Ruggero Deodato’s classic 1980 cult horror film Cannibal Holocaust remains the only one worthy of being called a video nasty. Even for strong-hearted horror fans it is a truly challenging experience, not to mention being the first to exploit the found footage idea in a modern film. However, its plot is quite ingenious for a film of its ilk, and one that makes you think about what you are viewing. Inevitably, during that introductory high of the emerging video cassette market, there were a fair amount of imitators that fans of the early 80s video store would seek out in the UK pre-regulation, perhaps confused by friends who said it was Deodato’s film, rather than the one they paid a couple of quid to rent – and so it goes with the 1980 French attempt Cannibal Terror, which did find its way onto the DPP list at the time.

A trio of petty thieves, two male and one female, kidnap the daughter of a rich couple and promptly find themselves on a plane near the border where their guide, Mickey, informs them that the area is also a haven for cannibals. Mickey drives them to a save haven run by gangster Don Antonio but, on the way, the vehicle’s radiator overheats. She goes off to get water, only to be kidnapped herself and turned into Pepperami by the cannibal tribe she mentions. Clearly, there is more to this so-called safe haven than meets the eye.

A kidnap plot coupled with a fight to survive against the primitive forces in the jungle makes a very tasty concept, and given that this film was made around the same time as Cannibal Holocaust would, in the right hands, have made a suspenseful (and perhaps equally notorious) effort.

Unfortunately, Cannibal Terror is not that film, and remains one of the sorts of films that Mary Whitehouse and co used to fret about back in the day when these films seemed a lot more real and shocking to the tabloids. As time marches on, we see clearly beyond the notoriety and into the heart of the what the film is really trying to say.

The filmmakers felt that plopping some admittedly bloody gore effects here and there, whilst throwing in the obligatory naked shower scene, would have invited enough punters to watch. Throwing in a few inserts of monkeys and birds in trees do not a good cannibal movie make, either. Add a shoddily-edited and staged final battle sequence between man and cannibal, and you definitely hope that these cretins are served up for sacrifice.

It’s not the best remastering of an old film and the dirt from the original 35mm can be glimpsed at times, as well as the cue dots signifying the change of reel (which strangely here can be seen at the bottom, rather than top, right of the screen).

However, there is a redeeming extra on the Blu-ray, a 47-minute documentary called That’s Not The Amazon! that assesses the history of production company Eurocine’s exploitation history in the context of the Deodato and Umberto Lenzi’s Cannibal Ferox, as well as Jess Franco’s own creative output. It certainly gives Cannibal Terror some foundation, but it is still a shame that such a great and informative extra should be on a sub-standard horror film. Still, if you want to learn more about it, then purchase Cannibal Terror for that purpose alone.

CANNIBAL TERROR / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: ALAIN DERUELLE / STARRING: SILVIA SOLAR, GERARD LEMAIRE, PAMELA STANFORD, OLIVER MATHOT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW