If there was ever a list made of the most extreme horror movies or the most disturbing movies then Cannibal Holocaust would make the list the peak-end of extreme cinema.
An anthropologist ventures into the Amazon in search of a missing American documentary film crew and retrieves their footage, which documents the gruesome truth behind the ill-fated expedition.
Released in 1980 and directed by Ruggero Deodato Cannibal Holocaust is known as one of the most controversial movies ever made.
A film that pushed the boundaries a little too far and decided to sacrifice real animals on set, showcase sexual violence and course cannibalism scenes that are stomach-churning for even the most die-hard horror movie aficionado.
It’s certainly an enduring experience and an uncomfortable watch from start to finish, if you’re easily offended I’m absolutely positive that you will melt into a little puddle on the floor moments after the movie begins.
Cannibal Holocaust is one of those films that has you in a daze as with every scene that passes your body becomes more and more numb to the horrors you’re focusing on.
With shaky almost found-footage style cinematography blended with the intense realism that each scene brings you’re stuck in this video nasty world upon which you cannot escape.
Knowing that real animals were sacrificed to make a movie is genuinely horrifying in itself but that isn’t even the most horrific part of Cannibal Holocaust.
From full body implements to gruesomely detailed kills and flesh chewing it’s a rancid exploration of weird.
Ruggero Deodato went all out to shock and horrify his audience by any means necessary. There’s no real rhyme or reason behind it as the movie just feels like a serial killers basement contents stitched together for shock value.
Gag reflexes at the ready as there is really something for everyone to bring their breakfast up over.
If there’s an escapism away from the horrors on show there is comedy in the acting quality that’s for sure.
Absolutely horrific acting but let’s be honest, acting was certainly not on a list of priorities when this film was conceived.
Former adult film star Robert Kerman puts in a performance as stiff as his previous line of work and whilst the plot is engrossing for all the wrong reasons the special effects have to be admired.
It’s almost impossible to tell which is real and which is special effects and that’s the truly terrifying aspect of this movie.
Over forty years later and the special effects still stand up as some of the best and whilst the full uncut version will never be released in the UK there is a more complete version of the movie released in 2011.
This latest version includes six minutes of now approved content but with a little hop, skip and a leap over the animal cruelty content.
Cannibal Holocaust is easily within my most disturbing movies category and just getting from start to finish is a challenge in itself.
You’re not meant to like it or even enjoy it but as a horror fan and a cinema fan it has to be seen to be believed.
Just make absolutely sure you’re not having food whilst watching as that will have a horror movie ending all of its own.
