Cannibal Holocaust (1981)
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An anthropologist leads a rescue mission into the Amazon to find a missing film crew, only to discover the horrifying reality of their journey.
The story
In 1979, an American film crew disappears into the Amazon rainforest while filming a documentary about indigenous cannibal tribes. Harold Monroe, an anthropologist at NYU, agrees to lead a rescue mission to locate the missing filmmakers. Upon arriving in the jungle, Monroe and his team of guides navigate the treacherous terrain, encountering various tribes and the remnants of the missing crew. As they delve deeper into the rainforest, the line between the rescue mission and the reality of the local tribes becomes increasingly blurred, forcing the team to confront the dangers of the wilderness and the consequences of the filmmakers' actions.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1979, a film crew documenting indigenous tribes in the Amazon disappears. Harold Monroe, an anthropologist, leads a rescue mission into the jungle. He finds the remains of the crew and eventually recovers their film reels. Back in New York, Monroe is asked to host a broadcast based on the footage. He watches the raw film, which depicts the crew's journey: they encounter the Yacumo and the Yaűnomā tribes. The footage reveals the crew's increasingly desperate and unethical behavior, including the staging of scenes and the mistreatment of the locals. The final segments of the film show the crew being brutally attacked and killed by the Yaűnomā. Monroe is left haunted by the footage, questioning the morality of the media and the true nature of the 'cannibals'.
- First release year
- 1980
- Runtime (minutes)
- 96
- Production countries
- Italy
- Original languages
- Italian
- Directors
- Ruggero Deodato
- Writers
- Gianfranco Clerici · writer
- Cast and characters
- Robert Kerman · Harold Monroe; Carl Gabriel Yorke · Alan Yates; Luca Barbareschi · Mark Tomaso; Francesca Ciardi · Faye Daniels; Perry Pirkanen · Jack Anders
- Genres
- cannibal horror; exploitation; found footage
- Themes
- journalistic ethics; exploitation of South American countries; cultural differences
- Tone and mood
- gritty; realistic; disturbing
- Premise and plot tags
- found footage; survival; anthropology; mockumentary
- Content notes
- graphic violence; sexual assault
- Reception
- Critical reception of the film is mixed, although it has received a cult following.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 67% · scale: percentage · review count: 18
- Production trivia
- The film was banned in several countries due to its graphic content.; The film's title was changed in some markets to associate it with the original.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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