Cannibal Apocalypse(1980)
1980 · Antonio Margheriti · 96 min
Released from captivity in Vietnam, two American Army officers return to civilian life and discover they have acquired an insatiable taste for human flesh. A city is terrorised... as they stalk the inhabitants to satisfy their primitive appetites.
Horror · Crime · Thriller
5.5111 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
4/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How Cannibal Apocalypse scares
It opens like a gritty war-trauma drama before slowly tipping into an urban rampage full of raw, ugly violence. The pace is uneven — long stretches of unease and paranoia followed by sudden bursts of brutal attacks once the hunger takes over. This is trashy, grimy exploitation horror more than polished scares, aimed at fans of old-school shock cinema rather than people looking for a slick thrill ride. The fear here is more physical and gross than eerie or spooky, with a rough, low-budget edge that makes it feel nastier than it is scary in a fun way.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Cannibal Apocalypse rates psychological 2/5, visceral 4/5, gore 4/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 2 of 5
- Visceral: 4 of 5
- Gore: 4 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 25 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 85 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 65 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A tense slow build with sporadic bursts of violence that escalates into a chaotic, high-intensity final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 4.
How scary is Cannibal Apocalypse?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Cannibal Apocalypse rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It attacks the body more than the mind — physical, in-your-face horror. Expect it to be heavy on gore and genuinely disturbing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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