the plot: In New York City, the police and a pair of mafia goons are hot on the trail of Mike Logan (Radice), a small-time pusher and all-around rake. But neither side of the law realizes that Logan is far away in the Amazon jungle. While on the run from a native tribe he claims is cannibalistic, Logan and his friend Joe meet up with a trio of young American explorers. Gloria Davis (De Selle), her brother Rudy (Mattei) and friend Pat (Kerova) came to the jungle as part of Gloria’s work on a doctoral thesis about the myth of cannibalism. Logan claims that he, Joe and a third man were searching for an emerald mine when the cannibal tribe captured and tortured them. However, as the group continues on in the jungle, Gloria and Rudy become suspicious of Logan, even as Pat begins to fall for him. When Logan runs off after brutally killing a native girl, Joe reveals that he and Logan were never captured by the natives and that Logan himself was responsible for a string of barbaric acts. That revelation comes too late, as the vengeful tribe of natives catches up with the group and shows that there is no mercy to be found in the jungle.

why its good: Allegedly banned in 31 countries (though this claim is dubious, at best), “Cannibal Ferox” is one of the more notorious films to come out of the “cannibal boom” found in Italian exploitation cinema in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Though not as gory and cruel as “Cannibal Holocaust,” its well-known 1980 predecessor, “Ferox” is still pretty terrible in just about every way you can imagine. Eyes are plucked out, arms chopped off and genitals severed with reckless abandon throughout “Ferox,” and the well-done make-up and special effects, along with Lenzi’s documentary-style shooting, make the horrific proceedings seem very real. In a film whose climax includes a woman impaled on iron hooks being hung from a tree, subtlety is harder to find than a vegetarian cannibal, and “Ferox” is pretty upfront with its message that it’s the white folks—and not the jungle natives—who are responsible for all the brain eating and entrail feasting. Unfortunately, a few parts of the film are real, namely the handful of scenes that feature violence against animals. A pig and turtle are just two of the jungle critters that meet untimely fates in the movie, and so animal lovers are strongly advised to avoid “Ferox” at all costs. The cast wasn’t too happy with all the animal killing, either—Radice claimed in an interview that he regrets starring in the movie and actually tried to “avenge” the pig by almost cutting off the hand of the actor who killed it.

why you should own it: Here in the Video Vault, we can’t really imagine why anyone would want to own “Cannibal Ferox,” but hey, to each his own. Grindhouse Releasing’s 2006 DVD of “Ferox” includes commentary from Lenzi and Radice, a still gallery and theatrical trailers. Watch at your own risk.