After a mission goes terribly wrong during the Mexican-American war, Second Lieutenant Boyd's courage fails him and he plays dead as the rest of his unit is massacred around him. The bodies of his fellow soldiers are transported back to the Mexican headquarters. While buried under a pile of his fellow soldiers he is suddenly struck with a sense of bravery and he captures the Mexican command.
As reward for this he is promoted. Unfortunately for (now Captain) Boyd his commanding officer learns of the cowardice that lead to the victory and sends him to Fort Spencer in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range.
While at the fort a stranger named Colqhoun shows up. He claims he was part of a wagon train that became lost and was reduced to cannibalism to survive. The people at the fort mount a rescue attempt, but is this Colqhoun all he appears to be?
This is definitely one of my favourite movies about cannibalism. I really enjoyed the use of native myths used to describe what was happening to some of the characters. It's also got a really interesting score, not something you hear all the time. The gore seems strangely understated and yet not for the week of stomach. I think because the director was a vegetarian the scenes of people enjoying steaks and big Old West meaty meals are handled in a way that really makes the food unappetizing, just to keep you in Boyd's headspace for much of the story. You may not want to eat stew after watching this movie.
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