Cannibals, Cultural Poofterism, and Shocking Asians

On a recent shoot in Australia I picked up a copy of Cannibal Holocaust (Siren Visual). I'm a bit of a completist where this film is concerned, so it made sense to pick up a version from my mother country. In the past, it was impossible to acquire a legit, uncut DVD or VHS of the film because it was banned in Australia until 2009.

The cover art, which takes a more subtle route than the American DVD, impressed me. I like the graphic treatment of the inner sleeve art, too.

Thankfully, it's now available uncut.

The passing of the film uncut represents a positive shift in film censorship in Australia (they call it "classification", but they're in denial), and leaves one troubling area of confusion for the censorship gestapo. That area is hardcore pornography and violence. Although hardcore is available for sale and rental in the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), where, ironically, Australia's lawmakers are based, it is still not legally available in any of the States. That's one issue.

But the most pressing issue is the confusion in current law arising from strict censorship guidelines which dictate that graphic depictions of sexuality are not to appear in filmed or videotaped works also depicting violence of any sort. This silly law, which is often interpreted literally, prohibits the showing of a film that features a hardcore sex scene and, for example, a scene in which a man or woman is stabbed. The stabbing need not be part of the sex scene itself.

The original intent of the law -- ushered in by cultural poofters who fear their own shadows -- was to ban films featuring graphic sexual violence, but the lazy, loose wording of the legislation has created more problems than solutions.

The recent banning of LA Zombie in Australia (see previous blog) is a typical example of this confusion. The inconsistency of its application is demonstrated by the censors' tacit approval of Lars Von Trier's AntiChrist, a film featuring hardcore sex and -- yes, you guessed it! -- VIOLENCE

Cultural Poofterism will suck the cock of Lars (a straight man), but it will not give LA Zombie's Bruce La Bruce (a gay man) a DECENT reach-around. That's very confusing. And not at all charitable.

Shocking Asia I and II (Stomp) are also old favorites of mine. When I worked as a VHS dubber in the mid-80's, I dubbed thousands of copies of both films for K-Tel Video, the Australian distributor.

Also available in the US from Synergy, the source for these releases seems to be the same old 1" masters that I threaded up onto massive Ampex tape machines.

Watching the film/s again, I discovered that I still like Shocking Asia I quite a bit and find the music just as memorable and catchy as ever.

Shocking and Sexy Ad Mat Attack!

Sometimes there is truth in advertising. When I first discovered the Asia I love, I could not have described it more aptly than the copy above. With the advent of the internet, Asia's exotic cultural treasures have become even more apparent.

I first encountered Shocking Asia when I was a night dubber of VHS videos in the mid-80's. Our biggest client was K-Tel Video, and, oh boy!, did K-Tel have some fan-tastic titles.

The moment I looked up from my tape checking and saw a wrestling dwarf sliding across a canvas on his forehead, I was hooked on this goodness. The film also featured a visit to a Japanese sex museum, victims of leprosy (a favorite disease of Mondo filmmakers), a sex change operation, and the piercings and stabbings of sacred flesh.

To make matters even juicier, the Shocking Asia score is bombastic and catchy, a rousing celebration of all that is weird and wonderful in our world.

Absolutely one of my favorite Mondo movies, and if you want to see even more of the same, pick up Shocking Asia 2. Both have just been released (together) in Australia on DVD.


Although titled Zombie in the U.S., it was titled Zombie Flesh Eaters in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Was that because zombies were less understood outside North America?

"What in the blazers is this Zombie flick about, mate?" went the conversation (perhaps).

"Got me buggered, mate. Wouldn't know."

"Then take a look at it, ya bludger. We're releasing it next week."

One day later:

"So, mate, did ya get a chance to take a gander at that Zombie picture?"

"Yeah, mate, I did. Not bad. Not bad at all."

"What was it about, mate?"

"Well, mate, these zombies eat human flesh. One even eats a bloody shark."

"Strewth! A shark?! Ya fuckin' kiddin'?!"

"No, mate. Takes a big bloody bite out of it while some bird's swimmin' around starkers."

"Fuck me drunk! Sounds like a bloody good show."

"Too right, mate. They'll be chunderin' in the aisles with this one."

"But we can't just call it Zombie."

"The Yanks called it that."

"Yeah, but the Septics are into that weird shit."

"So what are we gonna call it?"

"Fucked if I know."

"You can't call it that, Cobber."

"Shut up! Alright. How about we call it Zombie Flesh Eaters?"

"What for?"

"Because that's what they do, isn't it, dickhead?"

"Yeah."

"Then that's what we'll call it. We don't want punters getting confused."

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course I'm fuckin' right. I'm the boss!"

Employee looks defeated.

Boss nudges him.

"Hey, why the long face?"

"I don't know. I was gonna suggest Jaws 4 -- Zombie Casserole"

Boss thinks for a moment, then looks at Employee:

"You idiot."

They retire to the pub for a beer.

***

It was a masterful stroke adding Island of the Fishmen to the drive-in bill (I raved about this like a lunatic in a previous blog).

This is how I saw Zombie for the first time. Unfortunately, it was cut to smithereens, but that didn't stop me loving every magical minute of it, including, of course, the opening with the fat zombie (who, by the way, is interviewed on one of the special edition DVD's), and a cut version of the eye splintering.

Censorship of horror films in Australia was at plague levels in the 70's and 80's.

Even now, the government is trying to enact a Draconian censorship regime of "forbidden" internet sites.

Great film, average poster.

An odd Aussie film that attempted to capitalize on the success of War Games.

Draping a woman across a computer console seemed like a good idea at the time, I guess, because Michael Crichton's Looker did it.

Ultimately, rather undercooked genre piece, and would have been better if it borrowed from Demon Seed instead.

Mary Higgins Clark's effective suspense novel was reduced to cliches by Sean Cunningham. Not a terrible film, but not particularly successful, either, in achieving its goals. Rip Torn, however, is good as the killer, and the subterranean setting is atmospheric.

The Fan was based on a novel I liked of the same name. The film is boring.

Director/Producer Arthur Davis was an international sales agent who bought and sold films in Asia.

Nice to see Riz Ortolani getting first credit on the poster.

As many will remember, Riz composed the score for Mondo Cane, the film that kick-started the Mondo genre, and grandfathered Reality TV.