Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

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... Cannibal Holocaust more clearly states the fact that man are simply beasts, and every beast is capable (whether urbanite or cannibal) of acting within their own primitive nature.

I don't really wish to get into that actual plot of this film because it's the premise of the film and its characters that, by far, shine the most. The characters are all strong, and the actors that portray them all give extremely realistic performances. Cannibal Holocaust is actually so real with its entire presentation that the director was almost thrown in jail for creating a film which showed actual footage of established characters and human beings being brutally slain on camera. As we all know, such acts of filmmaking are illegal, but there has always been a lot of controversy surrounding this film in terms with what is real and what is fiction. Nobody on film was killed during its production, but the animals that were killed on screen were actually put to death for the sake of continuing a more realistic atmosphere. This is part of the reason why Cannibal Holocaust is banned in so many countries, and why it has gone through numerous edits for its brutal content.

As you may have already guessed, even though this film is entirely fictional, there is not an ounce of a more surrealistic approach to this film. This is bare bones exploitation that touches down on the types of scenes you swear came right out of the latest releases of Faces of Death. You have a small group of researchers from the city embarking upon the daily lives of cannibalistic tribes. You're going to see some flesh being torn - no doubt about it because these researchers are not at all careful with their threatening surroundings. You'll also find some political undertones throughout the film in terms of issues revolving around American troops' interference with the Vietnamese in the Vietnam War. It may not have been Deodato's underlining contrast, but it's hard not to find similarities behind the films' presentations and the recent history of our troops abusing their powers and military standings.

The bottom line is, if you are a fan of exploitation films, you have to have a copy of this Italian film. It's not so hard to find a copy online these days that has minimal editing and is presented in almost its entire unrated format. The best thing about this film is that it is not at all a clip show. There is actual character development here. You will learn to respect a few characters, but learn to absolutely loathe most of them by the film's end. You will be left staring at the credits asking yourself exactly the one question that the film leaves you with - "I wonder who the real cannibals are?"


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