2. Cannibals - Cannibal Holocaust (1979)
Wildly controversial pseudo Mondo Movie horror - Cannibal Holocaust is the ne plus ultra of cannibal films. No other cannibal film has provoked such widespread debate and impassioned censure or praise. The film is so realistic, many have mistook it for a real snuff movie (the film only contains gratuitous animal snuff) and it has been widely banned in many countries. The plot is basic. A group of film makers venture into the Amazon to find evidence of cannibalism. They disappear and an anthropology professor heads to the jungle to see what became of them. He finds rolls of tapes and brings them back to the States and the true horror of the film makers' expedition is laid bare. Cannibal Holocaust contains a lot of violence - very unpleasant violence. A native tribal girl is raped with a stone dildo, another tribal woman has her unborn child forcibly aborted and the foetus buried in mud, the film makers rape a young girl, they also set fire to the natives' huts - it is a rich tapestry of human cruelty. Director Ruggero Deodato was nearly slung in jail because the authorities thought he had filmed the actual real life killing of people. Decades after its release, Cannibal Holocaust retains its immense power to disturb the viewer. Other Italian cannibal film efforts - Cannibal Ferox and Cannibal Apocalypse are wee buns compared to Cannibal Holocaust. I personally see Cannibal Holocaust as a commentary on Popular Italian Mondo movies - particularly the works of Prosperi and Jacopetti and Antonio Climati. Deodato was satirising the lengths these film makers will go to capture outrageous behaviour in humans - particularly outrageous behaviour in ethnic minority groups. It also questions the documentary maker's involvement with what is happening around him - how much he has staged matter or involved himself in violent acts. These are all sobering issues to contemplate. At the same time you can enjoy the film on the level of a plain old gruesome cannibal film - the ultimate cannibal film that packs a major gut punch.