"What you will see will definitely shock and offend you." – Written on a black screen immediately, and I just agree. Ruggero Deodato's terrible, disturbing "classic" or at least "cult film" (btw somebody should tell me the exact difference between classic and cult..) isn't a typical Sunday evening entertainment. To tell the truth I believe this is a disgusting crap. Ok, don't bite me (...), I agree, I don't know anything about every kind of snuff trash shit moviemaking, but I have to say I don't regret. And if you think this is a masterpiece, then you have serious problems.I know exactly the values of this film, actually they are pushed into our faces. Let's see them through the story: A team of documentary filmmakers disappear in the deep jungle of South America ("Only few hours from our homes") during filming and searching for real cannibals. Professor Harold Monroe, an anthropologist from New York is going to rescue them but returns home only with the recorded material. The footages contain terrible stuff. Terrible in two ways: how the filmmakers were treated the nature and the cannibals (yep, understand, we aren't different than the primitive ones), and how the cannibals were treated them... That part is disgusting full with extreme violence and cruelty, don't need more explanation, here comes the "cult" adjective.
And we are cannibals in our big city jungles too (the shot which pans from the trees in the (Central?) park to the skyscrapers is perfect). A tv channel wants to edit the recorded footage and broadcast as an anthropological film under the title: "Green Inferno". Monroe's condition: they need to show the whole material. So, together with the execs we are lucky enough to see the "uncut version"... Do I need to mention again how disgusting is it?
Finally about the film's reality or documentary values. There are really stupid legends in the film history and here is another one which tries to uphold the idea about the Cannibal Holocaust's (what a stupid, sensationalist title) realism. I mean according to the found footage, the way how Herzog's real (?) documentary compiled about the Grizzly Man, or how The Blair Witch Project turned the documentarism into PR money. If you have seen the film (and not only talked about it) you should see the beginning with the honest credits – included the story and screenplay writer's name (Gianfranco Clerici). Ok, I've seen the joke at the end about the mysterious John K. Kirov, who sentenced to jail because of trading with the film, but come on..:)) Anyway, if you eat this bullshit, just click here, and be happy.
And why I give 4 points? At least one goes to Riz Ortolani, whose music is an undoubtedly perfect score. It would work for a b porno in the 70s too, but its airy melodies mixed together with the bloody brutality is just phenomenal, but at least quite effective here as well. Better listen than watch!
4/10
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