ma-cortes ¨The Week of the Killer" its correct translation of the original Spanish title results to be a grisly, superbly amusing horror story with vivid performances from the mature employee well played by Vicente Parra , also producer , as he is admirably enigmatic and mysterious . In spite of the English title "The Cannibal Man", this is not a movie about cannibalism. It's a Spanish slasher classic of the chilly grotesque with a convincingly gruesome playing . This suspenseful movie is plenty of thrills, chills, high body-count . Entertaining shocker about vicious killer terrorizing people deal with a worker (Vicente Parra) , working as a butcher, accidentally murders a cabman. His fiancé (Emma Cohen) wants to go to the police so he has to murder her too. He then goes berserk and has to kill his brother (Charly Bravo) , his brother's fiancée (Lola Herrera) and his father (Fernando Sanchez Polack ), who have become suspicious. The butcher origins a slaughterhouse and gets rid of the bodies by taking them to the butchery . Meanwhile a neighbor (Eusebio Poncela) is watching the creepy events .Eloy De La Iglesia's great success is compelling directed with well staged murders plenty of startling visual content , though was submitted to censorship. The picture packs atmospheric blending of eerie thrills and creepy chills combined with a terrific finale. It displays lots of guts and blood but it seems pretty mild compared to today's gore feasts. It's an unrelenting shock-feast laced with nice acting by the Spanish stars that deserves its cult status . Vicente Parra plays his part to the hilt, unafraid of Eloy De Iglesia's unsympathetic camera and the viciousness of his character . The early 80s UK video made a prohibited list and was successfully prosecuted, but only made the list due to it's 'cannibal' title . Apart from some massacre footage, this is not a very violent film, and would almost certainly be released uncut in the UK if it was submitted now.Passable photography with juicy atmosphere by Raul Artigot, but unfortunately turns too much murky in some video print , being necessary a a correct remastering . Good casting with usual Spanish secondaries as Rafael Hernadez , Ismael Merlo , Jose Franco , Valentin Tornos , Antonio Del Real , among others. The motion picture is professionally directed by Eloy De La Iglesia , a good Spanish movies director. He began working in cinema in 1966, though he became notorious in the years of the Spanish transition to democracy with provoking and polemic films as ¨El Pico 1 and 2¨ , ¨El Diputado¨, ¨The priest , ¨Clockwork terror¨ and many others . Drugs, delinquency, terrorism and generational problems are the habitual subjects in his films , as well as the gay world , here represented in Eusebio Poncela's character who falls in love with Vicente Parra's role . Rating : Acceptable and passable .

HumanoidOfFlesh "Cannibal Man" by Eloy de la Iglesia is a notorious Spanish shocker about slaughterhouse worker named Marcos.He works in a canning plant attached to the local slaughterhouse.One night,he kills a taxi driver in self defense and then strangles his girlfriend,the only witness to the crime.Desperate with fear,he murders several other people."Cannibal Man" is a slow-paced Spanish shocker that contains some graphic gore.The film is also extremely stylish and the atmosphere of decay and frustration is simply overwhelming.It certainly gained some notoriety as a former video nasty in the UK,but it's nowhere nearly as explicit as for example Lucio Fulci's gorefests.However the most interesting fact is that Eloy de la Iglesia was one of the major directors to push Spanish censorship boundaries with this film and a number of powerful gay-oriented films like "El Diputado" or "Los Placeres Ocultos".So if you are a fan of Spanish horror give it a try.8 out of 10.

