Retro Blood 160: Cannibal Ferox (1981)

Join James Kline and J.H. Alison as Retro Blood kicks off “Human Meat: What’s for Dinner?” month with the 1981 shocker Cannibal Ferox! In this episode, we dive into the lurid world of 1980s cannibal horror films and lay out the monthly lineup, giving you a few tasty spoilers along the way. The guys explore the plot of Cannibal Ferox, where a group of clueless city folks heads into the Amazon jungle in search of drugs, only to find themselves in a twisted fight for survival.

In the weekly history segment, we look at the world of pro wrestling and metal music on the movie’s release date, April 24, 1981. For wrestling, we go to St. Louis to cover a show headlined by Ric Flair and Harley Race in an intense two-out-of-three falls match. On the metal side, we dive into The Cure's early work and the release of their haunting album Faith, as we set the stage with music that defined the darker side of the early ’80s.

We also dig into the backstory and production of Cannibal Ferox, exploring the grim fascination with jungle horror films and the genre’s sensational, death metal–esque alternate titles. Then, it’s time for a full breakdown of the film: from Mike’s journey from jerk to justice, Gloria’s questionable ambitions of writing a book on cannibals, Pat’s desperate jungle “shower” scene, and Rudy’s escape attempts—even while bloodthirsty fish circle his bloody wound!

Prepare for plenty of grim, jungle-based carnage—streaming now on all platforms! 🎧 #RetroBlood #CannibalFerox #HumanMeatMonth #CannibalHorror #ProWrestlingHistory #TheCure