In the wild rainforests of Latin America, a gang of a former retired officer, and now a drug lord nicknamed El Fantasmo, operates, who subjugated the local aborigines and with their help brutally deals with unwanted accomplices. Several journalists fly in search of this man to interview him and immediately fall into a terrible whirlpool of violence and cruelty.
“Chop and run” can be considered a kind of last word Deodato in the genre of films about cannibals, because once he started all this Italian “cannibalistic” hysteria, which gave rise to the scandalous “Cannibal Hell” a number of sequels (even unofficial) and a huge number of imitation films. Here Ruggiero, however, a little turned from the path of naturalistic horrors in the direction of a kind of sloppy action movie with a lot of violence and violent scenes.
If the first part of “Hell” behind all the gore-effects contained a rather interesting morality that in the quest for civilization, people can be much more terrible than even the wildest primitive tribes, then “Shoot and Run” looks like just a very drive attraction, looking as if Coppola would get carried away and add to his cult “Apocalypse” more torn limbs and severed heads. Or if Cimino, in his Deer Hunter, decided to show the horrors of torture by the Viet Cong in all its glory. In addition to what I have shown, of course.
Already in the first ten minutes you will see a bright and spectacular massacre, with which the picture begins. Deodato does not ceremony with his viewer at all, which makes him a great honor - here you and cutting off limbs, and nudity on the verge of snuff porn, as well as raping a woman with the subsequent cutting off of her head. After such a prologue, you are preparing for a kind of Rambo on steroids, and indeed, similar episodes of Aboriginal raids on their enemies in the film are few, but they are all bright, eventful and frighten in their own way with naturalistic special effects.
The beginning of the picture is very similar in views in the frame and manner of shooting on the same "Hell of Cannibals", which, in general, is not surprising, since the tape can be considered a part of this sophisticated "cannibal universe", and of all the actors involved in the frame, I want to note, first of all, Michael Berriman - this unique (for the genre of horror, first of all, of course) with one of his appearance a person - undoubtedly, the decoration of any action movie, and when he picks up a cold weapon and begins to slice everyone on his way, as I already had a role in the hills, where he also has no price. Here his character is a faithful vassal of the main villain, and also a drive and coolly staged ending is associated with him.
The music in the film is chic and will get into the playlist of all fans of Italian soundtracks, which is not surprising, because the great Claudio Simonetti is at the helm here. Camera operator Alberto Spagnoli focuses on the massacre and relishes all the main episodes of the film. Of the minuses, I want to highlight only, except that, not at all charismatic main villain, in comparison with which even any other local evil aborigine is a real king of evil, as well as some slight drag in the middle of the film, as if the bit of madness that you usually expect from Deodato was a little lacking.
A wonderful film that will adorn the collection of connoisseurs of cannibals and brutal action films. The tape, which will be interesting for several categories of viewers at once, and even more so for those who are just starting to get acquainted in genre Italian cinema, because Deodato is undoubtedly one of his most high-profile names.
8 out of 10
Let's not pull Dinocrock by the tail - Ruggero Deodato slowed down, no matter how twisted. I don’t understand why the film “Red and Run” stuck in cannibal cinema, apparently only because of the name of the Director (once Deodato made two cannibal films).
And the strangest thing is that “Cut and Run” is far from horror. We have more adventure action movie (category B) with criminal notes than a horror movie. The tribes of the natives mainly play the role of some warriors-mercenaries (with the legendary Michael Berryman in the leaders, ie, they do not want to eat a little man.
The movie still smells like plagiarism, but I don't insist. This storyline of the colonel, who switched to the side of evil and settled in the jungle - does it remind you of anything? Coppola and his Apocalypse Now. True Deodato drips not so deeply, of course, tries to entertain (shooting and running from crocodiles).
You can watch it once, but I'm a little bored. You don't really care about heroes. Willie Ames (Buddy from Charles in Response) was overplaying. Why did Karen Black come to light? There's only Berryman left. Well, he's always cool.
Ruggero Deodato may have run out of steam. After all, the man (after “Cannibal Hell”) was dragged to the courts. The producers called, wanted to make money on another scandalous cannibal film, and Deodato waved away. As a result, he made “Shoot and Run”, which (according to some reports) still brought profit (and allowed Deodato to remove “Counter of Bodies”).
One or two brutal scenes, nothing more. But there are plenty of grumpy moments. If you have nothing to do, turn it on.
