Review of Cannibal Holocaust (1980) by Chad H — 10 Jun 2011

3.8/5.

Often considered the most controversial film ever made, Cannibal Holocaust lives up to its reputation. And I regret watching it. I. Am. Sick. This film has disturbed and disgusted me like no other film I've seen.

A group of four young documentary filmmakers go into the Amazon jungle to film the natives. They are never seen again. A anthropologist is then sent to determine what happened to them. He finds the native tribes and discovers the remains of the four friends, in addition to their footage. The media goes into a frenzy, and decide to show it. Yet what the footage contains is worse than they could possibly imagine.

The movie is famous for being ultra realistic in its gore and dismemberment scenes. Many believed that the filmmakers actually did the things seen on screen. And I'll tell you what, either they did do them or those are some really, really good special effects. We see all kinds of animals killed and gutted in a very realistic fashion, as well as a few human deaths that are bloody and violent. And it goes without saying that it is very disturbing.

But the approach the movie takes to everything is very well-done. The story is original, and I like to think of it as being the precursor to the modern "found footage" genre. The direction is impeccable. There's a constant feeling of fear and dread. Like the characters, you expect someone to be killed any second. It's quite unnerving.

The characters themselves are interesting, if unlikable. The way the writer twists the four filmmakers around is fantastic. We are meant to care for them because they were eaten and died horribly, but by the end we discover that they are much more monstrous than the natives they consider so savage. They deserved their fates.

Cannibal Holocaust is an extremely well made horror film. However, I can't recommend that anyone watch it, even you gorehounds and horror junkies out there. It's revolting, disgusting, disturbing, and sickening, and I never want to see this movie again. What I saw can't be unseen, and I wish I could unsee them. If you choose to see this film, know what you're getting into and be prepared for the worst.