Sacrifice! (aka Man From Deep River)

Man from Deep River (1972) was director Umberto Lenzi's preferred title of the film, also known as Il Paese del Sesso Selvaggio (The Land of the Sex Savages) in Italy, Sacrifice! in the US, and Mondo Cannibale (Cannibal World) in Germany. Considering these titles in view of the film's content, Il Paese del Sesso Selvaggio makes the least sense because of the lack of attention given to sex--albeit there are three brief scenes and a rape. The title Sacrifice! also is weak in capturing an overarching theme, but again the viewer will see several animals that were really sacrificed for reasons such as subsistence, religious rites, and sport. With Mondo Cannibale as a title, the audience will be disappointed since only one scene depicts cannibalism--and quite convincingly. Lenzi's title, out of all the others, is most fitting for a few reasons. First, this film is a remake of a predecessor titled A Man Called Horse (1970). But, instead of a white man being captured by Native Americans and assimilated in the wild west, Man from Deep River occurs in the savage jungles of Thailand--far removed from civilization--where an indigenous tribe encounters and is entranced by a white photographer, whom they find in a river wearing a wetsuit and fins. Quickly, the tribe nets the strange creature, whom they label "fishman," and they return to their village to flaunt their curious, prized possession. Given the latter context, this is the second reason that Man from Deep River serves as the best title, as it captures the story's focus and appropriately hints at what to expect on screen. Perhaps most importantly, this film is credited with starting a new genre--the Italian Cannibal, considered a sub-genre of exploitation films. Indeed, in an interview, Lenzi took credit for helping Ruggero Deodato--director of the infamous Cannibal Holocaust (1980)--to become the master of the Italian Cannibal. As shocking as Deodato's work may be, Lenzi's pioneering work in Man from Deep River contains plenty of disturbing, nauseating scenes that are difficult to endure. At the same time, Lenzi's work is beautifully historic in portraying natural landscapes in Thailand in the early 70s, as well as some cultural features, e.g. dress, rituals, architecture, and other forms of art. Rarovideo's 2016 release of Man from Deep River (they use the US title, Sacrifice!) on Blu-ray is an extraordinary version of this film. The picture is sharp and vivid, sound quality is excellent, English subtitles are provided for the Italian soundtrack (English soundtrack has no option for subtitles), a 25-minute interview with some cast and crew members is a bonus, as well as a booklet with an essay, biography of Lenzi, and his filmography.

