Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals

Alternate titles : Trap them and Kill them, Emanulle-Gli Ultimi Cannibali, Emmanulle's Amazon Adventure, Emanuelle on Safari

Tagline : "A Feast of Sensuous Excitement"

Something of a peculiar entry into the cannibal sub-genre, being part of the "Black Emanuelle" series of soft-porn films starring Laura Gemser. Which were released to cash in on (ie rip off) the success of the popular 1972 film "Emmanuelle" (note, 2 "M"'s in the proper version).

Anyway, starting off in New York (as so many of these cannibal flicks do), our main protagonist, fearless news reporter Emanuelle (Laura Gemser), is working undercover at a mental hospital. Whilst there, one of the female patients bites a chunk off one of nurses breasts. It turns out that this young girl was found lost in the South American jungle, and the very strange tattoo she is sporting appears to be the symbol of an ancient cannibal tribe that was believed extinct.

Realising there may be another big story to be had, she consults with an anthropological expert, professor Mark Lester (Gabrielle Tinti), to see about organising an expedition. And so off into the Amazon they go, taking with them a couple of friends (cue lots of soft core sexual gropings). There, they just happen to bump into explorer Donald MacKenzie (Donald O'Brien) who's on a hunting trip with his wife Maggie (Susan Scott). Who informs them that the nearby mission camp they hoped to visit has been attacked by natives and everyone in it has been massacred.

Following a few more sexual antics, the two parties decide to head out of the jungle. But unfortunately, they are then attacked by the cannibal tribe they were looking for, and this is where the sex stops and the gore starts. A few of the members are gutted and eaten, and a couple of the girls are taken back to the tribes village for ritual sacrifice. The surviving members are then left to try and work out how to rescue the captured members and head out of the jungle before they become the natives next meal.

This is really a difficult sort of movie to describe. The first half being a soft porn film, the second half being a gory exploitation pic. But then this picture was by Italian director Joe D'Amato, who is no stranger to either of these fields, and probably sought to combine these two elements. But the film can not really be described as either. I think a soft-porn adventure film sums it up best. Fans of the other cannibal films may wish to seek this one out, it is certainly highly enjoyable on a trash level in any case (but then aren't they all?).

Overall Marks : 4/10.

Terrifying Trivia

• The late Italian director Joe D'Amato (real name Aristide Massaccesi) has had a long running career directing both horror and adult soft-porn films, with almost 100 titles to his name. Video nasty collectors will know him for his films "Anthropophagous the Beast" and "Absurd", although he is undoubtedly best known for his work on the "11 Days & 11 Nights" series of adult films. He passed away on the 23rd Jan 1999 at the age 63, after suffering a heart attack.
• Laura Gemser first starred as the Black Emanuelle in the 1975 film of the same name (aka Emanuelle Nera, Emanuelle in Africa) by Bitto Albertini. She went onto reprise the role in some 14 other films, 6 of which were by Joe D'Amato. She has appeared in a total of 29 of Joe D'Amato's features, and has over 50 films to her credit. The majority of which were adult soft-porn features. Curiously, one of her earliest films was "Emmanuelle 2", the official sequel starring Sylvia Kristel, in which she appeared as a Masseuse.
• Gabrielle Tinti appeared in 11 of the Black Emanuelle films, playing various roles. 4 of which by Joe D'Amato. He has acted in over 150 films, mostly Italian movies, the most notable of which probably being Ruggero Deadato's "Cut and Run". He sadly died on 12th November 1991 aged 62.
• Fans of "Zombie Holocaust" (aka Dr Butcher) may recognise Donald O'Brien who played the infamous Dr Obrero in that film. His other notable credits include the Sean Connery film "The Name of the Rose", and the Dario Argento pic "The Sect".
• The Special Effects were provided by Fabrizio DeAngelis, who went on to become a producer in the Italian film industry. His credits include Lucio Fulci's "Zombie Flesh Eaters", "The Beyond", "House by the Cemetery" and "New York Ripper". He also produced "Zombie Holocaust".
• Heavily cut by the BBFC for a UK cinema release in 1978 by around 3:30, the film languished in obscurity until 2002 when it was passed with 1:58 cuts for a DVD release. It was finally passed fully uncut for a UK BD release in 2016. The US and European releases were all uncut.

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