“Diving right in to more #Rothtober. It’s the Roth favorite that Eli Roth describes as “”the sickest most disgusting but really really effective film””. Cannibal Holocaust.
This film is one of the most notorious and controversial films ever made. Has an unconfirmed world record for number of countries in which it is banned. The director was brought up on murder charges because people were so convinced that the actors were actually killed. They had to bring in the actors and explain how some of the effects were done. The DVD I was watching actually had a really long intro that basically said that this film is ridiculously disturbing and that you really should not watch it, but because they believe in making film available and they dont believe in censorship.
This is also prolly the original found footage horror. Before the current trend. Even waaaaay before Blair Witch Project, even though its unlikely the Blair Witch crew ever saw this.
So why all the hooplah? Some of the footage in this film is really \m/ disturbing. Basic premise: An anthropoligist takes a team into South America to find out what happened to a film crew. They were shooting a documentary about some of the natives and disappeared. Anthropologist guy finds they’re dead but brings back the footage. And it’s not pretty. Did I mention the DVD includes an animal cruelty free version. Yeeeaaahhh there’s that. On top of everything else.
But beyond all of that, there actually is a very strong point to the whole thing. There’s a question of who the savages really are, and if it’s really just a matter of perception. It’s also a commentary on sensationalism in film, and this is back in the 70s. I can only imagine what these filmmakers would have to say in a post torture porn era. Now what does it say about me that the nudity made me more uncomfortable than the gore and violence? Whatever it says, I blame my parents.”