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I'm not about the watch the film that many thought was snuff. The director was even accused of murder and almost sent to jail because of this film seeming so realistic. That is the the stuff of shock entertainment legend. I have seen bits of this here and there. It's banned in several places and considered to be a movie that should be avoided. They have several edited versions now that cut some gruesomeness out. It has many disturbing things about it. I know there will be stuff that really makes me uneasy, but I'm going to watch it anyways to finally get it over with. Afterwards I can finally say I've seen it and never want to again. This will be my first encounter with a Ruggero Deodato film as well as the writers. Now let's get this over with.
One of the creepiest elements of this is the score. It's so melodic and peaceful even as some of the more grotesque pieces of the story happen. There were a few moments that the noise was a bit annoying. The first half has a handful of brutal things happen, but the second half is where it proves to be one of the most disturbing films. The stuff with the animals was pretty sad, but they did give the natives the animals as food. It's still pretty disturbing how it happens though. My main concern were the four fairly graphic rape scenes. The first one while quite disturbing was the only one that really pertained to the story. The rest of them were just to add shock value. I do wonder though if the girl on the spike was the one the guys of the film crew raped. Did they put her on the spike themselves or did the tribe do it after the incident. I can see why in some spots people thought this was real. The make-up and special effects team did a superb job at realism. Whereas Green Inferno from last year that pays homage to this is quite unrealistic. The ending kind of reminds me of zombie films where you have to wonder. It was different than I had expected though. Kind of like the reverse Full Metal Jacket where the first half and second are completely different tales. Whereas the first half of Full Metal Jacket is the awesome bit, the second half of Cannibal Holocaust is where the really gritty stuff happens.
The Professor is my favorite character. He seems to genuinely care about the well being of people. Chaco and Miguel are also fairly good characters. The film crew though are absolutely despicable. None of them are likable whatsoever. Even Faye doesn't care that another girl is being raped. The only thing she cares about is a waste of film and that her lover doesn't join in. They rape, commit mass murder, brutalize animals for fun (not just for food). Alan even admires a dead girl on a stake whom I think is the girl they raped. They got an eye for an eye. Honestly I would say they deserved what they got.
The story was good albeit quite disturbing. Most of the characters are not really all that likable.The question it asks still pertains to the way society is. You constantly wonder about that to this day. It does feel kind of realistic more so than the way they do gore and such these days. I can see why they say this should be avoided or watched only once. I don't see how anyone could watch all of this more than once. Now I can say I've watched this and never have to go through it again.
