Cannibal Holocaust (DVD)

Cannibal films have always had something of a reputation problem, at least in the UK where they were an integral part of the problems which lead to the introduction of strict national censorship laws in the early 1980s which have only been very slightly relaxed to this day. Cannibal Holocaust was one of the films at the very centre of this furore, and remains totally banned in this country — in fact, of all the films customs officials look out for when checking packages of films entering the country, Cannibal Holocaust is considered to be one of the top priorities for seizure. I have to admit, this reputation is not wholly undeserved. The film features ...

I'm not altogether sure how to write about this film - I have somewhat mixed feelings about it. We're into hard core video nasty territory here, and it's difficult to know exactly how to review a film that fits so firmly into one of the least reputable film sub-cultures of all time. This film was one of many exploitative horror movies that were banned in the UK in the mid-80s. A bit of history for you: before the 1985 video recordings act it was legal to release on video anything that the distributors could get their grubby little hands on. In the early 80s the big film studios didn't release films on video, so video companies had to sift through ...

I'm not usually the sort of person who's easily shocked. Violence and gore in a movie doesn't particularly bother me. Cannibal Holocaust is the first film in a long time to genuinely shock me. I'll be honest, I wasn't ever scared by this film, but this is genuine horror, as in horrifying. Perhaps you might come to a different conclusion, but I'll let the results speak for themselves. The movie is set up as a docu-drama, and it's never made entirely clear whether this actually happened or not. I suspect it's probably a set-up, like Blair Witch, but the sheer explicitness of the whole movie does suggest the ...