Coventry I still haven't quite figured out what really to think of this film…By no means it's a mind-blowing thriller or even a memorable eurohorror entry. The film moves by slow and careful…and the plot-development is too tame to keep your solid attention. Heck, even the sex-sequence is shot in a dreadfully tedious way. Yet, do not underestimate this production too much and – whatever you do – don't be misled by the title that has a traitorous splatter ring to it! Even though `Cannibal Man' does contain a couple of nasty butchering sequences, it merely is drama and an alarming social portrait. Marcos is a simple man, living on the edge of poverty. He works in a slaughterhouse and has a younger girlfriend. After a night out, Marcus gets into a fight with an unfriendly cabdriver. He accidentally kills him leaves the place of the crime. The girl wants Marcus to confess what he did to the police but Marcus doesn't want this and sees no other option than to kill her too, before she talks. Later, he kills his brother for not being supportive about it, then his sister-in-law for becoming suspicious etc etc etc… You get the picture: Marcus descents further and further into madness! I guess the controversial value is the most remarkable thing about `Cannibal Man'. Director Eloy de la Iglesia (not-so) subtly criticizes society's lack of communication, solidarity and the entire authority & justice system! Bearing in mind the film was made during the reign of the Spanish dictator Franco, this was a risky operation to say the least.

hippiedj UPDATE January 2018: Code Red Releasing has released this film on Blu-ray fully restored to 107 minutes under the title THE APARTMENT ON THE 13TH FLOOR. Unfortunately the only audio option is the English dub, but at least it's the longer cut. So I'll just set aside my 98-minute Anchor Bay (and Blue Underground) copy of "Cannibal Man" and have this Code Red edition be my main choice.WEEK OF THE KILLER is definitely a more satisfying title for this film, it is at least an honest title as well. It's a shame that those marketing this film to help it gain a profit opted for the title CANNIBAL MAN (as here in the U.S.), and its trailer trying to make it look more horrific than it really is, with chipper sounding narration in a "nice weather we're having" tone!! That is a shame because it's useless to try and lure in horror/gore hounds for a film that's basically a nice moody drama that will leave one with a saddened, downbeat mood rather than thrills. The "Cannibal Man" title is silly particularly because there really isn't any cannibalism in the film. The closest thing to that is found to be a coincidence and even upsets the main character when he realizes what was in his soup. Though I'd rather have seen it in the original language with subtitles, I'm still happy Anchor Bay has rescued it and released it on DVD, and now Code Red on Blu-ray (restored to the full 107) minutes for folks like me who enjoy obscure films.The story is basically about a slaughterhouse worker who accidentally starts a downward spiral of killing and madness in his life, unable to cope with what he's done and finding it's just easier to off the people who get too close to his secret. The wide, open landscapes of yet to be developed land and the minimal score add amazing scope to the loneliness Marcos (Vicente Parra) feels, and mirrors the loneliness of his newfound friend that lives in the high-rise literally next door to his little house. Even the swimming scene had a quiet beauty to it. Considering the time and politics for 1971 in that area, there's more to this story than just a man not able to cope with his murderous actions.The neighbor's sexuality is handled in a rather refreshingly basic manner, not being stereotypically gay nor lecherous. It's also great how throughout the film, we wonder if he really knows more about what Marcos is doing than we can guess, with lines like "You better bury them," is he talking about Marcos' memories or the bodies starting to add up in Marcos' bedroom? Their interactions are always fascinating, and were very much highpoints of the film. It was wonderful to see a scene like the swimming scene with these two men; somehow I get the feeling that if this film were to have been made today, the powers that be in Hollywood would have tried to work that scene with two women. An increasing depressing tone sets in up through to the end, but some nice dialogues keep the story in check and moving despite the slower tone of the film. The violence works in context to the situations, rather than seeming gratuitous to satisfy those who feel they need to see that in order to enjoy a film. For me, I was far more disturbed by the first minute of the film, seeing the animal slaughtered. It was difficult getting through that. The sexual element is surprisingly minimal, not as much nudity as you'd think a film of this storyline would have, but since it's not really an exploitive film, having less breasts to gawk at works in its favor. Like many films of that European source and time, having no end credits leaves the viewer in a more affected mood with the film's rather abrupt ending.LA SEMANA DEL ASESINO is great viewing for fans of drama, but horror seekers should stay clear. It's good to see other people commenting about the film's interesting qualities instead of reading comments that they felt ripped off that it wasn't about cannibals or full of tense scary scenes. It's pure drama, and I'm glad some people are managing to get around the unfortunate marketing ploys this film was given and see how worthwhile it really is! Indeed a nice discovery.