Initially, Wes Craven sketched the skeleton of the script for this film, but he did not get the proper support from the producers and left the project without leaving his name there. However, the idea was not wasted, because the Italian producer Alessandro Fracassi knew that his compatriots could easily remove such material on a small budget, making it cheap, but fun, because this is one of the features of the action film of Italy. The candidate for the director's chair was chosen quickly - Ruggero Deodato, who in productions about various cannibals and savages, sorry, ate the dog. He then evaded the offer to put a direct sequel to the hit “Cannibal Hell” and easily undertook to shoot something similar, satisfying the wishes of the producers, but a completely different story for himself. That any film director in the entourage of the jungle trying to squeeze into a franchise — marketing move, nothing can be done, and especially pay attention to it is not worth it.
Such a long backstory in the picture, but the essence is simple, like a tracing from many Italian thrillers, where there are necessarily people-savages on the face terrible and no less terrible inside. Deadly traps in the bushes, the cruel customs of the natives, huge snakes, voracious crocodiles, evil strangers, and other necessities will be in abundance, as in any other exploitative horror with savages. The script is palpably simple and the director clearly did not want to delve deeply into the clash of civilizations of jeans and loincloths, especially human souls, releasing the most terrible demons out when the law and generally accepted morality separate you from the vast jungle of the Amazon. In such a place, only conscience measured actions, but not everyone has it, and each has its limits. The plot war of drug cartels between each other, aggressive Indians, enlisted to them as ruthless soldiers with the habits of agile ninjas, kidnapped guys: a girl who is about to jump out of a T-shirt, and a guy with Mickey Mouse on a sweatshirt, a couple of journalists with a camera at a head and the slogan “Move, Bergman!” to get loud material from the most dangerous places, near the corpses gutted or malnourished by the beast – a condition for a large-scale adventure in dense tropical forests and whirlpoding waterfalls. Scenario master of various horror films Dardano Sachetti wrote full of bloody scenes and juicy shootouts, enhancing the feeling of a deadly chase non-stop, and maestro Claudio Simonetti composed an excellent drive musical motif, perfectly suited to the simple title of the picture. The English-language title “Shoot and Run” together with the Italian “Hell Live” can easily be considered a plot, because for the benefit of an exciting adventure with murders, shootouts and running, there reigns a plot confusion, giving simplifications with delusions, when the camera camera miraculously broadcasts directly from the scene to the television studio, and documentary journalists put work above the instinct of self-preservation. Boo!-effects resemble a grand piano in the bushes, which was hidden with bearish grace. However, it is unwise to expect anything more here, except for an international cast that pleases recognizable faces: the colorful Richard Lynch plays the main psychopath-drug dealer, waging a war with a colleague in diagnosis and profession played by John Steiner; Karen Black will be in the studio. Gabriele Tinty will be noted in the episode and for some reason without a wife, because the sin of the beautiful Laura Gemser to miss such a horror movie with an exotic nature; Michael Berryman got even from Craven, with whom he worked in a dilogy about “eyed hills” – an infinitely good-natured, childishly smiling actor with an appearance that is scarier than any makeup, traditionally acts as a villain, always waving a machete and jumping out from everywhere like a devil from a snuffbox. There will be others.
As a result, there was a light savage exploitation, in my opinion, which suits the face, because even no animal was injured in the frame and no girl was raped or eaten by the aborigines, which is still rare for this specific direction. The fighter is fast and loud, adventures are rich, the thriller is exciting, and the scripted simplicity with stupidity is compensated by pristine nature, wild and beautiful at the same time. It turned out quite a suitable option for viewing an action-packed entertaining picture in the late summer evening, when the heat outside the window slightly subsided, and small mosquitoes overhead can be imagined by Amazon mosquitoes.
6 out of 10
Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty.
Ruggero Deodato is a very specific director. He mixes many genres in his films and adds a shock context for the acuity of sensations, forcing especially impressionable viewers to turn away from what is happening on the screen, and people who are strong in the stomach and professional critics nod condescendingly and say that yes, there is something in Deodato’s creations. Whether the critics are right or not, it is up to you, dear viewer, and I will talk about the final film of the “trilogy of cannibals” in which Deodato tried to move away from the usual scheme for himself ... in vain he did it, oh in vain. One way or another, this is “Knife and Run.”
