Of course I have a Cannibal Holocaust t-shirt I gloat with a grin; it’s an absolute favorite here in my ‘Cathedral of Demoni’ headquarters. It’s the follow up to director Ruggero Deodato’s ‘Ultimo Mondo Cannibale – Last Cannibal World’ ’77, the film that really kick started the far to brief cannibal craze. Followed by Joe D’amato’s ‘Emmanuelle and the Last Cannibals’ ‘77, Sergio Martino’s ‘Mountain of the Cannibal God’ ‘78, Ruggero Deodato’s ‘Amazonia: Cut and Run’ ‘84, Umberto Lenzi’s ‘Eaten Alive!’’80 and my second favorite ‘Cannibal Ferox’ ’81 being the essential classic Italian entries.

Often called the “Vilest”, “The One That Goes All The Way” and “The Mother of all the Cannibal Films”. I’d have to agree, this is one uncompromising, no holds barred, offensive experience. Being on the jaded side it took a couple of watch’s for it to really sink in and I have to say its easily one of my favorite films of all time. Banned and Censored the world over, a high ranking “Video Nasty” and a treasured gem to horror fans and collectors of extreme cinema. She’s been copied and imitated, [like the blatant rip off ‘Blairwitch Project’, a film I found to be terrible], but never has anything come close the ferocious originality of this classick. When it comes to ‘Cannibal’ films ‘Cannibal Holocaust’, the very best of them all.

Shot in pseudo documentary form with plenty of hand held footage done the right way. None of the excessive camera shaking we have going today. American Tabloid mongers Alan Yates [Carl Gabriel Yorke], Faye Daniels [Francesca Ciardi] & Jack Anders [Perry Pirkanen] go to the Amazon to do a documentary on the last cannibal tribes and disappear. So a search and rescue team headed by Harold Monroe [Robert Kerman], is sent to find out where they are and what happened. After a treacherous journey though the jungle they find are their grisly remains and film footage in the hands of a cannibal tribe. The footage is returned to the states with plans to make a TV documentary which quickly falls apart when they see the inexcusable and horrible last days of the research party.

Featuring all the cannibal goodies; rape, dismemberment, castration, gut munching, gutting and let’s not forget about that native impaled on a stick, in the ass and out the mouth. Then there is the real life animal butchery that upsets a lot of people. I don’t mind it as only adds to the uneasiness. But don’t let that stop you from watching. This disc offers a animal cruelty free version so you don’t have to watch the scenes like the turtle being killed, and can still enjoy all the brutal and cruel things that are going on. All of which is hugely emphasized thanks to Riz Ortolani’s down beat yet somber score that is nothing short of awesome.

Deodato delivers on all fronts with this well written and directed exploitation/horror extraordinaire. Some will see it as just outrageous trash, but it really is so much more with a few good solid points to its merit. 1. The cruelty that humans can do to each other. 2. Ruggero, like myself, has a hatred for the press and the irresponsible extremes they will go to get a story; real or not. Christ we see it every day. And. 3. Karma is a bitch. There’s a real good chance you will have to reap what you sow. The film is made to repulse, shock and strike a nerve, and it does, but not without its intended message. Simply put, Cannibal Holocaust is a VERY brutal movie. Those who are squeamish or easily offended will most definitely want to stay away!!!

There was never a U.S. video release and after years of fuzzy bootlegs and color faded prints, Grindhouse Releasing has done a awesome job with this one. 5 years in the making, the 2 Disc 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition puts all the meat on the table with the fully Uncensored Uncut version with an extra helping of Xtras. Boasting a beautiful print in 1.85: 1 Anamorphic Widescreen that looks fantastic on my big screen TV with Dolby Digital Stereo Remix or the Original Mono for the audio. Another nice touch is the discs look like film reels and it comes with liner notes that double as a 8.5” x 13” mini reproduction of the Spanish Poster which is the best one in my eye.

Disc: 1
3 Versions; Theatrical Version, On Camera Commentary Version, Animal Cruelty Free Version.
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo Remix, Original Mono, Commentary w/ Deodato & Kerman.
Inside the Green Inferno: Extensive actor bios.
Alternate Version of ‘Last Road to Hell’ that is a bit longer.
Theatrical Trailers; Italian, International, German, U.S. Original, U.S..Re-Release
DVD/Rom Original Script

Disc: 2
In The Jungle: The Making of Cannibal Holocaust – 62 minute Featurette with the Director & various people involved.
Interviews: w/actors Robert Kerman, Alan Yates, and score composer Riz Ortolani.
Still Gallery A mouth watering look at Production Stills, Behind the Scenes Publicity Mondo Cannibal.
Necrophagia Video – Cannibal Holocaust Video. I like the band so I’ve heard this many times.
Bios & Filmography: Ruggero Deodato, Robert Kerman, Gabriel York.
Coming Attractions: Trailers for Cannibal Ferox, The Tough Ones, The Beyond, Cat in the Brain, I Drink Your Blood, Scum of the Earth, Gone with the Pope.

And finally some of my Cannibal Holocaust Mania:
Riz Ortolani’s awesome score re-mastered on Red Stream Cd is a must around here.

Cannibal Key Chain? Hell yeah.

Original Italian 18” x 26” Photobusta poster.

After literally years of getting out bid when these rarely popped up. I finally have secured a Original Italian 39” x 55” 2 sheet which happened to coincide with my 45th birthday.