6. Staged Atrocities
Staged footage for the camera has been a mainstay of Mondo Movies from their inception in Mondo Cane and its follow up Mondo Cane 2 right up to the Faces of Death franchise. Many people have suggested that Deodato is commenting on the films of Antonio Climati who cut his teeth working in the Mondo genre with Prosperi and Jacopetti. He made three Mondo movies that were based in Africa - Sweet and Savage, This Violent World and Savage Man, Savage Beast. All three were highly salacious, exploited death scenes and showcased much staged footage. The documentary makers in Cannibal Holocaust are not afraid to stage lugubrious footage for the camera. The most notable scene that stands out is the crew's torching of the natives' huts. The crew force the natives into huts and set them alight claiming another tribe did it but really getting off on the footage which lasts a long time and which features the main theme tune. Deodato is putting out there that much of what Mondo film makers do is staged. And his depiction of the documentary crew is itself a staged Mondo movie of his own.