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Simply A Masterpiece

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

What could have been a run-of-the-mill revenge story is given an extra frisson in this cheap and violent Mexican western by having the lead character, as played by Jorge Luke, an unlikeable and insane man. He gradually changes from being a respectable citizen into a maniacal killer, as each murder he commits fills him with more and more of the "blood lust" - or the "taste of the savage" as the film calls it. Gradually caught in a downward spiral of murder and despair, Luke's character of Judd ends up killing those he loves and respects most - his former girlfriend, his mentor, his friend - and the film ends with the shocking murder of his mother as he cradles her bloodstained body in his arms, having reached the nadir of his existence.I do enjoy watching films which genuinely surprise me, as far and far between as they may be. THE TASTE OF THE SAVAGE is one such film which offers a lot more than the standard B-movie action fare you would expect from a no-budget Mexican western. While the same editing problems are still prevalent in this Mexican production (although the production values are very good compared to others I've seen) as many others, the film offers bleak locations and interesting dialogue as opposed to the usual poorly-dubbed inanity.In typical Mexican fashion, none of the persona are given much depth and we learn of the character of Luke through his actions rather than through his words. The swarthy actors all put in okay performances with nobody really excelling in the cast list, aside from Luke's mother who puts in a fine performance of maternal care and obsession. Bizarrely, Cameron Mitchell is the imported star, playing Huck, a wise old drunk who teaches Luke the ways of the gun and comes to regret his teaching later on in the film. Mitchell is a thoughtful character given to reflecting on the situation in hand, and while the famous actor is far from his prime, his performance is nonetheless a likable and strong one.The revenge-type plot is boosted by extra lashings of gore as characters are brutally shot in the face, blasting their eyes out and with blood coursing from their mouths and bodies. The blood certainly flows quickly in these exploitational moments. The film also dwells - perhaps too much - on Luke's sadistic activities, as he strips and rapes his former girlfriend and shoots a man in the desert in the arms and legs, thus disabling him and leaving him to die a slow and horrible death. Still, THE TASTE OF THE SAVAGE deserves praise for moving in a different direction from most and exploring a rarely touched-upon aspect of man's taste for violence and the hideous extremes that it can be taken to. A worthwhile oddity.

Alberto Mariscal's "Taste of the Savage" is a 1971 Mexican Western that explores the familiar subject of lifelong revenge. Like so many other movies of the genre the film begins with the murder of a husband by a gang of gunmen and the lamentations of his wife and child. The wife-turned-widow (Isela Vega playing Sara Carson) has steel in her heart though. She hires an aging gunslinger simply named Huck (a wizened Cameron Mitchell) to school her son Judd (Jorge Luke) in mastery of firearms. Judd Carson is thereafter raised as an instrument of vengeance -- his own trauma and his mother indoctrination making him destined be the bane of his father's killers. Taste of the Savage was made during the Spaghetti-boom, and follows its Italian sisters in spirit and tone. Judd does grow up to be Gods-gift-to-guns, but he is simultaneously emotionally vexed and troubled. He is hotheaded, twitchy, and obsessed with revenge. Huck's reserved and level-headed demeanor has completely failed to rub off on him. This makes Judd an unstable young man -- and before the film ends we see just how far he spirals into the deep end. The film doesn't pull any punches in depicting Judd's moral downfall. It has the appropriate amount of blood and sleaze to depict this. In his hotblooded rage he commits some unforgivable deeds. That is not to say that this Mexican Western is anywhere near as gruesome as, say, "Fasthand is Still My Name" (1973) or "Cut-Throats Nine" (1972), but it's attentiveness to the emotional and psychological breakdown of its hero does give it a strong sense of bleakness of its own.This is the strength of the film. Unfortunately though, it is seriously hampered by some uneven filmmaking. Much of this has budgetary roots. Mariscal does have the directional abilities to give the various scenes a "spaghetti-vibe", but other things such as dubbing and editing are absolutely abysmal. Even the most pivotal scene in the film is almost ruined by an atrociously jarring cut that completely takes us out of the moment. Likewise, the VHS pan-and-scan is one of worst I've ever seen. At multiple times, talking characters disappear off the edge of the screen and close-ups feel very crowded and claustrophobic. I'd imagined that the cinematography of a wide-screen copy would look quite adequate but the VHS transferee is very bad. Overall I give "Taste of the Savage" a 6/10 for the reasons listed above. It's a rather weak 6 though.