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Cannibal Holocaust (1979)

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3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

A young film crew vanishes in the Colombian rainforest while shooting an anthropology documentary. Their footage, boldly retrieved by a university prof (Kerman), reveals the horrible truth behind their disappearance. Slightly foreshadowing Blair Witch then, but here the evils wrought by - and significantly upon - a barbaric tribe of cannibals are not left to the imagination. Despite poor dubbing, this is a more interesting and unusual film than its schlock-horror title and subject matter might suggest. The intense climax is approached with excellent cinematography and editing, as savage cruelty is eerily juxtaposed with beautiful scenery and Riz Ortolani's terrific score. Its pointed attack on exploitative film-making seems somewhat rich in the circumstances, but this is well made, uniquely unpleasant and almost deserving of its huge cult status.

Author: DCo

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

LT said...

Posted on Jun 14 2010 08:18 Not to say it was a bad movie, but it wasn't THE movie. Simply put, I believe director Ruggero Deodato tried a little too hard to make a masterpiece, and so the film suffers from outrageous amounts of debauchery. The viewer leaves disturbed rather than pondering, and as the film itself frankly reveals its theme ("who are the real savages?"), this could be considered a major blunder on the director's part.
The only reason I took an interest in this movie was to see what all the fuss was about, and I can at least say it did not disappoint. I wouldn't say in this day and age that most of us couldn't stomach the film, but that doesn't stop it from being exceptionally gruesome and nauseating.
I've copied and placed below the link from IMDB's parent guide; it gives a very detailed insight on what to expect.
h t t p ://w w w.imdb.com/title/tt0078935/parentalguide
All in all, it was an alright movie, but I wouldn't say anyone's missing out on not seeing it. If you want to see a real compelling movie with an undercurrent of offensiveness, I would suggest Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Otherwise, don't watch this film expecting to leave enlightened, just disturbed. I wouldn't call it a scary movie as much as unsettling. There were several real animals crudely killed in this film. The audience gets a closeup in the scenes, and on a personal note, I would say that's what was the most horrifying; the lengths this film goes to make its point, and yet not stop to reevaluate itself.

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tracy c. said...

Posted on Dec 04 2009 12:03 i have always been a fan of strange and unusual horror movies, if a horror movie appears too fake,- it doesn't do anything for me, but some movies make you sit and take notice,,,,this is one of those movies, it starts out kinda cheesey, but stick with it, it will run a chill up your spine and make you wonder if it was for real, you DON'T want children to watch this movie, it is disturbing, but if you are a friend of gore type movies,- then you should enjoy this movie.

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Joseph said...

Posted on Oct 11 2009 08:19 While this film is grotesque (you will certainly be disturbed), it also has something important to say about media, and sensationalism. It questions who are the real cannibals. It considers our society, specifically the media as being the savages, rather than the cannibals themselves. It is thought provoking, and a powerful visceral experience, but definitely not a film for everyone.

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