Tagline: The most controversial movie ever made.
Curiosity: Did you not see the tagline? I’ve wanted to see this movie since I was like 14.
Plot: Cannibal Holocaust is essentially split into two segments. When a documentary crew disappears in South America, an anthropologist named Harold Monroe (Robert Kerman) goes in search of them. After bonding with a tribe and participating in one of their cannibalistic ceremonies, he is able to retrieve their film reels. The second half of the film consists of Monroe watching the footage to learn what happened [SPOILER ALERT: Shit got real.]
Thoughts: While I don’t think I could have ever liked this movie, I’m definitely too old to watch it now. Ostensibly, Cannibal Holocaust is supposed to be a commentary on society or some shit. But it’s really just an Italian cannibal exploitation flick, so that whole “who’s really civilized?” angle doesn’t make up for the copious amount of rape ‘n’ animal torture scenes. I’m an animal activist and a RAINN supporter. I don’t need to watch monkeys get their faces chopped off.
Sure, there’s a critical part of me that has to admit that this film is genuinely shocking. I felt nauseous during several scenes. But it never scared nor entertained me, nor did it provoke critical thought. As a social commentary, Cannibal Holocaust is pretty piss-poor. Reading about the film’s production made me even sicker. The director and producer cut a lot of corners to get the film made on the cheap, so they abused extras without giving them proper compensation. They slaughtered seven animals over the course of filming. At least the rape scenes weren’t real.
As an American, I believe in freedom of speech. But I recognize that that freedom still has limits. The classic example is shouting fire in a crowded theater and causing damage. But as far as films go, I know that I have things that offend me, just like everyone else. While I consider myself a fan of, say, the Hostel films, I still have to draw a line somewhere to indicate what I consider to be appropriate and inappropriate for a movie. Cannibal Holocaust is that line.
Reflection: Man, I like monkeys.
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