Review of The Green Inferno (2013) by Nicolas S — 02 Jun 2018

I am honestly astonished that The Green Inferno managed to get an R-rating instead of an NC-17. The last film I remember that churned my stomach was Antichrist (2009), and The Green Inferno is now among the few films that actually did that to me.

The Green Inferno is about a group of student activists who travel to Peru to try and stop the destruction of the rain forest. Using modern technology, they are able to halt the destruction by pulling out their phones and recording what happens.

This includes one group member, Justine, nearly getting shot by a militia member. After their success that makes headlines around the world, the group celebrates (except for Justine, given she almost died) on the plane ride back.

However, something goes wrong and the plane ends up crashing in the jungle, killing multiple people onboard...and they were the lucky ones. The survivors are captured by a tribe using darts and brought back to their village.

All but one survivor is led to a cage, while the others look on in horror as he is mutilated while still alive, and the head of the tribe gouges out his eyes and cuts out his tongue before eating them.

The man is then chopped to pieces while still alive and cooked for the tribe. Realizing their inevitable fates, the survivors desperately try to find a way to escape. The Green Inferno is a very gruesome and disturbing film with light touches of pitch black humor thrown in for good measure.

It's a very intense film, and not for those who don't like a gore flick every now and then. The film does have its issues though, particularly with the plot. The character Alejandro - the leader of the activists - is very thinly written and I never understood his douchey motivations.

With other douchebag characters, there's still some kind of motivation for self-interest and cowardice, but with Alejandoro, it just never makes sense or stays consistent. Outside of the horrific, gory violence, the film does try to have a point about conservationism, which doesn't really jive with everything that's going on with the baffling ending.

Plus, as with many horror flicks, the characters are not the brightest people (Why do they attempt to escape by running directly through the village instead of running the other way? I'd rather die in the jungle than be eaten).

Flaws aside, and I can see why most hate it, if you're up for a gorefest, The Green Inferno is a fun time to be had.