Eli Roth Welcomes You To Shocktober Day #4!
Yes, Director Roth could be on this list many times – for the classic “Hostel”, his debut “Cabin Fever” – even for his terrific thriller “Knock Knock” with Keanu Reeves – but I chose his homage to the legendary shocker “Cannibal Holocaust!”
“Have you ever had fantasies of saving a tribe?”
Great question! It’s the stuff of horror legend: eager young environmentalists go into the Amazon with the best intentions: to save noble tribes…but things never go as planned, do they?
And for our latest Shocktober film, Roth proves that “good intentions” are NEVER appreciated – especially in the cannibalistic Amazon!
Director Eli Roth delivered a vicious little horror film last year that paid homage to one of the most controversial movies ever made!
Here is the trailer for Eli Roth’s “The Green Inferno”:
This is going to be one shocking trip up river! It’s the story of young activists who travel deep into the Amazon to save the rain forest…
This is extreme horror from a Master of the genre, and Roth is leaning on some of the most shocking influences in film. Here is some great behind-the-scenes info on the movie.
Director Roth filmed “The Green Inferno” in an Amazonian village with no electricity or running water, only accessible by motorboat. The village was so remote the natives had never before seen a movie or television.
To get permission to film with them, Roth’s producers brought a generator, television and DVD player in order to show the tribe what a movie was!
And What Did Roth Show Them? Home Movies!
Eli Roth is known for “Cabin Fever” and “Hostel” – aggressively shocking films – so what does he show these tribal folks? How about a film that shows them as savage cannibals! Yes, Roth showed them “Cannibal Holocaust!”
More on this shocking film in a moment. According to the great website IMDB, when Roth shows them the movie – the first film they EVER saw – the natives thought it was a comedy and agreed to let Roth and crew film there. Nearly the entire village signed up after the screening to play cannibals!
“The Green Inferno” was filmed in some of the most remote locations in the world.
All of the cast agreed to get yellow fever vaccinations before filming, and agree to make the film in the deepest amazonian jungle, surrounded by tarantulas, snakes, and venomous frogs!
Eli’s “Cannibal” Homage!
The plot of “Green Inferno” is heavily influxes by 1980’s “Cannibal Holocaust”…
According to IMDB: “in addition to being one of Eli Roth’s favorite horror films and one that inspired his directing career, “The Green Inferno” was actually the working title that Director Ruggero Deodato used when he was making that movie; it was changed to something more bluntly descriptive and shocking (particularly with the use of the word “Holocaust”).”
And thanks to “Popcorntaxi” on YouTube, here is a great conversation with Roth where he discusses “Inferno” along with his previous films, “Holocaust” and horror in general:
Kudos to Roth for taking extreme cinema back into the jungle, inspired by:
“The Most Controversial Film Of All Time!”
WARNING! THIS FILM IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!
If you do not know about “Cannibal Holocaust”, maybe you should stop right here. It is known as the most controversial film ever released, and there are good reasons for it!
The plot is simple: A New York University professor returns from a rescue mission to the Amazon rainforest with the footage shot by a lost team of documentarians who were making a film about the area’s local cannibal tribes.
WARNING! The trailer is somewhat graphic!
Yes, “Cannibal Holocaust” is one of the first “found film” movies ever released! The shocking aspect of the film begins with this Professor finding footage showing what happened to a film crew that disappears in the Amazon.
It’s difficult to shown most of the images from the film, it is just that shocking. But it is also a film that has been rescued from infamy with a new blu-ray release that puts the movie in context.
I am not going to show the front cover of the blu-ray release, as the imagery is just too shocking – and that led to a fascinating story at the time of the film’s release in Italy:
Here is a great fact about the movie from the “UnbelievableFacts” blog:
Here is how IMDB describes what happened:
“Ten days after its premiere in Milan, the film was seized by the Italian courts, and director Ruggero Deodato was arrested and charged with obscenity. He was later charged with murdering several actors on camera, and faced life in prison. The cast had signed contracts requiring them to disappear for a year after shooting, to maintain the illusion that they’d died. Deodato contacted Luca Barbareschi and told him to contact the three other actors who played the missing film team. When the actors appeared in court, alive and well, the murder charges were dropped!”
That’s right, he had to bring the movie’s cast into court to prove he hadn’t killed them on camera!
Whether you ever want to see this film, or likely NOT – you have to understand the role that “Cannibal Holocaust” played in horror film history, and why Eli Roth is paying homage to it!
And here is the best fact of all:
“In actuality, there are no cannibalistic tribes in the Amazon!”
Ha!
“The Green Inferno” will speak to horror aficionados who are willing to go to the edge of the cinematic cliff: films that are shocking and NOT for everyone…if you want a fun thriller that is less edgy, then try this:
Last year Roth also delivered “Knock Knock”, a fun thriller starring Keanu Reeves…read about it here:
Bravo to Eli Roth on this 4th day of Shocktober 2016 – for delivering lots of great thrills!
And don’t forget to check out the other films being highlighted this Shocktober 2016 – beginning with scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis!
https://johnrieber.com/2016/10/03/shocktober-day-3-screams-halloween-scream-queen-jamie-lee-curtis/
