After the early 90s, Italian horror and cinema in general has drastically faded so imagine both my surprise and wariness when a trailer for Anthropophagous 2 was released in 2022.
Relatively little was shown and what was didn't look like much but I kept it in my watchlist, being a fan of the original Anthro and its pseudo-sequel, Absurd.
So, was the movie worth the wait?
The plot concerns a group of college girls and their teacher spending a few days locked in an old tunnel system for some sort of thesis or research, we really never know. Naturally they run afoul of a psycho cannibal living down there. That's about it.
Director Dario Germani had previously made a few Italian drama films, but he pulls out a good sense of dread in the first part of this film. While many may dislike in the original that little happens in the first hour apart from buildup, here the first of the group is dispatched around 30 minutes in. The atmosphere is well done and the cinematography makes good use of the dark tunnels. The cast is full of pretty girls who do well enough, essentially being meat for the monster. They are all dubbed which will either delight or annoy, depending if you are a fan of the 70s and 80s Italian horror with its trashy dubbing.
Sadly, rather than the slasher/cannibal route of D'Amato's film, this one goes for a 'torture porn' route, which I generally dislike, though it doesn't ever linger too long on people screaming or crying.
Speaking of the gore, it is all practical and well done in respect to the budget. The titular anthropophagus sadly is nothing compared to George Eastman's hulking beast in the original. Here he is a skinny old man in a dirty wifebeater that feels like he was plucked from Hills Have Eyes or Wrong Turn.
This letdown of the killer was the biggest detractor of Anthropophagous 2, as Eastmans creepy portrayal is what elevates the original and makes it watchable.
Anthropophagous 2 is hardly the second-coming of Italian horror films, but it is a positive step and is functional enough to be worth a watch for both fans of the old Italian movies as well as more modern fans looking for a bit of bloody mayhem.
