Cannibal Holocaust. The Most Controversial Film of All Time. And one of my favorites.

Cannibal Holocaust. The most controversial film ever made, and one of my favorites of all time. Filmed on location in the Amazon rain-forest under harsh conditions (most of which stemmed from the directors treatment) and released in 1980. The film was unrelentingly brutal and effectively pioneered the "Found Footage" style of horror filmmaking thirty years before The Blair Which Project made it popular. Upon it`s release, director Ruggero Deodato was charged with obscenity and murder. Turns out the film`s gore and terror was a little too authentic for folks back then as they thought Ruggero had truly murdered his actors and that Cannibal Holocaust was a Snuff Film. Despite the actors from the film being contractually obliged not to appear in any media to enhance Cannibal Holocaust`s realism, they came forward to prove that they were in fact not dead, and so the charges were dropped. I can personally see why folks were fooled. The gore effects are still impressive today and several animals die for real on camera. Though the animals are killed quickly as due to the on location filming they really were attacked by animals and had to cook and eat them, so they just filmed it for the sake of authenticity. But I can see why it rubs people more sensitive than myself the wrong way. Despite (or perhaps because of) all of this, the film is a beloved cult classic which carries a truly powerful message and is one of the most truly daring and effective masterpieces in horror film history.

The film follows an Anthropologist tasked with going to the Amazon to find out what happened to a highly regarded documentary film crew who went missing out there. With two guides to assist him, they venture into the "Green Inferno" together. They meet up with one of the tribes who at first act very wary as it seems the missing film crew made quite a mess of things. Upon gaining the trust of this particular tribe, the three men venture off to find the other tribes within the jungle. After a tough few days of searching and attempting to earn the trust of the illusive "Tree People" one the most mysterious and feared tribes in the Amazon, they are eventually lucky enough to be accepted. The Anthropologist is fed the flesh of one of their enemies and shown the skeleton corpses of the documentary film crew as well as their film. Upon returning to New York, a big news studio is adamant on releasing the film to the public despite the Anthropologists many objections. In order to make them understand his concern, he shows them the film, which shows the crew behaving abhorrently towards the tribes people. Shooting, raping and exploiting them to stage scenes for their precious "Documentary", resulting in their violent and completely deserved demise. Upon seeing this, the news people decide to burn the footage and forget that it ever happened. The Anthropologist walks out of there pondering on who the real "Savages" are, the primitive tribes who only kill for necessity? Or the "Civilized western man who exploit and hurt one another for their own gain.

Cannibal Holocaust is far from an easy watch, which is precisely why it is so good. The great gore, authentic filmmaking and genuinely compelling story all comes together to form a masterful gut punch of a film which every horror fan has to see at least once. It`s core message about how cruel and hypocritical western man truly is has if anything grown in relevance since the films release. Cannibal Holocaust truly is the king of Cannibalsploitation films and as I said early is also one of my favorite movies on the face of the earth.