U.S. DVD Release
Readers, I hereby officially declare cannibal cinema back “in!” That’s right, cannibal flicks appear to be back in style and hitting DVD in record numbers! It’s like the late 70’s, early 80’s all over again except these new cannibal films remove the stereotypical natives, slutty women, ultra gooey gore and super dope Italian progressive rock scores. I’d say most were “cannibal-lite” but after seeing Marian Dora’s German gorefest, Cannibal, I’m positive there are more out there with big balls just waiting to hit shiny.
What’s the deal? Is it the political climate? I’ve noticed during times of global upheaval films with cannibals and zombies tend to really capture the public’s imagination. Perhaps the taboo of cannibalism strikes a chord within us and we subconsciously draw parallels between the cannibalism we see in cinema and the taking of human life (consumption) we see going back and forth between Muslim Fundamentalists and government forces charged with “seeking out terror.” Course, that’s just a theory and I’m no academic, I just found it an interesting theory.
These days cannibalism has become more than just the consumption of human flesh; it’s also a metaphor for disconnection from mankind and the human experience. As technology continues to grow, people pull away further and further from their fellow man until they’re completely isolated. In other words, WE are the new tribes of the Amazon, separated not by rivers and jungles, but by cellphones, Ipods and computers.
Then again…it all may just be as simple as horror fans are demanding cannibals now that zombies have run their course.
I really wasn’t too sure what to make of Osamu Fukutani’s The Last Supper because I wasn’t greatly impressed by a J-Horror film he’d previously written called, The Locker. Thankfully, The Last Supper (written and directed by Fukutani) was definitely better than The Locker though I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was an amazing entry into the cannibal film sub-genre either. The film offers up some pretty interesting moments while also being a bit hokey as well.
Dr. Yuji Kotorida is a renowned plastic surgeon and eligible bachelor with only a few minor “issues” including an obsession with cannibalizing the flesh of women. Charming. Anyhow, Kotorida begins regaling us with the origin of his cannibalism and his first taste of human fat removed from a liposuction patient. As Kotorida continues eating the fat he realizes the flesh strengthens his senses and before you know it he’s a new man full of ultra coolness and sexy abs. Right. It all seems to fall right into place for the good doctor and his life completely turns around the day he discovers a dead women dangling from a noose and tree in a local park. It takes Yuji three months to finish the dead woman’s flesh and the realization dawns on him that he can no longer go back to animal meat….the meat of women is the only way to go for Yuji.
Det. Shimoda of the local police department begins taking notice of the disappearances in Yuji’s district though and he’s determined to root out the possible culprit. Not only does Yuji face police scrutiny but he’s gone and attracted himself a bona fide stalker intent on having Dr. Kotorida for herself no matter what the cost! Detectives…stalkers…cannibalism? Sounds like one of my family gatherings!
Can Yuji keep the secret of his delectable meat forever or will he be forced into a final, bloody confrontation?
Truth be told, The Last Supper doesn’t have much of a plot; it felt a bit pointless at times and there were some instances when the story jumps back and forth without any warning. The entire film is really just the story of Yuji becoming a cannibal, as told by Yuji himself, and the final days of his cannibalism before he’s revealed. Personally, I felt some of the film just didn’t make sense though I’m not really at liberty to discuss the particular scenes as it would ruin the super gory (and confusing) finale.
The acting in The Last Supper was adequate but beware, the copy I had would not let me select English subtitles so I was forced to watch the dubbed version of the film. While the voice actors all had great vocals, their reading of the translated script was horrendous! Whoever translated that script and then distributed it amongst the voice actors should be sodomized with dirty bamboo shafts. The dubbed dialogue was incredibly robotic and unnatural. If the copy you rent or purchased doesn’t let you use English subs with the Japanese language track, you may be in for a rough ride.
Now, what’s a cannibal film without gore, right? Fear not there’s gore aplenty here plus some slightly stomach churning close-ups of sizzling fat and Yuji savoring human flesh. Unfortunately, some of the gore goes in and out of being really cool to super lame amateur gore stunts. I also found myself becoming quickly annoyed by the borderline orgasmic reactions from everybody that places some of Yuji’s “secret meat” in their mouths. I mean…c’mon…everybody knows human flesh tastes like grilled tuna fish and pennies…er…yeah…moving along.
After watching The Last Supper I sat for a bit and let the film marinate and came to the conclusion that it’s worth checking out at least once but really shouldn’t be purchased. It’s almost uneventful, which I find worse than being bad, and the only real thing that propels this film was the anticipation of gore. While some may think that sounds like movie heaven, there wasn’t enough gore to really set The Last Supper apart. It wasn’t as disturbingly gory as Marian Dora’s Cannibal or as artistic and political as White Skin (retitled Cannibal by Lionsgate). You’ll either like it or hate it but I cannot see anybody loving it.
hhhmmmm…..
…I agree?