Review of Cannibal Holocaust (1980) by John P — 06 Aug 2014

"The one that goes all the way!".

I don't know how in good conscience that I found my way to giving this a 5-star review.

I mean, it's not at all enjoyable. How could it be? We're watching a faux-snuff film, for pete's sake! We watch several animals get butchered on film, for real!

Any way that you slice it, or try to defend it, the movie's nothing more than sensationalist, gory exploitation, and it's probably the most brutal film you're ever likely to hear about widely (I'm sure some of that August Underground bullshit is worse, but I highly doubt those films actually have anything to say).

However, in spite of all that exploitation and carnage, the movie actually has a point it's trying to make. It's just not one that is actually relevant anymore.

Back in the 60s and 70s, sensationalist documentaries (known as "mondos") were engaged in a battle to see who could out shock one-another. Africa Addio (which is a beautiful film despite its horrific images) started a trend of showing real-life violence, including animal slaughter and two fleeting instances of human execution. Subsequent documentaries capitalized on this carnage, showing seedy (and mostly fake) depictions of horrible death. Ruggero Deodato seemingly grew tired of this, so he decided to make the most horrible example of reckless filmmaking.

He also seemingly didn't realize that he couldn't have its cake and eat it, too.

Under the layer of bloody goo, there's a compelling message about exploitation filmmaking and imperialism. And it's a strong one, especially if you know its history. But the images are so repulsive that the movie is better known for its carnage, not its message. In fact, due to the fact that the mondo film is a subgenre all but dead (unless you love COPS or "America's Wildest Police Videos"), the message the film's trying to put forth is completely lost.

Additionally, your message is kind of made moot when you have more than 5 animals actually slaughtered on camera. Coupled with stories from the cast and crew about the horrific nature of the slaughtering, it's down right fucking deplorable that one would include such reckless and morally bankrupt scenes, and then also complain about how other films include these scenes.

So why not cut them out? Well, the Grindhouse Releasing DVD includes an "animal cruelty-free" version, which apparently makes you a pussy for watching according to "teH hardc0rez" (read: fucking retards). However, these animal killings have some... Sort... Of... Uh, 'purpose'.

By seeing such horrible real animal death, your mind is tricked into thinking that the human death is real. While it is not real (Deodato went to jail and had to prove his actors were alive), it looks shockingly realistic, and you're tricked into believing it's real, even if you know it is not. These mind games, while cruel, actually work.

There's some awesome stuff about this movie. The camerawork is excellent, and goes a long way of making the "documentary" sequences seem realistic. Riz Ortolani, a frequent mondo film scorer, gives us his most haunting and popular score, which makes frequent use of strings and synthesizers, creating an intentionally incongruous orgy of sounds to complement the carnage onscreen. All of the actors are no-names (except Robert Kerman, a porno actor who'd star in the ripoff, Cannibal Ferox), and that helps trick you into believing their fate to be real.

So, why 5-stars? Well, I mean, the movie succeeds in doing what it sets out to do. It makes you believe it slaughtered four innocent filmmakers, and punishes you for wanting to watch by displaying horribly gruesome displays of death, real and fake. It doesn't pretend to be anything else. It never pulls its punches. And ultimately, it wants you to remember it, so you can realize "who the real cannibals are".

And now, I'm going to slap myself because this is the longest review I've ever written on Facebook.