The Week of the Killer (1973)

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

In "The Cannibal Man", a young man accidentally kills a taxi driver after an argument about a fare. His girlfriend, witnessing the attack, is going to go to the police, so he has to take care of her as well. Questions are asked, and the body count rises."The Cannibal Man" has many touches typical of an exploitation movie. Firstly, the title it was given in the English-speaking world is a clear case of the producers attempting to mislead the potential audience into parting with their cash. There are no "cannibals" in the movie. Also, the movie has quite a bare-bones plot, which is ideal to prevent any distractions from its scenes of gore. One particularly memorable moment - generally displayed on the movie's case - depicts a meat cleaver sunk into somebody's face.It also has some aspects that are atypical of exploitation, however, and they're quite perplexing. For one, the movie is much better made than you might expect; this is no D'Amato or Schnaas grade-Z garbage (not that there's anything wrong with that). It's filmmaker, Eloy de la Iglesia, was nothing if not an auteur; kind of a Godard of the gutter.De la Iglesia was also openly gay, and this movie features a bizarre, homoerotic dalliance between the main character and someone he meets. Is the character supposed to be gay? Well, they never have sex, and there's a surprising lack of male nudity in the picture. De la Iglesia more than made up for that (for those that like that sort of thing) in later movies such as "El Sacerdote", but his chief sexual interest seemed to be boys, not men.What you end up with is a gore movie made by an auteur with a social conscience that doesn't quite come togetherand homoerotic touches that add nothing. Therefore, I think most people would find it a needless distraction. If you're looking for gore, this is one Video Nasty that you'll have to fastforward a few times to get to. If you're into social commentary about Franco-era Spain, I, for one, couldn't find any.

A butcher was just having a date with his girlfriend until he cause some problems with a Taxi driver then he kills him and his girlfriend, he is going over the brink of insanity. He now goes on a killing spree creating some serious crimes and stuffing some parts of the bodies into the meat factory where it can be processed into what we eat.Despite the title "Cannibal Man", it's not really about the man being a cannibal but it's really a psychological horror drama and a character study about a man who's been driven to the edge of his insanity. There is some shocking graphic murders which made this movie banned in other countries, the film is a sick and twisted look at a psychopath's mind with good acting and is very dark.Also recommended: "Maniac" ( 1980), "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Series & 2003 remake", "Caligula", "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", "High Tension", "American Psycho", "Driller Killer", "The New York Ripper", "Wolf Creek", "Eaten Alive! ( 1980)", "Cannibal Ferox", and "Jungle Holocaust" ( a.k.a. Last Cannibal World).

La Semana del Asesino which apparently translates into English as The Week of the Murderer, or the misleading & exploitative title of Cannibal Man as it's commonly known amongst English speaking audiences, starts in a slaughter house run by a company called 'Flory', we witness various cows having their throats slit, bleeding all over the shop & other gory establishing shots. We are introduced to one of the workers, Marcos (Vincente Parra) who has a crap job picking all the guts up & generally has a crap life living in an old house in one of the oldest districts in town. One night while out with his girlfriend Paula Marcos becomes involved in a fight with a taxi driver & ends up accidentally killing him. The next day Paula says they should go to the police & confess, an idea that Marcos is not keen on saying that the police will never believe them because he is poor & cannot afford an expensive lawyer. Paula says she will go to the police on her own at which point Marcos strangles her. Racked with guilt Marcos confesses all to his Brother Steve who also says he must tell the police, in no time whatsoever Marcos beats Steve to death with a wrench. Marcos continues to kill to keep his secret & has dug himself into a hole from which he sees only one escape, to dispose of the evidence at the slaughterhouse...Originally gaining some notoriety in the UK (& presumably elsewhere) where it was banned as a 'Video Nasty' in the early 80's this Spanish production was co-written & directed by Eloy de la Iglesia & is a surprisingly good character study of a serial killer & one mans descent into madness through fear & panic. The script by Iglesia, Anthony Fos & Robert Oliver isn't perfect by any means, it starts off really well with the bodies piling up thick & fast but slows considerably towards the end which is odd as it's usually the other way around. La Semana del Asesino concentrates on Marcos & his thoughts & feelings, what makes him commit murder & the situation he has created that he can't seem to escape, no mention of the police investigation is ever made if indeed there was one. I was impressed with the ending, it's certainly not what I was expecting & was maybe a little low key for some but I thought it worked & worked well. The film moves along at a fair pace but does drag a bit in places which would probably put me off watching it again anytime soon. Director Iglesia also manages to throw in a bit of satire amongst the blood, of which there is a fair amount but the title Cannibal Man is so misleading it's untrue. In fact there is not one single instance of cannibalism in the entire film although we are treated to some decent gore even if it doesn't reach the heights of some other splatter filled Euro horror, there is an effective slit throat, someone has their head bashed in, someone gets his face split down the middle with a meat clever & there are various gory sequences inside the slaughterhouse & all that entails. Technically La Semana del Asesino is basic but professional enough, Iglesia films it in real locations which add to it's grittiness & credibility while at the same time giving the film a nice atmosphere throughout, the cinematography is OK, the music forgettable while the special effect's aren't going to impress too many people these days they are good enough. The acting by Parra is very strong & I was both engaged & gripped by his character, no one else gets that much screen time but they all do a fine job none-the-less. As long as you can get over the misleading title & not go into La Semana del Asesino expecting an all out cannibal gore fest like Cannibal Holocaust (1980) or Cannibal Ferox (1981) then you may just be rewarded with an intelligent & satisfying drama/thriller/horror! Personally I definitely think it's well worth a watch, surprisingly good.

Plot: The movies about a guy who works at a slaughterhouse and what happens to him and most of all his mind when his spouse calls it quits. Bit by bit he starts to loose it....Form: It plays out very neatly. You have to follow the story tightly to make any sense of the whole thing. Follow closely and you get a reward at the end in the form of knowledge on the human mind.Who is it for?: First of all this is not a movie for kids. It is a highly realistic movie with a hard story,lots of violence and gore and an adult theme. So if you are a sensitive viewer or under 17 I would not recommend it for viewing. There are a lot of non-violent films out there about similar topics. But on the other hand if you don`t have a problem with violence in films and like a touch of realism, this is really the one for you. Grade: 10 out of 10