1. Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
By far the most controversial Video Nasty to appear on the DPP list of prosecuted films and a movie that definitely lives up to its fearsome reputation, Cannibal Holocaust is a graphic and shocking film. It tells the tale of a bunch of Mondo movie style documentary makers who disappear in the Amazon while making a film about cannibals. An Anthropology Professor ventures out to the jungles to see what became of them. He retrieves some film reels from the natives, takes them back to the USA and lets roll... What he uncovers through the documentary is a shocking procession of violent and inhumane acts. There is much real life animal snuff, a woman getting raped by a stone dildo, a forced abortion, a giant turtle being killed for real and eaten by the crew, the crew torching the natives' huts and raping a young girl. The cannibals decide to hell with this and kill the crew - which is positively nasty in its execution and filmed to the bitter end. So controversial, it almost landed director Ruggero Deodato in jail as the Italian authorities thought he had filmed the killing of real people. Cannibal Holocaust has had the snuff finger pointed at it countless times. There is no doubt that the film is brutally realistic but the only thing caught on screen is the gratuitous slaying of real animals - which is quite obnoxious and Deodato copped a charge of obscenity and violence for the film - a four month suspended sentence and the film was banned outright in Italy. In fact, Cannibal Holocaust has marketed itself as being banned in 50 countries. It was certainly greeted with extreme hostility with perhaps the Japanese being the only nationality to welcome it with open arms. In Britain it was prosecuted for obscenity and banned. The ban was not rescinded until 2001 when it was released with heavy cuts. A more substantial version of the film was released in the UK in 2011 with just slight cuts to the worst excesses of animal cruelty. In many respects a mythic film, Cannibal Holocaust has not lost its power to disgust and appal. Controversial because: cannibalism, genocide, rape, torture, murders, real life animal snuff and real life Mondo death footage used in The Green Inferno part.