Two journalists dream of becoming famous and winning the Pulitzer Prize. To this end, the heroes prepare a report on drug dealers. The case is certainly dangerous, but do not worry about our heroes because they are completely devoid of both reason and instinct for self-preservation, and therefore hire a private plane and go to the lair of drug dealers that are somewhere in the jungles of Latin America, in order to interview the elusive head of the drug cartel “Ghost”, and if possible, then find his colleague, who is the son of wealthy parents and for whose life is owed a solid jackpot. I would point out what our heroes were wrong, but alas, they only need a head to eat in it, and therefore they would not listen to me. When they arrive, they realize that wandering in the jungle is not the same as going for a walk in the woods. There is always someone killing, cutting and eating. There is danger at every step. But does that stop our heroes? Oh no, because fools do not know fear, and therefore grief journalists go deeper and further into the jungle and most likely they will disappear there. What do you say? I'll take the road!
You know, there's a pattern that if there's three or more people in charge of a horror movie, it's usually not good. Why? Well, look, each of the writers tries to pull the blanket over themselves and add their "interesting" ideas to the film without caring about the integrity of the picture. Naturally, this cup did not bypass our present guest, for there is no central idea in the picture. The clash of civilization? Nope. Because most of the film shows us impassibly stupid main characters, and drug dealers that die like flies, and as for the natives, they only do what they rape and kill. Very informative. A "ghost," a former military and now drug dealer, who manages to control a Papuan tribe and turns them into a force worth reckoning with? We won't know anything about him. Maybe the key idea is a rescue expedition? Emm, do you see what it is, the guy who wants to find journalists cares only about his own survival and he easily abandons his beloved to the mercy of fate, and he will not do anything like this in the film, and therefore there is a desire that this hero is not saved, but drowned in the nearest swamp. As a result, none of the three storylines were really revealed, and since then the story does not cause any feelings other than ever-increasing boredom.
Perhaps the heroes will save the situation? No, they won’t, because for the most part they play badly or don’t play at all. They do not react to a village full of mutilated corpses, although any other city dweller would run to nearby bushes to empty his stomach through his mouth. When snakes and crocodiles appear, the heroes incomprehensibly look at them for a minute, and then come to some conclusion begin to scream unnaturally. A heartbreaking picture, yes. Although one actor still pleased me and yes, it is about Michael Berryman. You know, this is not the first film with this actor that I watch and what is surprising is that no matter how insignificant the role of Michael Berriman is, and he plays with such dedication that he attracts attention to his person and becomes irrelevant, what the other characters do at this time, even if they juggle scorpions, and Berriman still does not overplay. An amazing person.
Summing up, I want to say that this is a very weak film in which there is no idea, the plot is present insofar as only the aforementioned Michael Berryman plays the actors. No, of course, the film has beautiful landscapes of the jungles of Latin America, which is the calling card of the director, but she better watch some BBC program, and this film is not worth your attention.
The latest film about the clash of civilizations from Ruggero Deodato
In the early 80s Ruggero Deodato was very overwhelmed by numerous lawsuits - the consequences of the film "Cannibal Holocaust". Meanwhile, he allowed himself to return for the last time to the topic of the clash of civilizations.
In 1985, the third part of his trilogy about cannibals – “Shoot and run” was released. As a special guest star announced the star of “the hills have eyes” Craven – Michael Berryman. Berryman is a bald and very scary cover type who looks a lot like football referee Collina.
However, it seems to me that this film had a completely different star - composer Claudio Simonetti (the same one who wrote music for the best films of Dario Argento). His music greatly enhances the cinema.
The plot of the film is more like “The Apocalypse of Our Days”. Coppola and “Goodbye, King” Milius, rather than traditional films about cannibals: In Latin America lives a former American officer who fought in Vietnam and then engaged in drug trafficking. After being abandoned by friends, he establishes a community consisting of a militant tribe. In order to interview him, an American journalist and cameraman go to the jungle. they regularly make reports - live broadcasts from the jungle. The plot is further enhanced by the fact that a rich father is looking for his son, a prisoner of one of the camps in the jungle.
As in every film of the “cannibalistic” trilogy of Deodato, there will be a lot of violence, savages, representatives of flora and fauna, as well as drug dealers.
In my opinion, this is the last serious work of Ruggero Deodato. Later he shot a very average genre film.
Probably, the cannibal trilogy and all subsequent trials took too much energy. To be fair, after “Cannibals Holocaust” and “House on the Edge of the Park” he rather inertia made two good films (" Predators of Atlantis and “Shoot and Run”), and then the inspiration probably left him. However, in 2012, “House on the Edge of Park -2” comes out and it is likely to expect a revival in his work.
In the end: noteworthy film, in which Deodato again raises the topic of violence, jungle and clash of civilizations. The truth of violence in the film will be significantly less than in the first two films of the trilogy. Moreover, not even a single animal will die in the frame.