Film Institute, p. 132. {{ISBN|1844572218}} The film was banned in the U.K. until 2001 for its graphic violence and considered a "video nasty."{{Cite web |last=Lane |first=Ashley |date=2018-06-06 |title=The Mountain of the Cannibal God (1978) Blu-Ray Review |url=https://thegeekshow.co.uk/the-mountain-of-the-cannibal-god-1978-review/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |language=en-GB}}

Plot

Susan Stevenson (Ursula Andress) is trying to find her missing anthropologist husband, Henry (Tom Felleghy), in the jungles of New Guinea. She and her brother, Arthur (Antonio Marsina), enlist the services of Professor Edward Foster (Stacy Keach), who thinks her husband might have headed for the mountain Ra Ra Me, which is located just off the coast on the island of Roka.

The locals believe the mountain is cursed, and the authorities will not allow expeditions there, so the searchers surreptitiously enter the jungle to commence the search. They eventually make it to the island, and after a few run-ins with some unfriendly anacondas, alligators, and tarantulas, they meet another jungle explorer named Manolo (Claudio Cassinelli) who has been staying at a nearby mission camp, who agrees to join them in their expedition.

Matters become complicated when it becomes evident that all of them have their own private reasons for coming to the island, none of which include finding Susan's missing husband. Susan and Arthur are secretly looking for uranium deposits. Foster reveals that he has come there because he had been on the island a few years previously, was taken captive by a tribe of primitive cannibals, and has only returned to wipe them out if they still exist. Foster later dies while climbing up a waterfall.

Upon arriving at the mountain, Arthur is killed, and Manolo and Susan are captured by the cannibals and taken to their cave. There, they find the natives worshiping the skeletal remains of Susan's husband. The natives can hear Henry's Geiger counter ticking and believe his heart is still beating. They worship Henry as their Cannibal God and find a photo of him and Susan as a couple. As a result, Susan is spared, and the cannibals feast on other human and reptile flesh. She is stripped naked, bound at the wrists to a pole, and has her entire body smeared with an orange cream by two native girls. At first, it seems this is to be a session of honey torture, but Susan is turned into a Cannibal Goddess after tasting and eating Arthur's cooked remains. Manolo is tied up and tortured while the others are consumed. One of the cannibals attempts to rape Susan while no one is looking but is caught and emasculated before being killed as punishment. Manolo and Susan eventually escape, having endured their ordeals.

Cast

Ursula Andress – Susan Stevenson
Stacy Keach – Edward Foster
Claudio Cassinelli – Manolo
Antonio Marsina – Arthur Weisser
Franco Fantasia – Father Moses
Dudley Wanaguru – Government officer {{Cite web |title="Land of the Murderers" made in Sri Lanka and other such Cannibal films |url=https://roar.media/sinhala/main/history/cannibal-films-shot-in-sri-lanka |access-date=2021-04-05 |website=Roar.media|date=June 2018 }}

Production

The film was shot on location in Sri Lanka.{{Cite news|title=Elusively yours, ursula andress. |date=Aug 27, 1978|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|158635658}}}} The movie is also known for a few shots of unpleasant animal cruelty, such as a moment featuring a monkey being eaten by a snake. The ingredients of this movie involve stomach-churning gore, scenes of sexual violence, and real-life animal cruelty, with Cannibal Holocaust considered the most powerful the genre has to offer.https://www.cine-real.com/pages/the-mountain-of-the-cannibal-god-aka-the-slave-of-the-cannibal-god-1978

Release

Slave of the Cannibal God was released in Italy on August 10, 1978.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807143613/https://allmovie.com/movie/slave-of-the-cannibal-god-v45123|url=https://allmovie.com:80/movie/slave-of-the-cannibal-god-v45123|archive-date=August 7, 2013|publisher=AllMovie|title=Slave of the Cannibal God (1978)|last=Gaita|first=Paul|url-status=dead}} The film was not seen in the U.S. until 1979 from New Line Cinema.{{Cite news|author=SCHREGER, C. |date=Feb 16, 1980|title=Sho west: A little of this 'n' that|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|162689877}}}} Released as Prisoner of the Cannibal God in the UK (where it was briefly banned as a “video nasty”) and Mountain of the Cannibal God in its native Italy, this delightful romp stars Bond girl Ursula Anders as a woman searching for her lost husband in the jungles of New Guinea and a young Stacy Keach as her reluctant guide.https://swampflix.com/2017/07/16/slave-of-the-cannibal-god-1978/

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin called it a "spiced up dish of left overs" plot-wise, but said the location filming gave it "authenticity".{{Cite news|title=PRISONER OF THE CANNIBAL GOD "(la montagna del dio cannibale)"|date=1979|work=Monthly Film Bulletin|volume=46|page=253|id={{ProQuest|1305831218}}}}

Allmovie gave the film a negative review, writing, "a graphic and unpleasant film, with all the noxious trademarks intact: gratuitous violence, real-life atrocities committed against live animals and an uncomfortably imperialist attitude towards underprivileged peoples."{{cite web |url=https://allmovie.com/movie/slave-of-the-cannibal-god-v45123/review |title=Slave of the Cannibal God (1978) |author=Paul Gaita |work=AllMovie |access-date=30 June 2012}} Andrew Smith from Popcorn Pictures awarded the film a score of 4/10, writing, "Mountain of the Cannibal God merely goes through the usual Italian cannibal exploitation film motions, only this time with the bonus of a famous cast. More professionally made but lacking the raw, nihilistic punch of some of its counterparts, it's neither the best of this sub-genre, nor the worst either."{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Andrew |title=Mountain of the Cannibal God (1978) |url=http://www.popcornpictures.co.uk/mountain-of-the-cannibal-god-1978/ |website=Popcorn Pictures.co.uk |publisher=Andrew Smith |access-date=8 July 2018}} Anya Stanley from Daily Grindhouse called the film "problematic", citing the film's depictions of animal cruelty and "imperialist attitudes towards indigenous populations". However, Stanley commended the film's occasionally beautiful cinematography, and called it "one of the more cohesive cannibal films, that utilizes the flesh feast as more of a flourish than a crutch."{{cite web |last1=Stanley |first1=Anya |title= [DOIN' THE NASTIES] MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD (1978) |url=http://dailygrindhouse.com/thewire/doin-nasties-mountain-cannibal-god-1978/ |website=Daily Grindhouse|publisher=Anya Stanley |access-date=8 July 2018}}

The film is often compared to H. Rider Haggard's novel The People of the Mist.{{Cite book| last1 = Fugelso| first1 = Karl|title = Ethics and Medievalism| publisher = Boydell & Brewer| year = 2014| isbn = 9781843843764}}