Warning SPOILERS!!! This is the film that kick-started the Italian cannibal craze and, while it is not as graphic as later films in this genre (such as CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST - 1980 or CANNIBAL FEROX - 1981, just to name a couple), it is still quite disturbing. What helps this film achieve its goal is the beautiful on-location cinematography (by Riccardo Pallottini; THE KILLER MUST KILL AGAIN - 1973). It may be beautiful, but danger lurks around every corner. The film opens with professional photographer John Bradley (Ivan Rassimov; SPASMO - 1974) on assignment in Thailand and we watch as he takes photos of the country's colorful beauty and people. The film then displays the following scrawl: "In the dense jungle along the often ill defined border between Thailand and Burma, it is still possible to find primitive tribes which have no contact with the outside world. This story was filmed on location with one of these tribes and even though some of the rites and ceremonies shown are perhaps gruesome, they are portrayed as they are actually carried out. Only the story is imaginary." We then see John take in a Thai kickboxing match where his girlfriend is so disgusted by what she sees, she leaves. After the match, John decides to get a drink at a local bar (look for prolific Italian producer Luciano Martino [SCREAMERS - 1979] as an uncredited extra), where some local takes exception to a white man drinking at his bar and he pulls out a switchblade. John takes the knife away and accidentally stabs the man in the stomach. John flees (What chance does a white man have with the local police?) and takes a trip down a river with his guide (he pays a local to tell no one where he has gone if they ask). One morning, John wakes up and discovers that his guide is dead on the bank of the river, his throat has been cut. He jumps in the river to retrieve the body and is captured by a tribe of people who have never seen a white man before. They start banging on a drum to communicate to their village and one tribesman goes to their leader, Lahuna (Ong Ard), and announces that they have caught a giant "fishman" (they have no idea what scuba gear is for). John is brought to the village, where he hangs in a net connected to a tree branch. John watches as second-in-command Tuan (Tuan Tevan) cuts out the tongues out of two tribesmen, members of the "Kuru" cannibal tribe, for eating human flesh (Tuan says, "Let this be a lesson to all other cannibal tribes!"). John is shocked by what he sees and calls this non-cannibal tribe "savages' (an alternate title for this film is DEEP WATER SAVAGES). Lahuna believes that John may be dangerous, but his beautiful daughter Maraya (Me Me Lai; JUNGLE HOLOCAUST - 1976; also starring Ivan Rassimov) pleads to her father to make him her slave ("He is not a fishman. He is only a man."). Tuan and some other male tribe members throw the "fishman" in the river and taunt him by throwing dead fish at him. Lahuna shows up and declares that John belongs to him. This pleases Maraya, but bothers male tribe member Karen (Sulallewan Suxantat). The next scene depicts Karen milking a cobra for its venom (but it will not be used on John). John is tied-up and only set free to do menial work around the village (Maraya orders Tuan to strip John naked and to put him to work in the river (trying to spear fish for dinner). John doesn't speak their language (At one point he yells out, "I'm a man, not a fish!), but an old woman named Taima (Prasitsak Singhara) speaks English, explaining to John that she was kidnapped by the tribe years before when she was walking in the jungle. Taima agrees to help John escape. When a tribesman is accidentally killed by a falling heavy idol, John watches a ritual where his body is burned and his wife is screwed by another tribesman, who claims her as his own (I guess women are left no time to grieve!). Taima believes this is the perfect time for John to escape, so he does, only to get caught by Karen, who challenges John to a fight to the death. John wins, stabbing Karen to death in the stomach with a spear (I guess this is John's preferred method of killing a man) and when the other tribe members want to kill John, Karen says with his dying breath, "No, he has won!" John sees a helicopter approaching and passes out when running towards it. When John wakes up, he finds that he has not been rescued. He is still a prisoner with the tribe. He is put on a spinning device in a hut, where his head is made immobile with a bamboo cage (this image is used in many of the posters for this film). As he spins slowly around the tribesmen use blowguns to shoot darts into John's torso. He is then left out in the blazing sun tied to a bamboo rack until Lahuna decides John has learned his lesson. John is now free to roam the village, where he watches Lahuna cut off the top of a monkey's head and feast on its brains (Is it real? It looked real to me. This was copied in the fake mondo film FACES OF DEATH - 1978.). John earns Lahuna's trust when he saves the life of a young choking boy by cutting his throat open and performing an emergency tracheotomy. Lahuna is so impressed that he makes John one of three me who are qualified to become Maraya's groom. Maraya is blindfolded and restrained naked while each of the three men take turns sticking their arm in a hole in a hut and feeling her up. She decides who is to become her groom by who made her feel the most like a woman! Of course, she picks John, they screw like rabbits and they fall in love. A few weeks later, Lahuna calls for John to come to his hut, where he announces that Maraya is pregnant. A happy John runs to Maraya and says, "It'll be a boy. My little black savage!" (!!!). Six months pass and John has taught Maraya English (he now understands their language). The village is attacked by members of the Kuru cannibal tribe. John witnesses one of them eating the flesh of a member of his adoptive tribe and he cuts out the cannibal's tongue (something he strongly protested when he was captured). Maraya is having serious medical issues with her pregnancy, so John decides that the only way to save his wife and child is to escape to civilization. Once again, he asks for Taima's help to escape, only when he does, the tribe is not so forgiving this time as we watch Tuan cut off Taima's hand on orders by Lahuna. They recapture John and Maraya, but don't punish either of them. Maraya is confined to her hut due to her medical condition (she goes blind). The entire Kuru cannibal tribe attack the village, burning down huts and killing Tuan, forcing John, Maraya, Lahuna and what's left of the tribe to flee into the jungle. Maraya dies giving birth to a healthy baby boy (she can't even see him). A helicopter appears overhead, but instead of running towards it, John runs away from it and tells the tribe to hide. John's life now is as a tribesman, as he tells everyone that they must rebuild the village. While there is precious little cannibalism (just quick shots of a cannibal eating a human arm and another ripping into a woman's breast), this film, directed by the prolific Umberto Lenzi (EYEBALL - 1975; CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD - 1980), contains copious nudity and scenes of real-life animal slaughter, including the monkey death, the gutting of a live alligator and a mongoose attacking a cobra (this is how the tribe entertains itself). Many of these scenes were incorporated into Lenzi's much more graphic cannibal film EATEN ALIVE! (1980). Compared to many other cannibal film that followed, SACRIFICE! (also released theatrically as THE MAN FROM DEEP RIVER by Joseph Brenner Associates. They also released it under the review title.) is surprisingly tame, considering the subject matter. Still, this is an interesting film, best viewed as a blueprint for the future cannibal films to come. Originally released on fullscreen VHS by Prism Entertainment (it was slightly edited) in the mid-'80s, with a widescreen uncut DVD from Shriek Show that followed in 2004 (both using the title THE MAN FROM DEEP RIVER). The Blu-Ray, from Raro Video, is the preferred way to watch this, if only for the 25-minute documentary "Cannibal World", where the late Umberto Lenzi talks about his career (he believes that ALMOST HUMAN [1974] is his best film [I agree] and that PARANOIA [1969] is better than SPASMO [1974; once again. I agree]). Also in the documentary is an interview with screenwriter Francesco Barilli (who co-wrote this film with Massimo D'Avack. They both wrote the screenply to the terrific giallo film WHO SAW HER DIE? - 1972), who says he based this film's premise on the Richard Harris western A MAN CALLED HORSE (1970) and that he wanted nothing to do with Ovidio G. Assonitis (MADHOUSE - 1981), who produced this film. But the most interesting aspect of this documentary is the interview with Me Me Lai, who talks about her career and offers no apologies about her many roles where she appeared completely nude (including this film). It's refreshing to hear a beautiful woman (she still looks great) have no regrets about her career. As a matter of fact, Ms. Lai seems to enjoy all the attention she has received and has nothing but good things to say about Lenzi. Sometimes the extras are more informative than the film itself, which is the case here. That's not to say that this is a badly-made or boring film. It's not. Be aware that if you have an all-region Blu-ray player and you are thinking about purchasing the Region B disc from British label 88 Films, it is missing 3 minutes of footage, but is strong on extras. Also starring Pipop Pupinyo (H-BOMB - 1973), Prapas Chindang, Song Suanhud and Chit & Choi as the two cannibals that have their tongues removed. Not Rated.

