Feast Time!

The year is 1980 and the zombie movie bug has spread in earnest. Dawn of the Dead in 1977 and Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2 in 1980 are the biggest names out there at this point in time. It is around this time that the cannibal movie subgenre begins to take shape. Okay, that's a lie, but considering that two movies with the word cannibal came out that year, there is something to it. Everyone seems to know about Cannibal Holocaust, widely deemed one of the most controversial movies of all time. However, there was a lesser known cannibal movie released that same year called Cannibal Apocalypse, which is somewhat odd, since the movie features John Saxon (the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, which I think are overrated) and Tony King (from Shaft).

Cannibal Apocalypse centers around the premise of cannibalism being a disease. It begins in Vietnam, where one of the three soldiers gets the "disease" and bites the squadron leader. Fast forward to present day Atlanta and the leader is at home with his wife when he gets a call from the guy who bit him. He turns down the invitation for a drink, and the guy on the loose from the institution sneaks in a late night "snack" at the movie theater. He gets chased into a store and barricades himself inside with a shotgun. Soon, the trio is reunited and goes on an eating rampage with a doctor's assistant.

I have to say that I was disappointed with the movie, as there wasn't enough cannibalism in the movie. In fact, Cannibal Apocalypse plays more like a bizzaro world Dawn of the Dead, where the eaters are the hunted and the majority are a bunch of idiots. The actual premise and plot are pretty good, but as someone who likes excessive violence, I was disappointed by it.