I just finished watching the cult film Cannibal Holocaust, some Itallian film shot in the Americas. The film is over three decades old, and probably never saw the light of day during the family cinema hours. Granted it’s almost five in the morning at this moment, and I must say, this is not so-much the goriest thing I’ve ever seen, but I was fascinated at just how the film was made.
Anyone that’s been to college, and taken a course in cinema, may have been subjected to this film, and many people will say many things about this particular film from the late seventies, early eighties, and it would be said that it is perhaps the most graphic piece of film ever made.
I compare it to film noir, but done in such a mass produced style, as if the film really could’ve made it in box offices, and it has intrigued me in that sense. I’ve seen the unrated version of the film, which is truly the only version of the film, but what I find enticing is not just the ruthless violent display, but the film as a whole, and the only true film to ever touch on what makes us human, and how do we define civility. The director of this film has truly pushed this question of morality to the extreme, and it is significant to how we survive, and how the rest of the world outside of the modern age view normalcy.
Now I know so much has been written about this film, and so many people from scholars of film, all the way down to laymen critics have dissected (no pun intended) this film to its core. The use of no-name, to minor actors (at the time) have made the authenticity of the film almost questionable. I really do wonder how, even to this day how they made such a false documentary look like something on a midnight showing of a Discovery Channel documentary. Incredibly precise in every moment of shooting, there are amazing uses to cut scenes that I’ve never in my life seen in other films, nothing as unique since Alfred Hitchcock’s use. The movie itself never truly starts until the reviewing of the adventurer’s film, but it is incredibly done, I must give props.
Now, the film has been banned in several countries, towards the cruelty of animals shown, as some animals are actually killed during the filming of both the film and the “documentary” part of the movie. Looking past that, as hard as it may be, this is horror at its deepest meaning, fear of the unknown, and the threat of what we once were, to what we have become.
Cannibalism is the main theme of the whole film, and the Western, modern world’s view of it, and if it is inhuman, or if it is just a practice we’ve forgotten. The film itself shows acts of cannibalism, which are clearly staged, and fake, but you really wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, showing that some of the greatest directing is done under the guise of reality.
Cannibalism itself is something that also shows the backdrop, and that it is shown to be part of the moral make up of the tribes filmed, which are also fake tribes. We, the viewer of the film is supposed to decide who are the real primitives: those who practice eating and mutilating humans for consumption, or the overly violent, enthusiastic Westerners that claim to be moralistic people, yet find it intriguing to view such violence from film and culture. Surely many films have touched on this subject of our Western psyche, but nothing has come so close to really grasping that point than Cannibal Holocaust.
See, the name of the film is not for us to sympathize with the so-called victims of the mutilation and cannibalization of the film crew and party, but the abuse and humiliation, and murdering of these primitive people. The most grotesques scenes that I’ve found in this movie are not the acts of cannibalism, murdering of people through the rituals of the tribe, but the way that when the producers are reviewing the film with the anthropologist, the main character in the film, they are desensitized through most of the sickening images they see, a clear example of very undertone symbolism on the American psyche. This was the most disgusting part of the film, the fact that people can be so desensitized by violence and gore, that they watch it as if it’s all staged, or that it affects them in no way whatsoever.
To make my point clear, I believe this is one of the most well directed films I’ve ever seen, I understand the mysterious history behind the film, and I respect that most people will disagree with me, if not say that the whole thing was a sham, which I’m well aware of, but reviewing Cannibal Holocaust as simply a film, I must say nothing has ever come close to being as realistic as this. If I were to cut out the background story, and skipped to the documentary part of this film, it would be quite impossible for anyone to say that this was simply a movie, and fake.
That is the work of great directing with the most simplistic camera work, and not even films like The Blair Witch Project can even relate, and really must pay homage to films like this for getting the fake documentary that is done right.
Cannibal Holocaust is a film that few people will enjoy, mostly film majors, those who can appreciate the work put into it, and the fact that it can still maintain an intriguing story, abound with the array of violence witnessed, it is simply intriguing to have anyone NOT acknowledge that once you come back to reality and realize it was a fake film, that it was amazing directing and filming, and how all movies should be done today.
Peter Jackson with District 9 tried in a way to capture authenticity, trying to almost make us believe that aliens have landed in Johannesburg, and it was done well, but sadly, as this is the only recent film to my knowledge to use in comparison, it is still apples and oranges, Cannibal Holocaust puts it to shame. Nowhere else have I seen a director push boundries for a film than here, and on a tight budget as this film was made for its time, I’m shocked that it turned out as truly remarkable as it had.
I would urge anyone that can truly stomach the film to watch it, because it’s something everyone that ever wanted to do film should experience, if just once. I’ve must’ve watched the film at the very least eight times, and I still find the way it was made to be absolutely remarkable. If I ever wanted to be a film writer, or a director, I would cite this movie as an inspiration on how film should be shot, and how it should be as authentic as possible.
Underneath all the psychology, the technicalities, and the massive production of the film itself, it is still truly a horror film. Cannibal Holocaust has made it so anyone that watches it, will feel queasy, scared, hypertension, and will chill you down to the bones. It is a film that if you are too sensitive, should be watched when there’s light still out, and I am so impressed at how far the film crew and production have gone, I’d show this film to anyone that was intrigued with the art of film.
