Following a group of young adults who encounter a woman while in Athens, the narrative follows them as they travel to an isolated island in the Mediterranean—an island that seems largely uninhabited. The central question becomes whether anyone will survive their visit. “Antropophagus,” released in 1980, is how it’s titled in Italian; alternative versions appear with “Anthropophagus” (sometimes adding "The Beast"). It's also been marketed as “The Savage Island” and “The Grim Reaper," though the latter title often has its most disturbing moments edited out. While the film showcases beautiful Mediterranean scenery and establishes a palpable sense of unease, the story itself and the characters involved feel rather lackluster, sharing a similar dramatic sensibility with “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death,” which came out nine years earlier. The director seemed unsure how to direct female actors, at least according to this production. Though the couple of extremely graphic scenes were quite shocking for their era, a movie—even one in the horror-slasher genre—requires more than just that to maintain audience engagement. “Humongous,” produced in Canada, utilized this formula and created a considerably more enjoyable film about a year and four months later. “Castle Freak” also drew heavily from it, resulting in a better film fourteen years down the line. Zora Kerova is memorable as Carol, with Rubina Rey delivering a performance as Ruth, the sister of ‘the beast.’ Tisa Farrow portrays Julie, the main character; she was Mia’s younger sister and left acting after this role, recently passing away earlier in 2024. George Eastman takes on the role of the imposing creature (his given name is Luigi Montefiori), standing at an impressive 6′6¾″. The complete film has a running time of 1 hour, 32 minutes and was filmed in Athens, Greece, with subsequent scenes shot in the Bay of Cala Feola on Ponza Island—located off Italy’s western coast—and Sperlonga in Lazio, which served as a stand-in for the deserted village. Both locations are situated between Rome and Naples. GRADE: B-

Source on TMDB