Antropophagus (1980)

Director:

Joe D'Amato

Writers:

Joe D'Amato (writer)
George Eastman (writer)

Release Date:

9 October 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

...He's coming for you

Plot:

A group of tourists become stranded on an uninhabited island where they are stalked by an insane, violent, and grotesque killer that slaughtered the town's former residents.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Tourist | Boat | Mansion | Killer

Cast

Tisa Farrow	...	Julie
Saverio Vallone	...	Andy
Serena Grandi	...	Maggie (as Vanessa Steiger)
Margaret Mazzantini	...	Henriette 'Rita' (as Margaret Donnelly)
Mark Bodin	...	Daniel
Bob Larsen	...	Arnold
Rubina Rey	...	Irina Karamanlis
Simone Baker	...	First Victim
Mark Logan	...	Second Victim
George Eastman	...	Nikos Karamanlis
Zora Kerova	...	Carol
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joe D'Amato	...	Bearded man exiting the cable car (uncredited)
Carolyn De Fonseca	...	Julie (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Ted Rusoff	...	Andy (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Susan Spafford	...	Maggie (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Pat Starke	...	Carol (voice: English version) (uncredited)

Directed by
Joe D'Amato

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Joe D'Amato		writer (as Aristide Massaccesi)
George Eastman		writer (as Louis Montefiori)

Produced by
Joe D'Amato	....	producer
George Eastman	....	producer
Edward L. Montoro	....	executive producer: Film Ventures International
Oscar Santaniello	....	producer

Original Music by
Marcello Giombini

Cinematography by
Enrico Biribicchi

Film Editing by
Ornella Micheli

Set Decoration by
Ennio Michettoni

Costume Design by
Ennio Michettoni

Makeup Department
Pietro Tenoglio	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Tommaso Pantano	....	production supervisor
Oscar Santaniello	....	production manager

Camera and Electrical Department
Antonio Benetti	....	still photographer
Enrico Biribicchi	....	camera operator
Enzo Frattari	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Bruno Micheli	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Giovanni Ferrucci	....	production secretary
Daniele Tommaso	....	continuity
Walter Zoi	....	administrator

Production Companies

• Filmirage
• Produzioni Cinematografiche Massaccesi (PCM) International

Distributors

• Cinedaf (1980) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Film Ventures International (FVI) (1981) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Eurogroup (1982) (France) (theatrical)
• Filmhansa (1981) (West Germany) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Cinépix Film Properties (CFP) (1982) (Canada) (theatrical) (Québec)
• Monterey Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Fries Entertainment (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Astro Distribution (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• Big Fish (2005) (Italy) (DVD) (uncut)
• Cinefear (????) (USA) (video)
• Hollywood DVD Ltd. (????) (UK) (DVD) (as "The Grim Reaper")
• Media Blasters (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Shriek Show (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Threat Theatre (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Alsen (????) (Greece) (VHS)
• Video Film Promotions (VFP) (????) (UK) (VHS) (Betamax) (as "Anthropophagous: The Beast")
• Video Shack Productions (????) (UK) (VHS) (as "Anthropophagous: The Beast")

Also Known As:

Anthropophagous: The Beast (UK) (video title)
Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper (USA) (DVD box title)
Antropofago (Italy)
Man Beast
The Beast (UK) (video title)
The Grim Reaper (USA) (censored version)
The Savage Island
The Zombie's Rage (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

90 min | USA:87 min (R-rated version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | UK:18 (heavily cut) | Norway:(Banned) | UK:(Banned) (1984-2002) | USA:R (heavily cut) | USA:Unrated (uncut) | Italy:VM18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:(Banned) | Chile:14 (uncut DVD version) | Spain:18 | Argentina:18 | Hong Kong:III | Australia:R | France:-16 | Singapore:PG | Canada:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company:

Filmirage

Trivia:

German Import DVD has a Super-8mm Version (German language only), as a special feature on the disc.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Nikos (2003) (V)

Generally despised and loathed "video nasty". I liked it.

Well, I FINALLY got to see this infamous shocker after hearing about it for years. 'Antropophagus' a.k.a. 'The Grim Reaper' is one of the most despised and loathed of all the so-called "video nasties", and director Joe D'Amato seems to be regarded as little more than a figure of fun for many. The people who hate this movie usually call it "boring", "dull", "too slow", and so on for the most part, and then complain about the bad taste of the two infamous gore scenes towards the end. One involving a pregnant woman, the other the killer. I won't go into any detail regarding either scene so as to not lessen their shock value. Now, the strange thing is I inadvertently watched the DVD of 'The Grim Reaper' which cut both of these scenes out, and while I was sorely disappointed not seeing them, I didn't find the rest of the movie dull at all. In fact I thought the movie managed to create quite an effective feeling of dread and suspense throughout. While I don't think the movie is as strong as Fulci's 'Zombie' (which also starred Tisa Farrow), I enjoyed it a lot more than say, 'Zombie Holocaust', which is generally rated higher by many hard core horror fans. So make of that what you will. My advice though is try and see the original uncut 'Antropophagus' for maximum effect.