Brutes and Savages

Probably the lamest "mondo" travelogue ever made, "Brutes and Savages" is a laughable and cynical attempt at a documentary. "Explorer" Davis (dressed in an amazing salmon-colored safari outfit) heads to "Africa" (or its nearest North American equivalent) to film a Sudanese tribe. Where this tribe obtains it's endless supply of grease-based face paint isn't explained. The visit culminates in the simply jaw-dropping "croc attack" on a tribesman undergoing a manhood initiation. Replete with obvious and laughable continuity errors and rubber animals/body parts, you won't believe your eyes when you see it. The South American parts are rather dull, save the animal butchery (I had a hard time with the turtle slaughter). Smiling and laughing slum dwellers are called sullen and withdrawn who are wearing colorful clothes to show off for the cameras. I nodded off a couple of times, but the photography is nice, and the whole thing ends with llamas mating and simulated bestiality. "Killing For Culture" summed this one up nicely: pitiful.

Why do people make these films? If this was intended, a mockumentary as other reviewers state, although to me, everything looked real, it's just means the makers are sicker. How would you like to be butchered, mutilated, decapitated. I can't in my right mind, understand, why you would fake scenes like this, if only for profit, and to cater for a small unsound set of people, who'd get off on it. Even though with these, and other visual atrocities, the film pulls itself up above trash, as coming across as good film making, with insightful, musing narration. A good quality doco/mocu with interesting stories, involving sick rituals, customs, though in no way, do I condone this. This exploitation torture video, stands stylishly against, it's score of others, I won't mention, but you know which ones. It's bold, exploitative video cover says it all. Had one rolling eye moment, concerning a remark. Regarding the ways of making it as painless and dignified, for the animal. Another hard to watch/stomach scene, besides the much earlier lama one, involves brain surgery. Some small comic relief of the film, comes in one scene, involving the most sexually explicit, and bizarre nude wood art, while the last scene, involving lama fu**ing, just has to be seen to be believed, and will leave a heavy imprint with you, a feel good song, following. You've been warned.

Lord have mercy. Pure evil. What some humans do is completely evil and unspeakable torture to these poor animals my gosh. And to think that we have opened our border to some of these horrible Savage people from Mexico and South America even China and other Asian countries and Africa and Haiti and Dominican Republic. And I am speaking about the bad eggs the true Savage beasts who are in human form. I truly think Jesus Christ has brought civility to those who listen. I'm afraid most of the USA is starting to become and regress back to the Savage ignorant Criminal age. When crime is actually glorified.

Mondo movie exploring the deadly animal life, savage tribal rituals and cocaine production of South American. To be fair the opening credits state that some scenes have been simulated, many other Mondo movies try and pass off laughably fake scenes as authentic. Plenty of nature footage showing predatory animals such as snakes, birds of prey and crocodiles eating other animals, at one point the narrator mentions 50 feet long crocs, the world record is less than half that length! He also states "When an alligator mates with a crocodile the offspring is usually a vicious monster!" - very educational! There were two stomach churning scenes of animal cruelty, the first has a turtle gutted alive during a staged tribal wedding, which ends in some very unconvincing love making. The second scene has the narrator state "these Indians are never cruel to their animals" as a live llama has its chest slit open and heart pulled out, I found this very difficult to watch. The only segment that I actually enjoyed has a young tribal man crossing a river only to be fatally "attacked" by a crocodile. The colour of the water keeps alternating between murky and clear blue (obviously a pool) and the crocodiles fake head and man's severed limbs are laughably cheap looking, it's almost Monty Pythonesque! The only professional thing about this dire shockucumentary is the funky Riz Ortolani soundtrack. The Derann VHS did make Section 3 of the Video Nasties list in the UK meaning it could be confiscated but not prosecuted, and has since not had a certified release.

Arthur Davis, whoever the bloody hell he is, allegedly on safari, (wearing a faded pink safari suit does not mean one is on a real safari) shows us all sorts of alleged tribal rituals in Sudan, and South America.

Boring mockumentary likely filmed in the Hollywood Hills, rather than Sudan, except for parts of the crocodile attack, which were obviously filmed in someone's swimming pool, using a plastic croc head on hinges to open and close its jaws, while the guy it is supposedly eating makes monkey noises while getting his arm bitten off!

That bit was amusing in its ineptitude, the tribes people slathering paint on each other's faces, and asses, while some wear bright yellow polka dot pants and speaking perfect English, despite the fact that native Sudanese speak Arabic, was just stupid, and what the hell was the purpose of the disco music on the soundtrack? Upbeat 16th notes on hi-hats, and wah wah guitars don't go well with two tribesmen going at each other with knives.

For those unintentionally amusing moments, the real(?) animal death, and real brain surgery footage was unwatchable, and ruined any "so bad it's good" vibe the film had.

I'll generously give this 4/ 10, for unintended laughs during the aforementioned swimming pool attack bit, but a 1/ 10 for the remainder of it.