It's said that Lenzi has made this film just for money. After seeing it we ask how this movie will be if he made this movis just for passion.Lenzi here doesn't create a "revival" movie of genre of which he was the italian father, but generates a more than worthy "cannibal movie"
A good film, inspired by a true story of seventies and inspired by "Apocalypse Now" in at least a couple of things.
The director then makes happy the production  saving money and reusing scene and ideas from the founder of the Italian cannibal movie, his "Il Paese Del Sesso Selvaggio".
The cast of"Mangiati Vivi!"recalls infact the 1972's. So we find still Ivan Rassimov and the beautiful Me Me Lai, two fixed appearances in the menù and stories of cannibals.
Lenzi while getting by can create excellent special effects, which accompanied by the usual scenes cruel, violent and sexual, the ones that this genres requires, creating a nice movie.
Lenzi is very good when he shoots with a good eye the most and bloody momentes.We must say that he is also Also fortunate to be able to count on the beauty of three actresses: the aforementioned Me Me Lai, the blonde Janet Agren, known for sexy comedies and  Paola Senatore that soon would be turned into hard films and in a borderline life.
"Mangiati Vivi" start from New York, then moved to New Guinea. A long journey necessary to Sheila Morris (Janet Agren) in search of his sister, disappeared for some time. Through a series of mysterious murders and the discovery of a super 8 movie, police discovered the existence of the "sect of Purification" led by Jonas Melvin and located in New Guinea, in which, as evidenced by the movie, also lives Diana Morris.
And so Sheila leave to search her sister in the wilderness. She hires, of course, a guide, Mark, an American deserter soldier who will head to the village of Sect.
Here we find the despotic Jonas,a man who has everything and everybody on his hands. Our two heroes try to save Diana and Mownara (Me Me Lay) an indigenous girl but their flight will not be easy, given the strength of Jonas and the existence of cannibals who live near the village. Jonas now hunted near to the end and will order his followers to mass suicide.
Just as happened to the followers Jim Jones of Jonestown in Guyana in 1978.
As you can imagine "Mangiati Vivi!" had a series of very interesting things. First, the relationship between Sheila and Mark that three minutes from the meeting they have sex. Mark then appears for the first time in a challenge, just like Christopher Walken in "Apocalypse Now". And yet the rituals, rather hard, of initiation of Jonas that certainly does not disdain, the arrival of Sheila. Leakages and eat meat for everyone. Curious is the fact that Jonas speaks to the faithful from a stage that has two sides to powered speakers but we don't see how they are powered and perhaps is the reason why he unused and he speaking without a microphone.
Beyond this is an excellent film.
"Mangiati Vivi!" is part of the horrot period of the master of poliziottesco. In addition to this we find "Cannibal Ferox", "Nightmare City" that inspired "Planet Terror" by Rodriguez and the "House 3"