Marcos is a poorly educated man who works as a butcher. When he's accidentally involved in a killing, his attempts to cover things up cause matters to spiral out of control. La Semana Del Asesino ('Killer's Week') makes far more sense as a title, as 'The Cannibal Man' isn't actually a cannibal. Although I must admit it made me want to watch the film, the UK trailer is quite misleading in this regard. And it's one of those films which I'm so glad was on the video nasty list, as without it having been included I might've missed it altogether.
There's a lot going on in the movie and I won't go into all of it in this review, but I suggest you approach the film not expecting a slasher film and try to keep an open mind. In many ways it's quite a beautiful film and not just in the way it's shot, which is particularly impressive, but also in the way the characters are depicted. Marcos himself is a fairly sympathetic character and without going into details, you feel he has been dealt a bad hand. The film deals with many themes and although my knowledge of Spanish history isn't particularly strong, it's clear there are a few swipes at Franco's regime. In one scene, the 'fuzz' (as they're bizarrely referred to) take the word of Néstor, simply because he lives in the fancy new high-rise building (thus proving Marcos correct in his comment early on in the movie, that he is less likely to be believed because of his social standing and education). A lot of use those ID cards are!
Other themes include change (not just in characters themselves - Marcos going full circle), but other more obvious ones. The visual representation of the huge new buildings towering over Marcos' old home illustrate this perfectly. The introduction of machines to automate work is another obvious example, although this isn't explored fully. The film itself is one of those great amalgamations of genres, bringing together black comedy, political satire, horror and quite a tender theme of friendship. You'll most likely laugh (a lot) as people describe to Marcos in minute detail the circumstances surrounding his mother's death. Then you'll feel so sorry for him when you realise he has been backed into another corner and the hole is getting deeper. It's such an impressive movie in this respect.
The music is impressive throughout, particularly the reverse bell sound (at this time I believe samplers weren't yet commercially available). There's a particularly beautiful piece which generally plays as it becomes clear somebody is about to die - it's a subtle prompt which makes what is about to happen seem almost unavoidable. Dubbing is solid and believable, including at least one comedy character (who claims Marcos is buying enough perfume for an entire navy!). On the Spanish Blu Ray I own there are sections of dialogue in Spanish with subtitles, presumably due to loss of the original recording (or perhaps the scenes weren't originally included in the international release?). The only dubbing which I suppose is questionable would be that of Marcos himself (he sounds erudite, considering it's suggested he lacks education). It doesn't really matter too much though and I suppose better that than someone putting on a strong regional accent, which could come across as comical.
Overall, if you like films which aren't too genre specific and are more character than event based, I think you'll enjoy this film. Without any spoilers, I must say I'm glad some of the deleted scenes didn't make it into the final cut. I feel the movie was more subtle without those included and it leaves things a little ambiguous, although others might disagree. Still, all in all - highly recommended!
