Review #304: 'Devil Hunter' (1980)

Directed by exploitation hack Jesus Franco (or Jess if you are that way inclined), Devil Hunter is clearly a film that producers wanted made, jumping on the bandwagon of cannibal films after the success of Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust (1980). But this offering has no social or political points to make like Deodato's "classic" of the sub-genre. What Franco's cannibal film offers is a regular specific of the director. The films story (if we can call it that), is about a model and actress (Ursula Fellner) who is kidnapped and taken into the forests where she is tied to a tree, awaiting for the ransom to turn up. However, on this island, there is a strange, cannibal creature (a naked black guy with bloodied ping-pong balls for eyes that are stuck to the face using Play-Doh), roaming the forests eating women that have been offered by the tribal village.

The local tribe seem to worship the cannibal - they have a totem pole that seems to represent it. Basically, the entire film consists of the blonde model being captured and recaptured, and generally writhing about the ground naked, and usually being touched by naked tribal women. Devil Hunter is a serious bore. The entire experience makes no sense. It is simply a series of sequences involving pretty naked women.

Of course, if you are aware of Franco's main output (i.e. lesbian vampires etc - he also made many hard-core porn movies), and his lack of practice for coherent narrative, then you will know what to expect. There are many fans of his often camp work. His lesbian vampire films that he made in France are pretty well-known, and it would not be uncommon to find one shown on TV (Vampiros Lesbos (1970) and A Virgin Amongst the Living Dead (1971) to name just two). On the plus side (if you love the nudity aspect of the film making), the lead actress is incredibly stunning. This however, doth not maketh the movie!


Directed by: Jess Franco
Starring: Ursula Buchfellner, Al Cliver, Antonio Mayans
Country: Spain/France/West Germany

Rating: *

Marc Ivamy