Cannibal Holocaust

**NOTE** This is a review of the UNCUT version of the film.

Widely regarded as 'The sickest movie ever made', "Cannibal Holocaust" isn't something the normal me would sit through. Obviously, as a horror fan, I had heard all the ravings/bashings, etc. surrounding the film. Real animal deaths, real people's killing footage and enough gore to make your stomach fold on itself. So yeah, generally I stay off that sort of things but . . . well, I proved to myself that I have an open mind after the film's decent to great reviews.

Shot on a shoestring budget, "Cannibal Holocaust" certainly has a heart, a problem is that this core doesn't show until near it's end, when the emotion snaps you in half. The film's emotion, unlike what you've heard doesn't rely on cringings and wincings upon every single horrible event (which are constant). The emotional payoff relies on the character's and their eventual outcomes. During the ending, I was shook up and lumpy throated, I didn't expect to get that during "the sickest movie ever made". Which brings me to the next.

Although the movie does feature events that will be printed in your head forever, most of these are put in a way you won't see as badly. No wait, you WILL but the way they are staged makes it look, well, like a doccumentary (think in a very graphic "National Geographic"). Also, the movie is so well edited (video wise, the Audio editing is awful) that some of the shiet going on become less graphic (rock rape, for instance).

The writing is fine mostly. The story flow is great and the order they show how everything happens, leading to it's heartwrenching conclusion is as good as it could've been (except for a scene early on that made me yawn). The dialogue at times is awfully laughable or cliché, I must add ("There's only one thing that scares me, and that's marriage" . . . . . ) but it settles. The characters are another HUGE flaw, I cannot be sure who the mains are, if the first half group, or the second half group. Either way, none is particularily developed. The expedition of kids is really unrealistic, I mean . . . why are the three guys such psychos?? I thought they were proffesionals, some of the stuff they do seems absolutely unrealistc. The only character I really cared for was the preety Faye. Her character is the non psycho and the actress is very charismatic.

The acting goes from fine (sometimes the dialogue makes the actor sound awful) to fantastic, the scene with Faye and a Tarantula, or the line "I need to save her" show how good these can act. They carry the plot on their backs and deliver. Sometimes they do seem not to react to the events around them (so, if you had to cut someone's leg off, you wouldn't react other than putting a 'face'?).

The directing also went from standard to pretty goddamn good. I adored the final 20 minutes, those are some awfully intense moments, the director created tension very well. Early on, the directing is basic point and shoot, with nothing standing out except for the awful quality (which I don't blame on anyone, really). I also adored the eye-candy sceneries the movie presents, what a huge contrast they do. The soundtrack has two sides to it, it's either so standard it's numbing (ptoo-ptoo-ptoo) or it's the single most beautiful and soothing track I've ever heard in a movie (the opening titles theme that comes back during the movie).

Another big flaw I saw when rethinking the movie is the choppy film editing, although some scenes (rock rape) are well edited, it's the choppy story editing that lagged. There are some scenes that run for TOO GODDAMN LONG without giving me SHITE about the story. One particular five minute scene goes: guy raping - guys scrubbing skin off - guy raping - guys scrubbing skin off, rinse and repeat. Add to that the numbing score and you get yourself a headache. Another example is that cheesy soldiers-hunting-cannibal scene in the beggining that is so amateurly directed that I rolled my eyes.