Dania Film, 1981. Grindhouse Releasing DVD, 2000. Written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Starring John Morghen (a.k.a. Giovanni Lombardo Radice), Lorraine De Selle, Danilo Mattei, Zora Kerowa, Walter Lucchini and Robert Kerman.

     By Stephen Pytak 

     This is one of the best films of its kind, and
no doubt one of the reasons why John Morghen
has an international fan base.
     Whereas Ruggero Deodato's "Cannibal 
Holocaust (1980) " had a much more serious 
tone, and eventually served as inspiration for
"The Blair Witch Project (1999)," "Ferox" is a 
little more pulp fiction It's funnier, it's got a few 
"it's so bad it's GOOD qualities" and some lines
you'll never forget.
     There were a slew of cannibal-related films in
the late '70s and early '80s. Not sure I understand
the trend. But I guess they were making money.
     This review contains lots of spoilers, just so you
know.
     Like "Holocaust," "Ferox" centers around bad
white people who stir up a bunch of natives and 
end up paying the price. 
     It's famous for a number of signature scenes,
in particular the one where drug-crazed fortune
hunter "Mike Logan (Morghen)" gets his dojigger
whacked off.
     The story starts with a disclaimer: "The 
following feature is one of the most violent films 
ever made. There are at least two dozen scenes 
of barbaric torture and sadistic cruelty 
graphically shown. If the presentation of 
disgusting and repulsive subject matter upsets 
you, please do not view this film."
     It's a fair warning, by the way.
      The first scenes take place in New York City, 
where dope fiends, the mob and the cops are looking 
for this Mike Logan guy, who's obviously in some kind
of trouble with, like, everyone. One mob guy 
describes him as "that motherfucker."
     Then we jump to South America, where three
tourists -- "Rudy (Mattei)," the bandanna-
wearing alpha male; "Pat (Kerowa)," the slut; and
"Gloria (De Selle)," a researcher looking to 
disprove "the mythical lie of cannibal ferox."
     By the way, ferox is a Latin word for
strong, couragous and wild, according to 
Urban Dictionary.com So, I guess the title means
"Wild Cannibals."
    Anyway, Gloria is looking for this village she
read about, the home of a fierce cannibal tribe.
Since she doesn't believe any such thing exists,
she, Rudy, Pat and a muskrat on a leash jeep
down to the badlands.
     After swerving to miss a "jaywalkin' iguana,"
the group crash the jeep and go on foot. They
lose the muskrat -- in VERY disturbing scene --
to a HUGE anaconda. What makes it worse is
the cute furball screams like HELL through the
whole ordeal. I thought the little creature's heart
was going to blow out of its chest.
     There's a few on screen animal deaths in this 
flick. You'll also see a leopard crunch a monkey and
natives behead a big turtle.
     To make matters worse, our heroes run into two 
men on the run. One is Logan, who acts like a 
graduate from the Krug Stillo School of Manners. 
With him is Joe (Luccini)," who Logan describes 
as "an asshole" and a "born loser." 
     Pat offers Logan a drink of whiskey, but
he declines.
     "No, I don't drink. This here is my speed," 
Logan said as he dips his finger into a leather
pouch around his neck, then sticks it up his nose.
      "Cocaine?" Pat says.
      "Want some?" he asks.
       A minute later, Logan says he and Joe are
 from New York, came down to South America 
looking for emeralds, hooked up with "Suarez" 
the Portugese, ran into cannibals, then ran for 
their lives.
     Judging by the look on Joe's face, we're sure
Mike's telling it like it is (yeah, right).
     The next day, the gang finds themselves at the
native camp, the place Logan talked about. There
are a few dead bodies and a few natives who sit
in a half-circle staring like catatonics.
     Logan and Joe want to book it, but Rudy and
the girls find the place interesting. And Rudy starts
taking pictures.
     "Haven't you had enough yet?" Logan asks.
     And Rudy gives us another famous line:
     Rudy:"There's something I can't figure out."
     Gloria: "What's that?" 
     Rudy:"I don't know." 
     Before Joe dies of injuries he sustained in the
so-called cannibal attack, he comes clean: "There 
never was any Portugese named Suarez...Mike 
and I had to split from New York in a hurry 
because we pulled a sting on a couple of  Brooklyn 
Horsemen...with all that cocaine he was on, Mike 
went completely crazy."
     No kidding. The flashback says it all. Mike went all
"Last House" on a peaceful tribe. 
    Meanwhile Mike and Pat get it on, get high, and
try to rape a native girl (who looks about 12). In the
process, they end up killing this innocent and invite the 
wrath of the flesh-eating headhunters.
     When the natives grab a hold of our heroes, Rudy,
Gloria, Pat and Logan in for quite a ride, and so are we. 
Don't know if my descriptions of the intensity can do it 
justice. I mean, Mike gets it bad. So does Pat. What 
happens to her is like something out of "A Man Called
Horse (1970)," but a HECK of a lot worse. Funny,
in that film, Richard Harris played a character
named "John Morgan." Hmmmmm...
     For the midnight-movie crowd, the torture scenes
are like gold. Played on a big screen with the right
audience, I'm sure it would draw cheers, laughs and 
rounds of applause louder than thunder. 
     The DVD contains a few neat features, including
a commentary with Lenzi and Morghen, and an
instert which unfolds into a poster.
     While trapped in an underground prison,
Gloria and Pat sing "Red River Valley," which
according to IMDB was written by James Kerrigen.
     This and the rest of the soundtrack was put on 
a limited-edition CD by Blackest Heart Media in 1998.
This gets a gold, five-star rating too. It not only
contains the original score on 14 tracks, but a "Tribute
Score." These are fun, upbeat ditties utilizing dialog
from the film. My favorites are "The Best Parts,"
"Empire State" and dialog from Joe on "A Real
Smart Dude."
     This CD release also contains music from Lucio
Fulci's "Zombie," and also a "Tribute Score." Good 
luck finding it on Ebay.