Cannibal Holocaust (1985)

Better Late Then Never

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

That's all I have to say. Just thought I'd share. It is a good film. Obviously a classic. I saw it at a midnight showing recently, but once I watched the gore and the unsettling imagery in its entirety I decided I never wanted to eat meat again.

This movie was in no way aided by the amount of gore and animal torture included in it. And for anyone using the excuse that "it happens" and "what about factory farming" need to stop. Rape, murder, and cannibalism all happen as well, but they were able to depict those actions realistically without harming any humans. Factory farming is wrong. That is correct. Not sure why that makes hacking the head off a screaming in fear defenseless monkey okay. Oh right, because some sicko will pay to watch it. I'd call this snuff for snobs: 1.5 hours of aninal torture and rape with a plot and script to make it digestible.

At the time most Hollywood movies allowed animals to die in a film. From horses, to dogs, which were strays plus the few nocturnal bats. Cannibal holocaust was also the first movie to introduce Found footage sequences to make it seem more real than it actually is. A story about a group of anthropologist thrill seekers who wanted to make a documentary about a hidden tribe not seen by any white man in history. Tales of past cannibalistic people started to surface in the mid to late seventies as borders in the amazon forest became public after much heated debates in the U.N.Soon countless documentaries were told about reclusive, and often remote tribal people on camera. Some that became violent resulted in either internal executions or from an outside source such as the military regimes who thwarted the indigenous people as punishment. Yet to give this film a broader scope the realistic viewpoints of the troupe landed them in deep trouble as their idealistic way through uses of unneeded violence such as gang raping one of the women or killing animals as a means to eat. The effects bordered both realism, and daunting horror as each trekker became victim to their own debauchery, and unconfined judgment to get that one perfect shot even in the face of death.After this film was shown in theatres most went to the humane society, and vetoed Cannibal Holocaust from the public eye because it was so honestly raw, and horrific to stomach. Censors from all over the US banned it from being shown because of the extremities, and wanton chaos that the story had displayed. In fact it was vaulted until an appeal was issued some twenty years later VIA the freedom of speech act was brought up in the shortest court case in history. Since then this film had been the pinnacle of later films such as the Blair Witch Project and countless other movies that uses found footage techniques.Except with this film, not all could still stomach some of the gratuitous gore, or unneeded sequences of killing animals such as the turtle, or boar, and even the Muskrat. The cruelty displayed in Cannibal Holocaust still lingers to those viewers who saw it the first time, and has never adapted well to other such films. Perhaps the desensitization dug deeper than it would allow but for newer audience members it has a cult following. For me I do not like this film. It uses too much grotesque misogynistic scenes that displays at how thoughtless, and ridiculous a human can be.Although it was supposed to be an anthropology study, it soon became a mindless crazed romp in the jungle with a group of students who only wanted to be famous no matter the cost. Yet in the end their only means of remembrance got burned in the cellar incinerator along with all of their notes, and collected archived footage. An ironic result that stated to the outside world that the amazon forest should remain a mystery, and for those who trespass onto sacred ground knowing or not knowing the rules could get them killed. Either way the people have been ongoing since the stone age, and does not need to be disturbed by any interference's. Not recommended to anyone under the age of eighteen. This a very volatile film and must not be watched alone.

For his work on the film, the director was arrested by Italian authorities on suspicion of murder charges and faced life in prison, following its 1980 Milan premiere. He endured a trial when Italian authorities were unconvinced that the footage was indeed staged. Deodato lost the original trial, and all prints were to be destroyed, but he managed to have the ruling overturned in the early '80s when the actors finally appeared on TV to prove otherwise.Some five years passed before the film saw release in Deodato's home country. This movie was banned for twenty years in many countries.Only for fans of disgusting footage...