Review of Cannibal Holocaust (1980) by Ladyviper_23 — 02 Jul 2020

What can be display in a movie? What is the line that cannot be crossed? There are many different answer for these questions. If you think that there must be some sorth of morality in what can be display this is not a film for you. For me is pretty simple. We live in a society who has lost all sense of modesty and morality whatsoever so what's the point to censor something? Who can decide that something cannot be showed? There isn't a common sense of decency and there is no sense of shame. So for me there's no common line. The only line is the personal one. I don't wanna see extreme violence? I simply avoid that contents. After this necessary premise I can say that Cannibal Holocaust marked an era. It innovated and almost created the "horror" found footage genre and represent a milestone for the cannibal movies. It has influenced a large part of splatter/horror directors and its contribution to these genres it's incontestable.

The film has been very successful and is certainly a cult thanks also to the stories that surrounded the production and the various charges to the director. The plot is simple but innovative for its era and the director's work and special effects are remarkable. Riz Ortolani's soundtrack is amazing and iconic. Inspired by Mondo's movie, Cannibal Holocaust is extreme, violent, graphic, hyperrealistic (SPOILER: six animal real deaths appear onscreen - killed by the actors- and these are indeed difficoult to watch, especially the turtle, the point of no return in the characters' story).

It is one of those essential films, a must watch, everybody knows it, talks about it (even without seen it) but you have to watch it in order to appreciate it (or don't appreciate it) and really judge it. And in the end the viewers are nothing more than the characters of the executives producer in the movie. They found this film, they are orrified by it, by the extreme violence, by the cruelty they see on screen, by the unjustified brutality, but not once they stop looking. We are just like them. We watch this kind of movies as we watch everyday violence, we want to see how much they will show, how far they have gone, what lines they cross. And at the same time we test our limit, our endurance, what we are willing to watch before we stop looking. Deodato made this movie as a commentary on ethics in journalism, in fact it was inspired by the italian media coverage of the Red Brigades. It's also real that this anti-exploitation critic it's done by using just the same technique. The movie and the same Ruggero Deodato can be accused of hypocrisy.