Nobody has ever made or will ever make films that could ever equal the impact of Joe D'Amato's powerful visions. His films aren't for everyone; there is usually a high sex and violence quotient that is quite often unparalleled in cinema of any form. Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals aka Trap Them and Kill Them is no exception to this rule. Part of the appeal of D'Amato's films is without a doubt due to his frequent collaborations with the beautiful Laura Gemser. Japan Shock preserves one of D'Amato's most perverse and at the same time enjoyable films with Gemser, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals. Believe me when I say we couldn't have asked for anything more than this balls to the wall special edition... here we go! This is definitely one instance in which if you are easily offended, you should just turn right around and read my review of Shrek instead.

Laura Gemser stars as none other than Emanuelle, a reporter posing as a patient at a mental institution looking for the latest scoop. Things heat up when a female patient proceeds to take a chunk of a nurse's breast in what appears to be an act of cannibalism (what is it with these Italian directors and their breast biting?). Emanuelle sneaks into the offending patients room and manually umm, "pleasures" her if you will, and notices a tribal tattoo on her stomach belonging to a lost tribe of cannibals. Emanuelle somehow convinces her editor to fund an expedition into the Amazon to search for the cannibal tribe. Emanuelle and her bud, Professor Mark Lester from the museum (D'Amato regular Gabriele Tinti) begin their quest. Their expedition teams them with a couple; the McKenzie's on a quest of their own for some missing diamonds as well as a host of others. It doesn't take long for the cannibals to come along, and the gut munching to begin. The mixture of sex and violence is truly disturbing, and the violent cannibal scenes rival those of the infamous Cannibal Holocaust. I'm not going to give it all away, but there is plenty of violent depravity. Look for the usual severed genitalia, and a sliced off nipple, as well as a woman literally being gutted right from the "bottom up" (if you know what I mean), yikes. Oh, and did I mention the smoking monkey?

Japan Shock lovingly brings this gem of a film to DVD in a gorgeous widescreen transfer. There is barely any noticeable print damage and the colors are sharp and stable. Simply put, it looks gorgeous. There is evidence of slight grain, which is no biggie considering the age and rarity of this diamond in the rough. The mono sound is crystal clear for both music and sound effects, with no distortion. This is a definitive edition here folks, and it's gonna be tough to beat.

As if all this weren't enough, we haven't even begun to scratch the surface. The extras alone are worth the price of admission. For starters we get a trailer and a stills slide show from the film. There is also a Laura Gemser slide show of images and bio as well as a D'Amato bio. The package also includes well written and informative liner notes on both Gemser and D'Amato. Last, but most certainly not least, the entire original soundtrack is included on the DVD as an extra, and in stereo to boot! Crystal clear and bursting with clarity, the 70's soundtrack sounds incredible and is a true gem.

Japan Shock has truly outdone themselves with this DVD. It's a collector's dream come true. Even though D'Amato's films aren't for everyone, they are for some of us (you know who you are) this is the DVD to purchase. From the gorgeous menu design, to the flawless feature and extras, you can't go wrong with this DVD.

NOTE: The DVD is listed as PAL Region 2. Although it is definitely PAL, I had no problem playing the DVD with my settings on Region 1. You will need a DVD player that will play PAL DVDs or a computer with DVD ROM capabilities.