Cannibal Holocaust - The Thread

Cannibal Holocaust thread.

To quote me when explaining to the cashier why I felt nervous about buying this legitimate copy of a movie:

"I SHAVED to the extent I would not look as seedy as I normally would when trying to purchase THIS MOVIE. Because it's embarrassing as it is to have you call on the intercom "James in DV Ds, get the reserve copy of Cannibal Holocaust for this man.".

Fortunately I got geeky girls at the counter who had sympathy for me. I even wore my best hat because I felt bad about how I looked when fronting up to pick this up in my local area.

But yeah, the movie itself. I don't think it should be banned, though I am puzzled as to how my government gave this film the okay but not the latest Mortal Kombat video game. I'd write a letter to my senator about it but then I'd be worried they'd ban both of those things which I want because they're now aware of them being controversial.

Yeah, the animal cruelty is a bit wrong, but what's equally disturbing is now I've watched this for the third time, it doesn't bother me nearly as much as when I didn't know what was coming. As skeezy as that sounds, the idea of seeing something horrible is often more fear-inducing than having actually seen what everybody was fussed about.

ALSO: The DVD I have is an Australian replica of the American Grindhouse DVD, so you get a disclaimer at the beginning telling you why they didn't censor this movie. With literary quotes and shit. It's something I'd love to see on Australian DV Ds, but then that would make the government look bad now won't it?

Has anybody seen this movie or wants to after seeing The Cinema Snob's review of it?

You watched this film out of curiosity I take it?

I wonder who the real cannibals are?

...

In all seriousness, I had a morbid fascination with this film a couple years ago. I eventually lost interest and from seeing numerous reviews, including The Cinema Snob's, and clips, I've decided I have almost no reason to watch the film, considering, the film really is just there for shock value.

Oh, by the way, you have balls of steel doing what you did to get a hold of a copy.

I felt bad for both the cashiers and myself because I got the impression that they were relieved somebody came into the shop actually knowing what they were going to purchase that day, unlike many Gruen Transfer purchases. It is as if my presence was commanding to them, like my being was saying "I am here to buy Cannibal Holocaust and chew bubble gum. And I'm all out of gum."

To that extent, they saw me as a man who knew what he was looking for that day, the complete opposite of The Clash song "Lost In The Supermarket". They didn't really see me as some coward who tried to buy a kid's film alongside it to make it look like I wasn't a complete pervert. No, they commended me for not taking that route.

But yeah, after watching the uncut director's cut on DVD, having only seen shady copies on the interwebs with no subtitles during some surprisingly key plot points, I am under the impression that combined with the special features, the actors who appeared in this went through some horrible things.

I like to think that the actors who appeared in this don't have Vietnam flashbacks. They have CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST FLASHBACKS.

The guy who played Alan Yates probably has Catapult Nightmare dreams where he wakes up in bed with his wife:

WIFE: Honey, you had that dream again didn't you?

YATES: The one where they cut the faces of the monkeys while they were still alive, and they made me burn down a village? *sobs* Yeah, I had that one again. Hold me...

WIFE: *shudders* Remind me how agreed to that role?

Money, dear boy. That's the only reason. I don't want to fathom any kind of other reason as to why they agreed, I still have enough faith in humanity to refrain from that.

I actually rented this from a (sadly-closed) Blockbuster (and it was uncut, I also rented Pink Flamingos from the same Blockbuster). I remember it being an interesting piece of grindhouse history. Yes, it is graphic and the animal cruelty is hard to watch but I liked it.

I'd watch it if I could find it online. Too lazy to buy a copy.

It commands a pretty penny on eBay.

I have heard about this film, but I have yet to see it. Didn't the director get into serious trouble with this film?

He was charged with murder due to the realistic effects and because the actors had signed an oath of secrecy (they weren't supposed to reveal themselves for two years). The actors ended up breaking the oath to appear on television so the director could be acquitted.

It sounds like that didn't go so well.

I remember when the director of the film died many said he somehow deserved it, all because of the animal abuse. Which I responded with "Ummm...no"

I mean... Deodato's kind of a fucked-up guy. Even by his standards, that's a weird thing to say, but it tracks.

So... I dunno if I could ever defend Cannibal Holocaust, but it's a fascinating glimpse of Italian horror; it's not even the cruelest, or most fucked-up, but it somehow got ALL of the attention in those regards. I do think that it would be legitimately effective outside of the turns it takes—it has many sequences that are genuinely revolting and harrowing without having a foot in reality.

He's a screwed up guy, but even I'm not gonna say he deserved death. Death is just something that...happens.

Anyways, the film, while not technically great, is certainly visceral and fascinating.

Edited by AudioSpeaks2 on Dec 16th 2023 at 3:17:59 AM

Im just shocked that there are people who willing watched this

Once you watch enough horror movies, you want to test your limits. Honestly, this is one of the tamer fucked-up ones.

I completely misread the post I was replying to. Oops.

And, yeah, the animal deaths are what really pushes it over the top. If they weren't so prevalent in the cannibal subgenre, I'd say most Cat III horror is a lot more screwed-up.

Edited by Prowler on Dec 16th 2023 at 2:54:50 AM