I think I just witnessed the most politically incorrect movie in existence. I thought that dubious distinction was awarded to one of many Troma videos of that nature. I was incorrect.

Cannibal Holocaust (like Cannibal Ferox) always gets notorious credit for being one of the most vile, graphic movies of all time. I am a believer. The thing about Holocaust, as opposed to Ferox, is that this is a full blown, well produced, well made flick. You would think that something this underground and cultish would be shit, but it is not.

The beginning of the film starts out with a breathtaking view of the Amazon river from a small airplane. There is a very pleasant acoustic song playing in the background. This immediately disturbed me, because I knew about the arsenal of gore and despair that was going to ensue. A professor from the United States is coming to the Amazon in search of a party of four students who came to the Amazon earlier for some documentary work and never returned. In his journey into the Green Inferno, (as it is called in the movie) the professor and his two companions notice that the natives are really stirred up for some reason.

Fearing the worst, he keeps on travelling until he indeed finds the results he was dreading. He finds the remains of the party of four and their belongings. But wait! They had a camera and tons of film footage. After some jedi mind tricks with a recorder and a recorded voice of one of the shaman, he mind fucks the tribe leader into giving him all the film. After taking the film back to the States he finds out the grisly truth of the students’ demise. Apparently, these students weren't as much of victims as it was led to believe.

The gore here is excellent, but it doesn’t steal the show. You do have beheadings, member dismemberments (seems to be par for the course for cannibal flicks), manual abortions, rock pummeled skulls, and more. You have the infamous scene where the party comes upon a native female who was skewered with a big stake that she is hanging from. The stake enters her body from between her legs and exits out through her mouth. People, this is some graphic shit. Apparently, this was so graphic, that the actual movie crew got investigated for this scene, thinking it was authentic. You also have the live animal killings, which I am not going to preach to you about. I think it is cowardly and adds nothing but shame to the movie. Use fake animals for Christ’s sake!

The graphic violence of this movie is where this movie really gains its notoriety. You have multiple graphic gang rapes of women and savage beatings. One notorious scene has a native male raping a native woman using a big oval rock. After he is done, he beats her to death with it. Don’t walk into this movie thinking you are going to have some fun n’ gore a la Redneck Zombies. This is heavy shit. Women’s groups, animal rights groups, ethnic groups, and human rights groups had to be all over this flick. Even though it is not as gory as Ferox, it is more violent and revolting.

You don’t really look for nudity in a movie like this, but it is everywhere, and just as graphic as the violence. Swinging cock n’ balls and naked chicks alike are all over this movie, not that you would care.

The music for this movie is top notch. There is always disturbing music (and sometimes just droning noise) whenever something graphic is happening. Sometimes they will even mix it up and have really soothing music whenever carnage is happening, just to disturb you even more. The acting is top notch. The acting of the documentary crew is a little over the top, but I think that was the intent.

There are also political undertones going on in this movie. Hollywood wants to exploit all the discovered film footage and put it on network television, at the expense of all the suffering of the people who lost their lives. To do so would be soulless, but as usual, Hollywood is insensitive to the situation.

The recording of the footage of the lost film crew is also very innovative. Think Blair Witch, just 20 years earlier. You have people running through the woods, dropping the camera, and screaming and crying. Very authentic. Makes me think a little less of Blair Witch at this point, at least from an innovation point of view.

I usually try not to make my reviews this long, but there were certain points of my discussion that I couldn’t justify leaving out. This movie will offend 10 out of every 10 people who decide to watch this, if you can find it. It isn’t like Ferox, in that the wacky ass script always gives you certain points of comic relief, even if not fully intended. This script is quite professional and dark. Take away the live animal killings and you have a very dark and savage masterpiece. Not recommended for the faint of heart. A great movie nonetheless. I can’t believe I am even saying that.

In keeping with the political incorrectness of this movie, I downloaded it off of the internet. Fucking sue me.

It's ironic that this movie is about a group of filmmakers that will brutalize natives to make their documentary shocking, and it's made by a filmmaker that will chop a monkey's face off to make his movie shocking. It didn't make it shocking, it just pissed me off and marred an otherwise excellant flick. It also destroyed any chance of this film of reaching the success it could have.

Several countries have laws against cruelty to animals for the sake of movie-making, of those there's the US and the movie's native Italy. Both markets were effectively lost. The versions that made their way through Europe where cut so heavily that they were probably unrecognizable. In Japan, however, Cannibal Holocaust is one of the top-ten grossing films of all time.

The most infuriating thing about it is how little it actually adds to the film. The turtles scene is disgusting and drawn out, along with the killing of some little creature I didn't recognize. The monkey scene was only three seconds. As if there was a monkey around that just needed killing. I'm just hoping there's enough cancer of the nuts to get the fucker behind that. Anyway, I digress.

It is a similar idea to The Blair Witch Project, I don't know if it was inspiration or coincidence, but it a lot of ways it was done better. The last scene makes me think it was the inspiration, watch it and you see what I mean.

The violence is brutal, you don't see this type of thing often, it falls into a catagory beyond that of normal horror. Even a little beyond that of normal cannibal movies. The rapes are brutal, the first one actually goes beyond rape to sexual torture, and a similar theme appears later to punish a woman who was raped. (Don't be too shocked, in many cultures being raped is something a woman gets punished for.)

I lost track of the raping after a while, it was a movie chock full of brutality. Also the "documentary footage" shown is actually real.

Like Paynecraft said, it's a good flick. Good story, good acting. You're entertained except for when you're pissed. It could have been so much better without that.

8 out of 10 malignant testicle-tumors

I'd been looking everywhere for Cannibal Holocaust, and actually found it at a locally owned music shop (I'm a little biased against buying online, and unless I have no other choice, I buy over the counter).

Must say, I watched it pretty out of my mind high and the movie still didn't pack the punch I thought it would. There was a swift jab at Hollywood which gave the movie some balls, but I think the film makers inadvertently made another statement. I started up a discussion with the dudes after we had finished watching. Society as a whole (or perhaps just my circle of friends) must be headed down a slippery slope if a movie this grotesque can't get a rise out of us. The horror genre and current events have desensitized our nation. Go us.

Cannibal Holocaust may not have shocked me as I had hoped, but it's a solid film. Good production, overall wonderful acting, and pretty balls out on the violence factor. Rape, sexual torture, animal killings (I love animals, and I'm not saying I condone the killing of animals for the sake of horror, but it was pretty harsh) and more. I've watched it everyday since I bought it and I must say I feel highly justified in making this purchase.

Excellent movie. 9 out of 10 severed wieners.