Mondo Cane 2 (1963) review

Follow-up to the (unfortunately) influential and icky Mondo Cane is, coincidentally, just as fake and tasteless - another "sensational" look at oddities from all over the world, real or staged (bug eating in Mexico, doggie vocal cord cutting in England, licking steps in Italy). The 'fake' scenes are often hilariously bad and blatantly staged (music accompanied by faces being slapped? dragging a dog on the runway? spitting paint on canvases?) - it's all about the camera placement, don't you know - even though some of the segues are kind of clever (like the transition from making wigs to men in drag in a nightclub to undercover cops in drag tracking down "sadists" in the park). Particularly grotesque: shots of glorious breasts are frequently blurred or quickly cut away from while scenes of animal dismemberment are lingered over. Come on, Italians: you know better than that.