The fine folks at American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) presented three features at this year’s edition of Fantastic Fest. Along with a 35mm screening of the 2008 Thai martial arts thriller Chocolate, AGFA presented Severin Film’s brand-new restoration of Bruno Mattei’s Italian Jaws ripoff Cruel Jaws and a new preservation of 1990s horror outing Embalmer.
CRUEL JAWS (1995)
Official AGFA synopsis
He defied all laws of good taste and international copyright with TERMINATOR 2: SHOCKING DARK and ROBOWAR. He reset the bar for batshit Italo horror with RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR. And in 1995, Bruno Mattei stunned the world with CRUEL JAWS: the ultimate sharksploitation saga. Filmed in Florida with a cast of unknowns (including a Hulk Hogan lookalike), this film liberally borrows characters, plot, and footage from a number of other Italian sharksploitationers . . . and more famous sources. Experience the epitome of outrageous Italian rip-offs, now remastered and uncut for the very first time!
Review
I have heard about Cruel Jaws for ages, and thanks to AGFA’s presentation of it for Fantastic Fest, I finally had the chance to watch it. Wow, it is everything I heard it would be through the years, and more — or perhaps less, depending on your view of things. Seeing this unabashed rip-off of Jaws is an absolute experience — not necessarily one that you might want to revisit often, but an experience nonetheless.
What really gets me is that Bruno Mattei decided to make this film 20 years after the initial release of Jaws, and that he still chose, after all this time, to flat-out plagiarize and lift scenes and dialogue from the Jaws franchise and other international shark attack movies — along with music from Star Wars — when the time to strike like that historically has been as soon as possible after a big film is released.
Let’s take Grizzly, for example, which, as a youngster who saw both Jaws and Grizzly during their initial releases, I groaned happily along with fellow moviegoers at the bear attack movie’s liberal borrowing from Jaws. I also couldn’t wait to shell out for tickets for follow-ups like 1977’s Tentacles. These were fun experiences, with the all-time shark attack classic fresh in moviegoer’s minds.
The groans for Cruel Jaws are for much different reasons than those for Grizzly. For example, the filmmaking and performances are much more competent with the former, making it an overall fun experience. I had a good time watching Cruel Jaws also, but in quite a different way.
There are plenty of opportunities to play “Spot the Plagiarism.” The characters, performances, and situations are generally a hoot, from the cloying character of a little wheelchair-bound girl who has a trained seal and dolphins for playmates, to the young scientist who focuses on his job so much that his girlfriend seeks affection from others without thinking twice, to the party girl who knees dance partners in the crotch for fun and throws gasoline around with abandon. I kept waiting for Hulk Hogan lookalike Richard Dew to drop “Brother!” into one of his sentences. How the windsurfing race between one of Our Heroes and one of the villains is shot is great fun. And these examples are just the tip of the iceberg.
Make no mistake, there is a great deal of entertainment to be had with Cruel Jaws. If you have the chance to catch it on the big screen with an audience primed to have a blast, do not hesitate to go. It also should hold up well in the comfort of your own home, solo or with like-minded friends.
EMBALMER (1996)
Synopsis from Joseph A. Ziemba’s Fantastic Fest description
Embalmer opens with a credit roll that reads: “We all have our childhood myths and legends that scared the shit out of us.” That perfectly sets the tone for this essential gem of ’90s horror that was made for Black audiences by acclaimed filmmaker S. Torriano Berry.
Chiffon is having a rough go of teenage life. Orphaned and lonely, she’s treated terribly by her degenerate foster parents. But Chiffon is fascinated by a local urban legend involving Undertaker Zach — a mortician who killed his family and turned his funeral home into an H.H. Holmes-style murder castle. After a night of partying, Chiffon, her boyfriend Dwayne, and two friends find themselves stranded at a mysterious house that feels very familiar . . . especially for those who are aware of the legend of Undertaker Zach. AGFA is honored to present a new preservation of Embalmer from the original 1″ master tape. [You can read Ziemba’s full description here.]
Review
One of the very early entries in the “urban horror” subgenre that would catch fire in the 1990s, writer/director S. Torriano Berry’s ultra-low budget, shot-on-16mm Embalmer combines slasher and supernatural elements to intriguing effect. What truly makes the film worth watching, though, is its human drama.
The film lets it be known quite early on that horror is the order of the day, as a mother and her elementary school daughter are sliced and diced by an unseen person. Not long after, viewers are treated to the oft-discussed “3D” vomit shot from a hobo who is mere moments from being castrated.
The villain has one heck of a backstory, which I will mostly leave for first-time viewers to drop their jaws at. Suffice it to say that it is interesting to consider how a surgeon who committed familicide gets his story twisted enough that the urban legend jump-rope rhyme about him turns him into a mortician.
Though the first and third acts see the titular villain committing violent acts, the real meat of Embalmer is its dramatic exploration of child abuse and expectations regarding sexual consent. Jennifer T. Kelly does fine work as protagonist Chiffon, a teenager whose home life is devastating because of cruel foster parents who kick her out of the house because she won’t lie to agency professionals so that the parents can bring another, younger girl into the home. When Chiffon’s new romantic interest insists on putting on the moves big time, she lets her feelings be known. Chiffon is a strong young woman, and her character and portrayal by Kelly are two strong highlights of the film.
Berry infuses Embalmer with heart and important messages while delivering some gory goods. He and the film hold an important place in cinematic history.
Cruel Jaws and Embalmer screen as part of Fantastic Fest, which runs September 18-25, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
