Blu-ray Review: Cannibal Man (1972)

Main-man Marcos (Vincente Parra) is an aimless, loner of a slaughterhouse employee spends what there is of his existence dreaming of a better life. Well at least he has his best gal Paula (Emma Cohen).
Speaking of ol’ P-dawg, her and Marcos go at it hot n’ heavy in the back of a taxi after a date, which really infuriates the driver to no fuckin’ end… so much so that Marcos ends up killing the dude outright!
As is the way, Paula knows too much, so her ass has to go… and we are off to the races as Marcos just can’t stop killing to cover his tracks… which seems a bit like the snake eatin’ it’s own tail, but who can figure out the mind of a complete psycho on a murder binge…
I gotta be upfront with you lot, Cannibal Man is one of the biggest loads of bullshit to ever be printed on a movie poster… Marcos is not a cannibal… he works at a slaughterhouse, and disposes of bodies there… Disgruntled Unbalanced Man would be a better title… or maybe Cold Cut Killer… fuck yes, that should be the title!
Thankfully the bullshit-buck stops there as the rest of the film is a taut thriller with plenty of suspense along with a side-order of that good ol’ red sauce us horror hounds crave!
Add in some homoerotic overtones here (Eusebio Poncela as Marcos’ nosey next-door neighbor is way interested in our “hero”, and their swimming scene is truly one for the record books), a few splashes of pitch-black humor there, and a pinch of social commentary (with processed food taking a few jabs that’s for damn sure) and you have a pretty damn entertaining exploitation flick that has a bit more on it’s mind than it’s sensationalistic title would lead you to believe.
On the downside, you can bet your arcane ass that co-writer/director Eloy de la Iglesia made the most of that slaughterhouse location as the film opens with some truly stomach-turning footage of the plant in operation… I could barely swallow my roast beef sub and meat-lovers pizza during these sequences!
Speaking of my meal, the pizza place threw in a bonus garlic bread, so why not discuss the bonus material on this Blu-ray release from Severin!
First up we get Stephen Thrower and Dr. Shelagh Rowan-Legg discussing de la Iglesia’s oeuvre, and an interview with film scholar Carlos Aguilar. Also included are deleted scenes, and the film’s trailer.
Though devoid of that gut-munchin’ magic so many of you need to satisfy your monstrous meat-tooths, Cannibal Man is a hard-ass thriller with plenty of horror biz to satisfy!