Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals

Lore & Background

The film was co-written, directed, and photographed by Joe D'Amato, who described himself as a 'real copy-cat' and stated that because 'Deodato's film Ultimo mondo cannibale had been so successful we thought about doing something along the same lines commercially.' It was co-produced by Fabrizio De Angelis through their company Fulvia Cinematografica. Unlike some earlier entries in the Black Emanuelle series, this film does not contain hardcore pornography sequences.

Reader's Guide

Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals was shot mostly around a lake near Rome, with the crew gathering Filipinos living in or visiting Rome to work as extras for a week. Make-up man Fabrizio Sforza recalled the lake as Lago di Fogliano and noted the shoot lasted two and a half weeks. The film was passed by Italian censors on 20 October 1977 and released that year. Contemporary reviews were mixed; David Badder of The Monthly Film Bulletin called it 'so preposterous as to be almost enjoyable,' while retrospective critics like Danny Shipka described it as 'fairly harmless compared to other cannibal films of the time.' In 2016, film critic Scout Tafoya of RogerEbert.com included it in his video series 'The Unloved,' praising its 'egregious excesses' and 'dimwitted good nature.'

Did You Know?

• The film was shot mostly around a lake near Rome, using Filipinos living in or visiting Rome as extras.
• Make-up man Fabrizio Sforza recalled the shoot lasted two and a half weeks.
• The film does not contain hardcore pornography sequences, unlike some earlier Black Emanuelle entries.
• Director Joe D'Amato called the film 'a reasonable commercial success, especially abroad.'