I put this film up there with classics like Eraserhead, Todd Browning’s Freaks, and Rocky Horror Picture show on some of the films every film student must see. Especially I compare it to Eraserhead, because it may not be the exact same theme, it is about how the film is produced, and both follow a unique suit that is particularly important to acknowledge as filmmakers. In a digital age where we are subdued to over-the-top special effects, and damnable storylines, filmmakers in should take note of how this movie was made, and use those methods in their own personal works of noir filming.
Cannibal Holocaust inspires, and transcends all film you will ever see, and if a modern version was ever made, it would be like the terrible remake of I Spit on Your Grave, which will be coming out to theaters soon. Nothing beats the original, not with Last House on the Left, or the Hills Have Eyes, nothing beats the classic, and nothing will last as long as the original. No matter how many remakes spew up from the underbelly of Hollywood, they will never redo great indie films like these, even with their billion dollar budgets. If theaters had any real guts, they’d show this film on the big screen, but due to the content, it will never happen commercially, and that saddens me, because if political correctness will kill the humanity of seeing this spit-in-the-eye mirror image of our society, then we are truly lost to the world as generic copies of insincere, pompous superiority complexes that the Western civilized world is the greatest thing ever to exist.
Need I remind my readers that happen to be disgusted by my “cynical” views on the subject, that even the great Romans, what we base our entire existence on, would watch bloody bouts, tinkering on the brinks of massacre in a circled pit known as the Coliseum. The irony of it all, is that through the bloodshed, the film is making an example on how we all love our blood, gore, and obscure violence all too damn much.
Cannibal Holocaust is a must-see for anyone old enough to be able to stomach the contents found inside, and for those that want to break into film. I would like to take a quick chance though to let you know I am not saying it’s the greatest film ever made, and if I came off in my review as saying so, I am not, but the way it was made, the production of this great film is perhaps the most incredible I’ve seen in the most recent history of filmmaking. There are plenty of film done like this that also fit into the category of gore film, like Dario Argento’s work, but they are still PG compared to this cult classic.
Cannibal Holocaust is a must-see film that is in much need for analyzing, critiquing, and dare-I-say, a piece of film that should be in every advanced film school class. Test should be given on this film, and I say that with no hint of sarcasm, despite the obsurdity it will cause, because all the sickening things that make the audience nauseous are done for a prime reason: who are the real monsters? Who are the real primitives? Questions that need to be answered, discussed, and debated for as long as we can, because this film is perhaps the work of lunatics, but ingenious lunatics nonetheless.
I would like to leave on the note that I do not condone violence to animals, and although done for the film, the animals that were killed were indeed eaten, and not just left aside, nevertheless, it does not negate the fact that they were indeed killed for the film. As a meat-eating person, I cannot say I fully damn the film on the notion that animals were killed for consumption. I do not believe animals should suffer for the film itself, so in that respect, I do not believe that this was the best route to take, but also in respect to the film, it had made its feeling so much more authentic, that it did even have my rational mind question if this film truly was authentic or simulated. Any PETA activists out there that are going to try and rip into me for this film, I am stating now that, although it may sound like I am glorifying this film, I am truly not deceiving you by saying I loved everything this film has, as a film itself I am saying it is simply one of the best examples of making the imaginative as real as possible.
Although this film may offend, entice, or even not reach the critical point it was trying to make, Cannibal Holocaust is a film that everyone should see at least once, and I say everyone, even those who may be offended, because you should allow yourself to be offended just once to get the notion of what this film is trying to say about humanity. It is important and a test of our will as human beings to always leave the natural world, and build wat we think is a better, or “safer” world than fighting alongside the wolves and bears for survival. Truly a self-incriminating look at who we are, and where we’ve stemmed from, it’s always good to remember just how primitive we all truly are, and that we’re just one skyscraper away from just being all back in the jungles.
As always, thank you all for reading the Malacast Editorial, and thank you all for following me on Twitter, and I do hope to have a Facebook Page sooner or later, and a podcast eventually when I can get the show itself set up professionally. Hopefully I do not lose many of you with this post, and I purposefully did not touch on much detail of the film, due to its illegality in some countries, I do not in any way believe that people should break the law to see Cannibal Holocaust, nor go out of their way to attain a copy. I believe solely that this film is, and should only be seen by adults that are mentally stable enough to view its contents.
If you’d like you can follow this blog on Twitter, @mcasteditorial, and do leave a comment on the main blog, any criticism is welcomed, and I am very sorry for the lack of posts, I do try to keep this blog running by myself with limited Internet access, and I appreciate you all checking back often for new posts.
I am hoping to do a few book reviews, as well as some film reviews in the upcoming months, with perhaps some editorial/opinion pieces, and I am still enticed at sending out newsletters. I also will do my annual Halloween and Fall post when the time comes. I also would love, absolutely love to put up a video log, and go out and do some interviews, so do try to check back for those and many more upcoming events, posts, and reviews at Malacast Editorial.
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