Cannibal Holocaust Blu-ray Review

• 26th Sep 2011

After 31 years of bans, cuts and multiple releases, Ruggero Deodato’s infamous Cannibal Holocaust is finally available in the UK in its most complete form to date. The film is legendary for many reasons; from an Italian court believing it to be a snuff film, to the real animal killings that took place on set.

The first in a long line of films in the “found footage” genre, Cannibal Holocaust is split into two parts. The first is about a documentary film crew who venture into a South American jungle to film primitive cannibal tribes. The second is about Dr Harold Monroe (played by adult film star Robert Kerman) who goes looking for them, only to find the footage they shot. It is through this footage he learns what really happened to the crew.

Cue an immense amount of violence, gore and shaky hand held camera shots. Firstly, the story isn’t all that complex and the characters aren’t remotely likeable. Those that do die, deserve it and even those that don’t die, should. The only exception being Monroe who, in spite of Kerman’s wooden acting, remains likeable enough.

The film itself is an assault on the senses and is not for those with weak stomachs. If you have ever heard anything about this film and think it was hype, think again. This is no Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. Yes, it may be similar in some ways, but while those two rely on suspense and shock tactics to make the audience jump, Cannibal Holocaust relies on all out violence, almost playing chicken with the audience to see how long it takes to look away.

It has everything; sex, torture, castration and animal mutilation. Without any exaggeration, this cut of the film shows you all of this and more. It can be difficult to watch and the urge to turn it off can be hard to resist. However, Deodato’s use of cutaway shots to show the reactions of the people watching the footage within the film helps you feel like you’re not alone in feeling like this. In the end this is only a small comfort at best.

The Blu-ray is naturally a massive upgrade making the visuals sharper and the sound crisper. If Cannibal Holocaust is a gory film then the Blu-ray just makes it even gorier. Having seen both an uncut DVD edition and the Blu-ray I can genuinely say the Blu-ray managed to make me queasy when the DVD didn’t.

And for those who get a bit queasy over animal violence you’re in luck as this edition has not one, but two versions of the film. After 31 years Deodato has re-edited the film to feature a director’s cut which removes or obscures the shots of the animal violence. Through the use of cutaways and camera static, this version retains the violence and gore but the animal violence is less explicit but still as affective.

Shameless have included a number of interesting extras on this release. Aside from the director’s cut they’ve included two new documentaries, packed full of all the gory details behind the film. Other features include Easter eggs and the Shameless trailer park which shows previews of other Shameless releases.

Overall Cannibal Holocaust is well worth a look. The film itself is still intense to watch even 31 years later, despite the wooden acting and the reliance on gore over story. This is the most complete version available in the UK and, with extras such as Deodato’s new director’s cut done exclusively for Shameless, this purchase is well worth the money.

Michael Wharton