A photographer on assignment in the rain forest is ambushed and held slave by a primitive tribe, until the chief’s daughter chooses him as her groom. After being initiated by various tortures, he becomes a part of the tribe and helps them against modern dangers and a cannibal tribe they’re at war with.

Il paese del sesso selvaggio (1972)
  • Rating: (769 votes)
  • Taglines:See! The Torture That Makes a Modern Man Defenseless! » See! The Ritual That Frees a Woman to Love Again! »
  • Runtime:93 minutes
  • Director: Umberto Lenzi
  • Country:Italy
  • Actors:
    John Bradley
    Ivan Rassimov
    Marayå (as Me Me Lay)
    Me Me Lai
    Taima
    Prasitsak Singhara
    Karen
    Sulallewan Suxantat
    Lahuna
    Ong Ard
    Chuan
    Prapas Chindang
    Mihuan
    Pipop Pupinyo
    Tuan
    Tuan Tevan
    Cannibal
    Chit
    Cannibal
    Choi
  • Genres:Adventure, Drama, Horror
  • Producers:
    Ovidio G. Assonitis
    producer  
    Giorgio Carlo Rossi
    executive producer  
  • Plots: A photographer on assignment in the rain forest is ambushed and held slave by a primitive tribe, until the chief's daughter chooses him as her groom. After being initiated by various tortures, he becomes a part of the tribe and helps them against modern dangers and a cannibal tribe they're at war with. Written by Anonymous
  • User's comment:Umberto Lenzi's first! by cannibalfilmfanatics

    Man From Deep River was the first in Umberto Lenzi's cannibal trilogy. Umberto says that this was the film the started the entire jungle cannibal sub-genre. The truth is it probably did a large part in inspiring the genre to grow, but it definitely wasn't the first of the cannibal genre. Man From Deep River is one of the most mild down films in this type of cinema. There is vary little action, violence, or gore in this film. None the less Man From Deep River is a classic film of this genre. This film is kind of pulled away from the traditions of the typical cannibal flick. Though cannibalism is a important part of this film the main focus is the relationship between our main character, John Bradley, and his love for a native named Maraya (played by Me Me Lai.)

    It all starts out in Southeast Asia were we meet our main character John Bradly, who we later find out is a photographer on assignment. Not much later he is being led down river into the deep jungles to take photos of his surroundings. Our photographer and his guide stay on the river for a couple days, but when our character decides to take a quick nap he soon finds himself in the hands of the jungle natives. He awakes to see his guide floating dead in the water, and when he swims closer to investigate he is captured in a type of netting and is carried to the tribe's village. He is then tied to high beams and beaten with sticks like a piñata.

    We soon find out that the tribe that Bradley is a prisoner of is at war with a cannibalistic tribe near by. Once Bradley is freed from the beams he must indoor several other dehumanizing acts brought upon him by the natives. It is not much time before an elderly women, who can speak English, and our young native played by Me Me Lai start to feel sympathetic for there tribes prisoner and do anything they can to help him. As expected Maraya, the young native begins to get the hots for her tribe's prisoner and she tries desperately to create a positive relationship with him. Later Bradley attempts to escape, but failed and was punished for his actions, by being tied to a rotating cross and have darts shot into his body repeatedly. Not much after that he gains the respect of the natives and soon marries Maraya.

    The first time I viewed this film I found it to be kind of dull, and hard to sit through, but I decided to give it another chance and watched it again. After my second viewing I grew to respect this film, and started to see the art in it. Sadly Man From Deep River is easily forgotten, and is often ignored by the fans of the jungle/cannibal genre. I think the reason for this is because it doesn't fit the stereo types of the typical cannibal flick. The violence is vary mild, and the films main tribe is not cannibalistic.

    Though this film is tame and not the typical blood bath, it is a must have for any collector of this genre. Man From Deep River is definitely a classic.


  • Quotes: John Bradley: I'm a human being, like you! I'm a man, not a fish! Taima: [to John Bradley] In three moons you man of tribe. You not to die because Maraya says not, even if little arrows cause you much pain.
  • Also known as: The Man from the Deep River (Argentina - imdb display title), The Man from the Deep River (International - English title), Au pays de l'exorcisme (France), Cannibalis: Au pays de l'exorcisme (France), Deep River Savages (Europe - English title), Mannen som kom med floden (Norway - video title), Mies syvästä joesta (Finland), Mondo Canibale - Die Insel der erregenden Liebesspiele (West Germany - trailer title), Mondo cannibale (West Germany), No País dos Canibais (Portugal - imdb display title), Sacrifice! (USA), Sfaxte tous kannivalous (Greece - reissue title), Voreia tou Bangkok (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title),

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