Anthropophagous The Beast (1980)

AKA: The Savage Island - The Grim Reaper

My rating - 5/10

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The plot for this is simple. A group of tourists travel to a Greek island and get stalked and killed off by a cannibal, and that's about it!.

I don't care what anyone says, I genuinely like this film!. Is it a bit slow for the first half?, Yes, but there's still plenty to enjoy in it. There's a couple of great, creepy moments, especially when George Eastman is on screen stalking people thorugh the catacombs, or emerging from the bottom of a well trying to reach another victim. Eastman was also 6' 9" and makes an imposing, terrifying monster.

The acting isn't going to get anyone here any awards but it's fine for the most part. The gore is also pretty good considering the films low budget. The scene involving Eastman pressing down on a pregnant woman's stomach, ripping the unborn fetus out from between her legs before taking a big old bite out of it made the film infamous here in the UK as it landed itself a spot on the video nasties list. It was one of the final 39. The fetus is actually a skinned rabbit but that didn't stop the media here using it as a clip from a "real" snuff film thus making themselves look like complete morons... Somethings never change eh?.

I was always a fan of Joe D'Amato and knowing how many films he could put out in a year he was probably filming footage for five other movies while making this one, but, compared to a lot of low budget movies there are this is pretty well done!.

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