Ahhh, it’s about time I tacked this movie. This iconic masterpiece. For many years I wanted to see this legendary movie. My love for controversial films had me noticing this flick mentioned time and time again. By this point, I was dabbling with the extreme and notorious, and this movie was always on my radar, but always out of reach. Back when I was in my teens, downloading movies was such a foreign concept to me, and this movie was still banned in Australia. Curse you, damn Aussie censors! Curse you all!!!!



Fortunately, the ban lifted in 2005, but I was still unable to locate a copy, and was too cheap to pay the $50 it cost from my local video shop, so alas, me seeing the legendary Cannibal Holocaust wasn’t to be.
Until one fateful day when I in my room, minding my own business, when my father came in with a whole stack of movies.

“My mate at work just gave me all these flicks he obtained, there’s some horrors in there if you’re interested”.

He left them on my bedside table, and out he went. I hobbled over and gave them a skim. Every time my dad’s mate gave him movies, they were usually very mainstream, or just really lame, but I’ll never knock back free movies, so what the hell!

As I flicked through them, my eyes caught hold of the all so famous cover of Cannibal Holocaust. I couldn’t believe it. Cannibal Holocaust! I finally had it in my hands, and my own father had delivered it to me!!!
I love my dad.



What proceeded next would only secure my love for exploitation and extreme cinema. I had already seen Irreversible at this point, but not much else when it came to extreme cinema. But here was a movie that was argued to have been banned almost everywhere, had the director taken to court, and featured on almost every ‘most disturbing list’ ever made. I couldn’t wait to watch it.

This movie follows a rescue crew who travel into the Amazon, looking for a documentary crew who went missing. Directed by Ruggero Deodato, this amazing piece of cinema was not the first cannibal exploitation flick, in fact, quite a few had already been made by this point, but it’s certainly the most well known. There is a reason for this. Cannibal exploitation flicks are either made with comedic overtone, or gritty and tribal atmosphere. Cannibal Holocaust went the latter route, and made it as grimy and unsettling as possible. Using various filming techniques, including the shaky cam, which would later become very successful film making, Deodato created a very voyeuristic flick which tacked some very important concepts, such as the ethical consequences of journalism, and the state of humanity when faced with greed. Add to that, the very taboo scenes of graphic brutality, sexual violence, and genuine violence toward animals, and you have one fucked up movie. And one marvellous movie at that.



After it was first shown in Italy, Deodato was arrested and charged with making a snuff film because people believed the actors were actually killed on camera. Idiots. Deodato was later cleared but the film was banned in almost everywhere after it. And so begins its notoriety. When will the censors learn, if you don’t want someone to see something, don’t ban it, you’ll only get it more attention. Idiots!

One of the most iconic things about this movie, is the score. Probably one of my favourite scores I have ever heard in any movie, it switches between that beautiful melody coupled with the gorgeous scenery, and an unsettling creepiness which could unnerve you completely during the disturbing scenes. The music really helped to establish an atmosphere. No doubt it helped to make it as memorable as it is today. And those iconic disturbing shots, as well as the disturbing ending, no doubt pushed so many boundaries for us cinema lovers, horror exploitation fans will forever rejoice for seeing realistic looking carnage.



One thing I should say, as much as I love this movie, and all the cannibal exploitation movies, the animal killings does bother me some. While it certainly adds to the gritty and voyeuristic feel of the movie, it really didn’t add anything for me personally. I tend to fast forward these scenes myself, being the animal lover that I am. However, I certainly won’t boycott these movies for it and pretend I don’t eat meat. But I do wish the animal killings were faked. Oh well, such is life.

If you haven’t seen Cannibal Holocaust, watch it now! For the pure reason that it’s one of those movies you just have to see. If the animal violence does go against your morals, there are copies which feature an animal cruelty free version. But this movie is rated highly for a reason. Long live cannibal exploitation!

Thankyou.