MovieChat Forums > Cannibal Holocaust (1985) Discussion > What's the appeal of this movie?

What's the appeal of this movie?


can someone explain the appeal of this B grade trash?

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For starters, it appeals to me because it is
1) B-grade
and
2) trash

Your film gods: Lee Van Cleef and Laura Gemser
http://tinyurl.com/pa4ud44

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fantastic response

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I can't imagine a more spot on answer!

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appreciation of the immense amount of work that was needed to make this movie. Try going to the amazon and recreate the movie and see how much it will take..

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Aside from the controversy, it's also the very first "Found Footage" movie and was a direct inspiration for both "The Last Broadcast" and "The Blair Witch Project" back in the late 90's.

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Like a lot of notoriously gory horror movies from that era, viewing it now will probably be an underwhelming experience.

Same is true of many of the 'video nasties' from the 80s that were previously either very heavily cut or banned.

Now that they are finally available to view uncut...they kind of look a little silly.

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that's true in some cases, but i don't think it's true here. i think it remains a mean, ugly film and it still has real grimy power. i kinda love it.

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Like I said on another post: it is definitely not for everybody. For me the appeal is that the movie actually has something to say and it VERY well made. But it is also unpleasant, vile and gore in a "trashy" way. Some people don't see past that, and I don't blae them. But for me, it is a really progressive movie.

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Not everybody needs to be comforted by disney movies.

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To be shocked.

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I sought this movie out in my High School days because I heard it was one of the most disturbing movies ever made. I remember expecting some nearly snuff-movie-like cruddy ugly film shot on 8mm or something, but was surprised that the film has a pretty glossy and professional feel to the whole thing. The only thing that makes it an obvious Italian B-movie is the dubbing. Otherwise it's very well shot and edited. The script is a bit sloppy in places and some of the acting feels amateurish, but it's overall not a bad film. Ruggero Deodato's previous cannival outing LAST CANNIBAL WORLD aka JUNGLE HOLOCAUST is a much better film in my opinion. It's a lot smaller in scope but tells a very engrossing survival story focused heavily on one character. It also features beautiful photography and another excellent musical score.

Granted the negative to all these cannibal films would be the staged animal killings either by tribespeople, other animals, or actors in the movie. This never really bothered me ethically but these days I do find those parts of the movie viscerally a little tougher to watch and still wince. That is, of course, the desired reaction on the part of the filmmakers who were looking to make these films have a harder edge to them. So you can say the non-appeal is part of the appeal, because even though people do not like to feel fear, they will still pay good money to visit a haunted house.

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