Me Me Lai Bites Back (2018)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
This seventy-nine minute documentary takes a look at actress Me Me Lai who is best remembered for appearing in a handful of Italian cannibal movies. She pretty much disappeared after her last film credit but here recently historian Calum Waddell was able to locate her. This documentary talks about her film career as well as catches fans up on what she has been doing the past thirty-years before being re-discovered.
ME ME LAI BITES BACK is a highly enjoyable documentary that features interviews with Lai herself as well as Waddell, Eli Roth, Ruggero Deodato (from a film screening), Mike Hostench and Shelagh Rowan-Legg. As you can tell, there are more genre experts here than people who were actually involved with the films themselves but that's okay because all of them do a very good job at talking about the highs and lows of the cannibal genre and what impact that Lai had on them.
It should go without saying but the greatest thing about this documentary is getting to hear from Lai as she shares stories about how she got involved with these films, her thoughts on them at the time they were made, how difficult they were to make and of course the nudity that was required. She tells some very good stories about the production of the films and talks about the differences between Deodato who she worked with on JUNGLE HOLOCAUST and Umberto Lenzi who made MAN FROM DEEP RIVER and EATEN ALIVE!
If you're a fan of the actress or of the genre then you'll certainly enjoy this documentary. It contains clips from the movies in question and does a nice job at catching us up with Lai.