The Cannibal Man

"Cannibal Man" by Eloy de la Iglesia is a notorious Spanish shocker about slaughterhouse worker named Marcos.He works in a canning plant attached to the local slaughterhouse.One night,he kills a taxi driver in self defense and then strangles his girlfriend,the only witness to the crime.Desperate with fear,he murders several other people."Cannibal Man" is a slow-paced Spanish shocker that contains some graphic gore.The film is also extremely stylish and the atmosphere of decay and frustration is simply overwhelming.It certainly gained some notoriety as a former video nasty in the UK,but it's nowhere nearly as explicit as for example Lucio Fulci's gorefests.However the most interesting fact is that Eloy de la Iglesia was one of the major directors to push Spanish censorship boundaries with this film and a number of powerful gay-oriented films like "El Diputado" or "Los Placeres Ocultos".So if you are a fan of Spanish horror give it a try.8 out of 10.

I finally watched this overlooked Spanish film and I have to say that I enjoyed it a lot, much more than I expected. I rarely heard anything from it and the reason I saw it was because I'm collecting VHS tapes released by Anchor Bay during the late 1990s and CANNIBAL MAN was part of those horror films. It's a horror film but the horror aspects are not what makes it work. It's more the tone, the actors and the whole look which are all excellent and unique. In fact, the horror elements are at times pretty weak and unconvincing and anyone watching it as a horror film will probably be disappointed. The killings or the repetitive reasons for the man in question to kill are not always convincing but that's because the film is totally symbolic of the time it was made. When you view CANNIBAL MAN as that, the film becomes unique and almost brilliant. I won't describe anything about the film itself. I'll just leave it up to you to see and decide.

The closest thing I can compare it to is APARTMENT ZERO, which I now believe was probably , eh, "inspired" by CANNIBAL MAN. The ending is a bit murky but the better for it. It gives me something to think about. Well worth watching for fans of quirky cinema.

Most commentary I have seen on Cannibal Man focuses on the psychological horror, but the political side of the story seems more important to me. The film seems to place more blame on the society of Spain under Franco than even on the killer, the ultra cool swimming pool sequence is very reminiscent of Chaplin's "the Great Dictator".

I would have to agree with the previous comment regarding THE CANNIBAL MAN. It's an excellent film in the vein of DERANGED (1974), HENRY and CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL KILLER, though it predates all three.

THE CANNIBAL MAN took a couple viewings to really come together and I think part of the problem was the English dubbing. Anchor Bay's recent release has superb picture quality, but unfortunately they didn't include the original language track with subs as they did with TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD.

Regardless, the acting is well-done - Vincente Parra plays a particularly relatable man, one with whom the viewer can sympathize. In accordance with the film's original title, WEEK OF THE KILLER, Parra takes the part of the titular role, slowly spiraling downward into insanity while dispatching one victim for each day of the week. Along the way, there are some interesting twists and turns as well as some restrained, well-used scenes of violence and gore.

There are also some truly surreal scenes, such as the swimming pool sequence and the tense denouement. And, as with any Spanish horror film, nearly all the women are gorgeous. All in all, this is a must-see for genre fans, but be warned, THE CANNIBAL MAN is a subtle film, not one that will immediately jump out at you.

Plot: The movies about a guy who works at a slaughterhouse and what happens to him and most of all his mind when his spouse calls it quits. Bit by bit he starts to loose it....

Form: It plays out very neatly. You have to follow the story tightly to make any sense of the whole thing. Follow closely and you get a reward at the end in the form of knowledge on the human mind.

Who is it for?: First of all this is not a movie for kids. It is a highly realistic movie with a hard story,lots of violence and gore and an adult theme. So if you are a sensitive viewer or under 17 I would not recommend it for viewing. There are a lot of non-violent films out there about similar topics. But on the other hand if you don`t have a problem with violence in films and like a touch of realism, this is really the one for you.

Grade: 10 out of 10