Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Running Time:  96 minutes (uncut)

Release Date:  February 7, 1980

Review By:  Chris

"I wonder who the real cannibals are." The closing line of Cannibal Holocaust.

The leading contender for the worlds most banned film and the grandfather of "found footage" genre, directed by Ruggero Deodato,  Cannibal Holocaust has a near mythic and notorious reputation among cinephiles and horror enthusiasts alike. A marathon display of the viewer's stamina and strength of resolve up against a mad man's twisted and bloody nightmare. So what better launching point for us to use as we dive into the churning sea of cinema.

 

Released in 1980, the film was almost immediately harbored with controversy; from allegations of murder, to charges of obscenity and cruelty. The imaginations of the public quickly burned CH into a horror icon. Do not for a moment though, fall into the trap of believing that CH and its mythic status is a product of nostalgia of a bygone era that cannot compare to the intensity and gore of today. The opposite in fact is true. Few blood spattered gore fests of today, if any, can compare to CH. 

If you have heard of CH (which if you are reading this, it is difficult to imagine you haven't) then you know the premise. Four young filmmakers go into the Amazon in search of lost tribes and disappear likely victims of said tribes. Eventually, after an exhaustive search, low and behold, their desecrated corpses are found along with a video record of their last days. This is where we really start to (pardon) cut into the meat. We see that in fact, contrary to what the audience expects, these film makers terrorize the natives, throwing themselves into the mix creating a commentary on the true state of the existential condition of all animals (man included) that only the strong survive. From then we are quickly thrown into a fateful revenge story where the natives repay the film crew ten fold. All the while we are interjected with periodic flashes to the New York screeners who are questioning whether to exploit the found footage for gain. If it bleeds it leads. The film is dense. There are layers and layers of meaning and meta story that are shoe-horned into CH. In fact you are nearly beat over the head with self reflective homework to the point that you start to question whether this was intentional as a means to distract you from the idea that CH itself is guilty of the exact same exploitation of violence for profit. 

You could extrapolate meaning and meta story and devise rhetoric from CH for ages. In the end it is a film. It certainly is not lacking for creativity. Even in the subtle touches. The found footage parts of the film are intentionally poorer quality. They look to an audience as if they really could have been left out in the elements and taken by amateur film makers. It adds to the immersion of the film. However, as much as CH is creative and original, it is also ugly. There is a base quality to the film that derives from its creativity. The much lauded animals killing are truly not horrific to anyone who has ever gone hunting or worked a ranch or slaughterhouse (guilty on all three parts), but they are used as a warmer for the audience, as a way for CH to keep up the pacing and tone without having to develop the story more. Once is forgivable, six times is a product of incomplete and poor story craft. Then the exposition. It takes a significant degree of skill to tell a story in film without literally telling a story word for word. CH gives little opportunity or credit to the audience to help build the narrative in their minds. Granted, CH is going for shock value, but shock can be more effective if you don't drag the audience by the hand down every row of story.

CH has its faults. CH has its genius. Less can be more. Still it is a unique piece of film history and as such cannot be ignored. This film definitely is a an exercise in stamina.  By today's audience standards the gore and violence, while not tame, will not be a cathartic moment, although not lacking for intensity. What requires stamina is the constant moral attack; "Are you, the civilized person, the savage because you are paying money to watch this?"  

6/10 Turtle Steaks