'Cannibal Holocaust': How the 1980 cult classic became one of the most controversial films ever
Time for some Friday horror as 'The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs' on Shudder announced the second film on their roster: 'Cannibal Holocaust.' The 1980 flick gained cult status for being the most famous cannibal horror and also the most controversial as it showcased intense animal cruelty that saw people make sure it was part of their "Don't-ever-watch" list. And animal cruelty was just one ingredient in the pie. It could be rightly said that the 'Cannibal Holocaust' was one of the early proponents of found-footage horror (Think 'Blair Witch Project' and 'The Last Broadcast'). The film follows a team of anthropologists travel to the Amazon rainforest in search of filmmakers who go mysteriously missing. They find reels of footage that give them a horrific image of the events that unfolded — rape, a cortege of animal deaths, castration, genocide, and grim pictures. To add the horror, most of this was unstaged.
'Cannibal Holocaust' is still considered one of the most graphically violent films that have the audience turn away from screens. While it does have an awkward narrative, it also comprises of documentary realism. This was an Italian sub-genre that had people flocking primarily due to the content it dished out. The sheer graphic violence also saw its director Ruggero Deodato face multiple charges— obscenity, counts of murder after rumors of real deaths rippled. 'Cannibal Holocaust' was one of those few trademark films to be banned in many countries. Sexual violence and animal cruelty saw it banned in over 50 countries. The latter was one of the widely debated topics as it saw animals actually killed on-screen just for filming purposes. If decapitating a turtle was one of the reasons to gasp, there's a scene where a monkey is killed. This scene was filmed twice, so it wasn't just one monkey.
According to Screenrant, the film was also part of the UK's "Video Nasties", a list of banned films. The film's uncut version was released only in 2011. To make matters worse for the film back in the day, a magazine article read that several actors were actually killed while filming making it a snuff flick. While this eventually went on to be proved false, it wasn't without its share of controversy as Deodato was charged. In an interview with The Guardian, Deodato remembers the words of his producer: "My producer in Italy was showing dailies in the film markets and getting an amazing response, so he was ringing me every day in the jungle telling me: ''Do more! Do more! Keep filming! Kill more people! Don't worry, your message will come through.'" 'Cannibal Holocaust' sees multiple interpretations from media sensationalism to comparing Western society to cannibals.
For those who haven't caught the film yet, the official synopsis reads: "During a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew whose goal was to study the region’s indigenous cannibalistic tribes."
'Cannibal Holocaust' can be viewed as part of 'The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs' on Shudder.