While it's certainly an attempt to transpose "A Man Called Horse" to a more modern period and a different type of wilderness, it's a very good flick in it's own right and historically important. All of the trademarks of the Italian cannibal "filone" (trend) are already here, including the violence (sexual and animal and of any other sort, in the same measure) only a few years earlier. However, as opposed to Cannibal Holocaust, the epitome of the genre and itself the granddad of the immensely popular "found footage" genre, it's not all the inevitably fatal clash between the savage and the civilized world in an increasing display of brutality and nihilism. Human nature is represented in a brighter and more nuanced light, the characters are multi- dimensional and evolving and, therefore, the violence stroke me as bizarre rather than morbid, like with most cannibal films. Is not all an endurance test! I found myself asking honestly what I would do in some of the places and situations rather than judging outright and, surprisingly, much beauty to the craft and dedication into creating a quality rather than purely exploitative experience. I credit the excellent, if reasonably derivative, script by Francesco Barilli and Massimo D'Avack, who produced what is also in my opinion another masterpiece: The Perfume of the Lady in Black. Like with most films with this level of violence and rawness, the music was delightfully "inappropriate" in places (especially the beautiful lounge piece with which it opens). I appreciate the authenticity of the settings, the crafty photography and the outgoing and brave performances. In my book, this is only second to Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust, which is probably THE ultimate horror film, a genre which I prefer over any other and Man From Deep River is not, except in certain places. A couple of details are worth noticing. The "body count" is as high and "creative" as it is in most Slasher-Giallo- Cannibal movies and don't forget a certain sequence that takes place in a bar, shortly after the beginning, while watching the rest of the movie. It's a seemingly small detail that adds a touch of redemption to the resilience morale this story imports from A Man Called Horse, which makes all the difference in the world to me.

