Human Beasts (1980) (Spain/Japan)

aka The Beasts’ Carnival/Cannibal Killers

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Bruno Rivera (Paul fuckin’ Naschy) is a famed mercenary in the employ of the Yakuza… not to mention in a relationship with the sister of the idealistic crime boss running the show. He double crosses the dangerous gang and flees into a mountainous region of Spain where they made their score with a cache of stolen diamonds. The brokenhearted woman and her angry brother vow to track him down and soon the criminals are hunting for the back-stabbing bastard. Said bastard, is given refuge in the home of a local doctor, his two daughters and their African housekeeper after sustaining multiple injuries but managing to take out a good amount of the folks out for his blood… including the big boss himself. The family nurse Bruno back to health and put him up in their vast estate. Bruno thinks there’s something strange going on in the house and it may have something to do with the doctor’s dead wife but it could be that Bruno’s mental state is more fragile than he thinks. The growing number of corpses and a peeping eyeball that usually shows up right before loss of life aren’t exactly a good reason to remain calm. Of course, this family has their reasons for helping out the stranger and Bruno may end up wishing the spurned Yakuza woman got her hands on him instead. Naschy, closing in on his fifties here, still carries his swagger even if it’s a bit of a stretch to see all these beautiful women lose their fucking minds over his machismo. Guess that’s the benefit of making your own fuckin’ movies. A Japanese/Spanish coproduction comes off a little awkward with its erotic corruption, crime drama foundation and minor dives into supernatural/horrific waters fitting like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle of various origins. A man gets eaten by pigs in a standout scene that looks fake as fuck but is still intense, a few nightmare sequences play out, there’s a costume party out of nowhere that features Naschy dressed as Napoleon and Naschy probably plays one of his most convincing bastards. Issues arise with pacing and obnoxious comedy but it has a mean-spirited edge that works pretty well for the morally corrosive vibe it’s going for. Killer main track.