Watch The Week of the Killer For Free

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

In "The Cannibal Man", a young man accidentally kills a taxi driver after an argument about a fare. His girlfriend, witnessing the attack, is going to go to the police, so he has to take care of her as well. Questions are asked, and the body count rises."The Cannibal Man" has many touches typical of an exploitation movie. Firstly, the title it was given in the English-speaking world is a clear case of the producers attempting to mislead the potential audience into parting with their cash. There are no "cannibals" in the movie. Also, the movie has quite a bare-bones plot, which is ideal to prevent any distractions from its scenes of gore. One particularly memorable moment - generally displayed on the movie's case - depicts a meat cleaver sunk into somebody's face.It also has some aspects that are atypical of exploitation, however, and they're quite perplexing. For one, the movie is much better made than you might expect; this is no D'Amato or Schnaas grade-Z garbage (not that there's anything wrong with that). It's filmmaker, Eloy de la Iglesia, was nothing if not an auteur; kind of a Godard of the gutter.De la Iglesia was also openly gay, and this movie features a bizarre, homoerotic dalliance between the main character and someone he meets. Is the character supposed to be gay? Well, they never have sex, and there's a surprising lack of male nudity in the picture. De la Iglesia more than made up for that (for those that like that sort of thing) in later movies such as "El Sacerdote", but his chief sexual interest seemed to be boys, not men.What you end up with is a gore movie made by an auteur with a social conscience that doesn't quite come togetherand homoerotic touches that add nothing. Therefore, I think most people would find it a needless distraction. If you're looking for gore, this is one Video Nasty that you'll have to fastforward a few times to get to. If you're into social commentary about Franco-era Spain, I, for one, couldn't find any.

Plot: The movies about a guy who works at a slaughterhouse and what happens to him and most of all his mind when his spouse calls it quits. Bit by bit he starts to loose it....Form: It plays out very neatly. You have to follow the story tightly to make any sense of the whole thing. Follow closely and you get a reward at the end in the form of knowledge on the human mind.Who is it for?: First of all this is not a movie for kids. It is a highly realistic movie with a hard story,lots of violence and gore and an adult theme. So if you are a sensitive viewer or under 17 I would not recommend it for viewing. There are a lot of non-violent films out there about similar topics. But on the other hand if you don`t have a problem with violence in films and like a touch of realism, this is really the one for you. Grade: 10 out of 10

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.

I would have to agree with the previous comment regarding THE CANNIBAL MAN. It's an excellent film in the vein of DERANGED (1974), HENRY and CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL KILLER, though it predates all three.THE CANNIBAL MAN took a couple viewings to really come together and I think part of the problem was the English dubbing. Anchor Bay's recent release has superb picture quality, but unfortunately they didn't include the original language track with subs as they did with TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD.Regardless, the acting is well-done - Vincente Parra plays a particularly relatable man, one with whom the viewer can sympathize. In accordance with the film's original title, WEEK OF THE KILLER, Parra takes the part of the titular role, slowly spiraling downward into insanity while dispatching one victim for each day of the week. Along the way, there are some interesting twists and turns as well as some restrained, well-used scenes of violence and gore.There are also some truly surreal scenes, such as the swimming pool sequence and the tense denouement. And, as with any Spanish horror film, nearly all the women are gorgeous. All in all, this is a must-see for genre fans, but be warned, THE CANNIBAL MAN is a subtle film, not one that will immediately jump out at you.