The birth of the bloody and controversial Italian Cannibal sub-genre starts here, with this notorious 1972 Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferox, Nightmare City) directed survivalist shocker, presented in its completely uncut, outrageously violent version. Sacrifice! (aka The Man From Deep River, Deep River Savages) stars Euro legend Ivan Rassimov (veteran of films by Mario Bava, Lamberto Bava, Sergio Martino... pretty much everyone) as photographer John Bradley, who ventures into the heart of Thailand s jungles and is kidnapped by a ruthless native tribe. As Bradley fights for his life, he eventually catches the eye of the Chief s daughter ( Me Me Lai - never more beautiful- who also appears Lenzi's 1980 gut-muncher Eaten Alive!) and, after marrying her, and after several bouts of brutality, eventually wins the natives respect. Complications arise, however, when the neighboring clan, a horde of bloodthirsty, flesh-hungry cannibals, begin sniffing around, licking their lips at the sight Bradley and his newly conquered tribe mates... Taking its cues from Gualitiero Jacopetti's hugely popular Mondo Cane films and its many imitators as well as Elliot Silverstein's similarly plotted hit A Man Called Horse, Lenzi's paean to primitive pain was branded a Video Nasty in the UK due to its relentless brutality, disturbing scenes of cannibalism and upsetting sequences of real-life animal death. Less exploitative than Ruggero Deodato s Cannibal Holocaust and Lenzi's own Cannibal Ferox but no less intense, Sacrifice! While enjoyable for fans of the genre - or just plain weird - this films historical influence cannot be overstated. Special features: Documentary Cannibal world (Mondo Cannibale) 25 minutes. Excellent - features most of the cast and crew. A fully illustrated booklet. New HD transfer looks fantastic. New and improved English subtitle translation. (Choice of English or Italian audio.) Aspect-ratio: 2.35:1

This is possibly one of my favorite films. The scenery and the whole story is awesome. And finally getting a blu ray release makes it alto better to view. 93 minutes uncut. Check this one out on blu ray. Still keeping my shriek show copy, but I'm glad this film finally got an outstanding release. And the director and producers couldn't of picked a better actor to play the role of John Bradley, Ivan Rassimov (rip) one of the best actors in Italian cinema and Meme lai also.

Uncut at last on bluray Picture is decent it is HD not an SD upconvert and sound is what I expected I am happy with the purchase 88 films has a good release as well but it is cut so that is a no buy from me period.

A competent presentation of an incredible film. This title definitely appeals to a very specific audience. If you're looking for a summer blockbuster, a Cannibal Ferox, or even something like Green Inferno, you're likely to be disappointed. That said, there wouldn't be a Cannibal Ferox or Green Inferno for you to watch if it wasn't for Sacrifice. I think the film deserves a spot in every horror/exploitation fan's collection because of the this alone.

Awesome edition from raro video looks beautiful in 2k in my 4k player. The earliest "cannibal" film in existence. Recommended to any horror film fan and Romance lovers I'm not kidding.