Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (aKa Trap Them and Kill Them) is a 1977 cannibal film directed by Joe D’Amato (Antropophagus, Absurd, Beyond the Darkness, Tough to Kill & various Black Emanuelle films). D’Amato directed 5 different films in the Black Emanuelle series, this was the 4th one. The other productions were Emanuelle in Bangkok, Emanuelle in America, Emanuelle Around the World, & Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade. Jungle Holocaust came out that same year & it was successful so it inspired D’Amato to rip it off & add his own twist to the cannibal sub-genre. Joe D’Amato loved to mix sex & horror, he did it many times during his career. Some those of projects included 1980’s Erotic Nights of the Living Dead & 1981’s Porno Holocaust.
Photojournalist Emanuelle (played by: Laura Gemser from the Black Emanuelle series, Erotic Nights of the Living Dead, The Dirty Seven, & Invaders of the Lost Gold) is always looking for the next story at her New York’s Evening Post job. She’s undercover as a patient to expose the treatment at the mental hospital. A strange incident occurs which brings her focus on a disturbed girl there. She finds out she was living in the Amazon. She looks into the girl’s tattoo which gives her a clue on where she came from. She was raised by the Apiaca, a tribe of cannibals that everyone thought were extinct for the last 50 years. This leads her to a completely different story. She asks anthropologist Professor Mark Lester (played by: Gabriele Tinti from The Flight of the Phoenix, The Seventh Sword, EndGame, & Lisa and the Devil) for help with tracking down everything for this new scoop. When they arrive, they end up getting assistance from a variety of different people which include Reverend Wilkes (played by: Geoffrey Copleston from The Black Cat, Robot Jox, & The Pit and the Pendulum). Isabelle (played by: Mónica Zanchi from Zombi 2, Hitch-Hike, Very Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind, & Eyes Behind the Wall), Sister Angela (played by: Annamaria Clementi from Cindy’s Love Games, Pleasure Shop on the Avenue, & Operation Orient), Donald Mackenzie (played by: Donald O’Brien from Doctor Butcher M.D., New Gladiators, The Four of the Apocalypse, The Inglorious Bastards, Hands of Steel, & Ghosthouse), Maggie (played by: Nieves Navarro from A Pistol for Ringo, Naked Violence, Death Walks on High Heels, All the Colors of the Dark, & Death Walks at Midnight), & a few others on their journey into this unknown territory. As the group gets deeper into their investigation in the jungle it gets more dangerous for them. Can they survive what they are looking for? Is the truth worth their existence?
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals almost feels like 2 different films in one. It starts out with your usual Laura Gemser soft core porn effort. The first half features lots of sexy time & it has more of a normal vibe to it. Soon after they get to the Amazon, it takes a much darker turn to the story. As expected like other films from the cannibal sub-genre it gets very graphic & gruesome when the characters get further in the jungle. They get lost from their own reality to something they really don’t understand. One of my favorite moments was when the ape was smoking a cigarette & trying to put on glasses. It lightened up the viewing for a few minutes. Eventually both sides of Joe D’Amato gets mixed here. It works out pretty good & you end up with a different spin on a familiar exploitation & grindhouse favorite. I always thought the Black Emanuelle universe was more interesting when it took a different turn to something more gruesome. It added more depth & suspense to the scoop that inspired everything. Just imagine the other scenarios Laura Gemser could have got into late 70s or early 80s if Joe D’Amato pushed the character even further after this crazy situation. The Last Cannibals doesn’t get mentioned enough when it comes to these type of films. Severin Films has been on fire lately when it comes to recent titles upgraded to blu ray, keep up the great work! This comes highly recommended!!!!
It took 7 years for Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals to be released in America under the title Trap Them and Kill Them on VHS from Twilight Video. It also got a VHS release from Twisted Dreams Home Video. It was promoted strictly as a horror film but you know it was much more than that. That’s probably why both of those VHS tapes were hard to find back in the day. 19 years later, it finally got a bigger release here on DVD from Shriek Show. 15 years after that, you get the best possible release ever for this film from Severin Films on blu ray! It’s had a difficult & delayed history on home video but the wait is finally over. This new high definition (1.85:1) transfer is from a 2K scan of original 35mm elements. It’s fully restored & uncut unlike any other previous release. If you are a fan of this feature you know it’s never been a perfect looking film. Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals will never be reference quality but this release from Severin Films is definitely highest detail you will ever experience it in. It’s way ahead of the past & it’s the only version you need to own now! Two DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 tracks are featured on this disc. Both English & Italian with subtitles included. Both sound good & have no issues during the running time. These older Italian films have top notch soundtracks & scores, those are usually the highlights on the audio tracks for me.
Severin Films really made sure to make this a quality release with all the new special features they provided for this. The 27 minute “The World of Nico Fidenco” is a discussion with the composer. He talks about various moments & highlights during his career. He goes into great detail about everything. He was an assistant director before doing music. Almost 23 minute “A Nun Among the Cannibals” is a chat with actress Annamarie Clementi. She talks about how she started out in the film industry. She talks about her experience on this film. Almost 19 minute “Dr. O’Brien MD” is a conversation with Donald O’Brien. He brings up his early theater experience. He talks about moving around for various jobs. He mentions his role on The Train which created more opportunities for him as an actor. He chats about going to Italy to make all kinds of films & how he loved it over there. Almost 19 minute “From Switzerland to Mato Grosso” with Monika Zanchi, she discusses her life before acting. She brings up her working experience on Hitch-Hike & Sister Emanuelle. She also chats a little bit about this film. She STILL looks great after all these years! The 11 minute “I Am Your Black Queen” is an archival audio interview with the legendary star Laura Gemser. She talks about her modeling days. She chats about her first film experience on Free Love. Which leads to talking about Black Emanuelle.& Black Cobra. She has a funny little story about the last one. She discusses about her getting naked on film & being embarrassed doing lesbian scenes. All these extras include English subtitles. Last not least, you get the theatrical trailer. This comes out everywhere next week but it’s also available in a limited edition deluxe bundle directly from Severin Films @ https://severin-films.com/shop/laura-gemser-deluxe-bundle/
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