Eaten Alive!
Encyclopedia
Mangiati vivi!, also known by its English
title Eaten Alive!, is an Italian cannibal
-rape film
, directed by Umberto Lenzi
, released in 1980. Alternative titles for the movie, include "The Emerald Jungle" and "Eaten Alive by Cannibals". It stars Robert Kerman
, Janet Agren
and Me Me Lai
. In secondary roles, it stars Franco Fantasia, Mel Ferrer
and Ivan Rassimov
. It is one of the most notorious cannibal films, after Cannibal Ferox
and Cannibal Holocaust
. The film features scenes of graphic nudity, castration, rape, beheading, animal abuse and impalement. While the whole genre is defined by these elements, this film goes significantly above and beyond the formula. Most of the violent scenes from the film have been lifted from other movies in the genre (like the scene where a python swallows a live monkey, lifted from The Mountain of the Cannibal God
), even from Lenzi's other cannibal film Man From Deep River. It was released on DVD by Shriek Show. It is regarded as equal to Cannibal Ferox
by the director, who says Cannibal Ferox did well at the box office. The story is loosely based on the Jonestown Massacre of 1978.
). Sheila (Janet Agren) joins up with Mark (Robert Kerman), and they both encounter many perils while searching for Sheila's sister, Diana. Diana has joined a cult run by a man called Jonas, played by Ivan Rassimov. Jonas physically and sexually abuses his followers and local people alike. In one graphic scene, he rapes Sheila with a dildo
covered in snake blood, and decapitates a native. In another, a native widow named Mowara (Me Me Lai) is ritualistically raped after her late husband's body is burned on a pyre. A group, consisting of Mowara, Mark, Sheila and Diana escapes into the jungle, where Diana & Mowara are caught by a group of cannibals, Diana raped, and then both hacked to death, while Mark and Sheila helplessly watch from the cover of the bushes. They quickly escape back to New York when helicopters sent by the authorities come looking for them. Back in the village, the rest of the cult commits ritual suicide.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
title Eaten Alive!, is an Italian cannibal
Cannibal film
Cannibal films are a sub genre of exploitation film made mostly by Italian filmmakers through the 1970s and 1980s. This sub genre is a collection of graphically gory movies that usually depict cannibalism by primitive, Stone-age natives deep inside the Asian or South American rain forests...
-rape film
Rape and revenge films
Rape and revenge films are a subgenre of exploitation film that was particularly popular in the 1970s. Rape/revenge movies generally follow the same three act structure:...
, directed by Umberto Lenzi
Umberto Lenzi
Umberto Lenzi , is an Italian film director who was very active in low budget crime films, peplums, spaghetti westerns, war movies, cannibal films and giallo murder mysteries ....
, released in 1980. Alternative titles for the movie, include "The Emerald Jungle" and "Eaten Alive by Cannibals". It stars Robert Kerman
Robert Kerman
Robert Charles Kerman , also known as R. Bolla, or Richard Bolla, is an American actor. As R. Bolla, he appeared in well over 100 pornographic films, most famously Debbie Does Dallas...
, Janet Agren
Janet Agren
Janet Ågren Maietto is a Swedish former actress of mostly Italian exploitation films.Ågren was born in Landskrona, Sweden. Her modeling career brought her to Italy where she started to appear in films. She made her debut in Giuseppe Orlandini's I due crociati ...
and Me Me Lai
Me Me Lai
Me Me Lai, sometimes billed as Me Me Lay, is an ex-actress born in Burma in 1952, to a Burmese mother and an English father. She moved to England in her teens, where she soon started her acting career, at first in television series like Paul Temple and Jason King...
. In secondary roles, it stars Franco Fantasia, Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St....
and Ivan Rassimov
Ivan Rassimov
Ivan Rassimov was an Italian film actor of Serbian origin who appeared in many horror and exploitation films....
. It is one of the most notorious cannibal films, after Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Ferox, also known as Make Them Die Slowly, is a 1981 Italian exploitation film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film made claims to being "The most violent film ever made"...
and Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
. The film features scenes of graphic nudity, castration, rape, beheading, animal abuse and impalement. While the whole genre is defined by these elements, this film goes significantly above and beyond the formula. Most of the violent scenes from the film have been lifted from other movies in the genre (like the scene where a python swallows a live monkey, lifted from The Mountain of the Cannibal God
The Mountain of the Cannibal God
The Mountain of the Cannibal God is an Italian cult movie starring Ursula Andress and Stacy Keach with English dialogue that was filmed in Sri Lanka. The film was also widely released as Slave of the Cannibal God and released in the UK as Prisoner of the Cannibal God...
), even from Lenzi's other cannibal film Man From Deep River. It was released on DVD by Shriek Show. It is regarded as equal to Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Ferox, also known as Make Them Die Slowly, is a 1981 Italian exploitation film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film made claims to being "The most violent film ever made"...
by the director, who says Cannibal Ferox did well at the box office. The story is loosely based on the Jonestown Massacre of 1978.
Synopsis
The film begins with a woman named Sheila who is searching for her sister, who has disappeared in the southeastern jungles of Asia (IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
). Sheila (Janet Agren) joins up with Mark (Robert Kerman), and they both encounter many perils while searching for Sheila's sister, Diana. Diana has joined a cult run by a man called Jonas, played by Ivan Rassimov. Jonas physically and sexually abuses his followers and local people alike. In one graphic scene, he rapes Sheila with a dildo
Dildo
A dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for bodily penetration during masturbation or sex with partners.- Description and uses :...
covered in snake blood, and decapitates a native. In another, a native widow named Mowara (Me Me Lai) is ritualistically raped after her late husband's body is burned on a pyre. A group, consisting of Mowara, Mark, Sheila and Diana escapes into the jungle, where Diana & Mowara are caught by a group of cannibals, Diana raped, and then both hacked to death, while Mark and Sheila helplessly watch from the cover of the bushes. They quickly escape back to New York when helicopters sent by the authorities come looking for them. Back in the village, the rest of the cult commits ritual suicide.