''The Cannibal Man'' (Spanish ''La Semana del asesino'', literally "Week of the Killer") is a 1972

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

, directed by Eloy de la Iglesia and written by de la Iglesia and Antonio Fos. Despite the international title, the film contains no scenes of

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

. The film is also known as ''The Apartment On The 13th Floor''. The film was featured on the British

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

' list of " Video Nasties".

Plot

After accidentally killing a taxicab driver, Marcos (

Vicente Parra Vicente Parra Collado (5 February 1931 – 2 March 1997) was a Spanish actor. Early career Born in Oliva (Valencia), in a lower-class family, he began his career at a young age in the theater. He formed part of a number of theatrical companie ...

), a young man who works as a butcher, wants to cover up his crime. Marcos's girlfriend Paula ( Emma Cohen), the only witness, wishes to go to the police, so he strangles her. Marcos finds himself killing others, including members of his family, as they become suspicious of his actions, butchering his victims' remains at his workplace in order to dispose of the bodies.

Background

TV Guide opined that "this bloody, politically inflected drama is not at all what the exploitative English-language title suggests. ..Though the US title suggests a zombie gut-cruncher and the marketing campaign was designed to make Eloy de la Iglesia's film look like a ''

Last House on the Left ''The Last House on the Left'' is a 1972 American exploitation horror film written, directed and edited by Wes Craven in his directorial debut. The film follows Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody), a hippie teenager who is abducted, raped, and t ...

'' (1972) knock-off, ''The Cannibal Man'' is both a study of an apparently ordinary person spiraling into madness and a slyly satirical evocation of life in Spain under the oppressive

Franco regime Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

Cast

as Marcos * Emma Cohen as Paula * Eusebio Poncela as Néstor * Vicky Lagos as Rosa * Lola Herrera as Carmen * Charly Bravo as Esteban * Fernando Sánchez Polack as Señor Ambrosio * Goyo Lebrero as Taxista *

Ismael Merlo Ismael Merlo (1 September 1918 – 10 September 1984) was a Spanish actor. He appeared in 82 films and television shows between 1941 and 1984. He starred in the 1966 film ''La caza'', which won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 16th ...

as Jefe de personal * Rafael Hernández as Agustín * as Tendero *

Valentín Tornos Valentín Tornos López (4 January 1901 – 19 September 1976) was a Spanish film and television actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium ...

as Obrero * Antonio Orengo as Camarero * Antonio Corencia as Obrero burlón *

Antonio del Real Antonio del Real is a Spanish film director, actor and screenwriter. Partial filmography Director * '' El río que nos lleva'' (1989) * '' Cha-cha-chá (1998) * '' Mujer de mi vida, La'' (2001) * '' Trileros'' (2003) * '' Desde que amanece apete ...

as Obrero burlón

Critical reception

PopMatters called the film "a refreshing forgotten gem".

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...

called it "an extremely well-made Euro thriller with welcome social commentary and subtext. Suspenseful, disturbing and graphically violent, the film succeeds in its depictions of both physical and psychological horror."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannibal Man, The 1972 films Films directed by Eloy de la Iglesia 1972 horror films Spanish horror thriller films Fratricide in fiction Films about cannibalism Video nasties 1970s slasher films Films shot in Madrid Spanish slasher films