However, in comparison to the last half an hour, this is child's play. The first half of the film is slowly paced and gradually builds up to the horror, with glimpses at a maggoty skeleton (the camera zooms into the grub-infested eye sockets of the rotting skull) and a tribal rape which is effectively powerful stuff. The movie is professionally made in that the filming seems unprofessional, lacking gloss and shine, and therefore more realistic the various expeditions into the jungle simply convey the humid atmosphere, the constant danger from deadly wildlife and hidden tribes. The only way to watch this film is to live the lie, and the result is a challenging and disturbing but somehow rewarding viewing experience. It's the only cannibal film that comes close to resembling a mondo movie, and the final events involving the student film-makers are truly and horribly believable. Undoubtedly the novel filming methods (after the deliberately slow pacing of the initial set-up, the latter half of the movie becomes a mock documentary as in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, and just as horrifying) make it the best of its bunch and the most effective of them all. But then the film must work as a "horror" film, a true "horror" film that can evoke feelings of anger, disgust, even sickness and fear. The film strongly divides audiences and I too am divided in my opinion of it as a piece of "entertainment" it doesn't work at all, because the downbeat nature of the narrative and the graphic gore can hardly be enjoyed. I've heard and read about it for about five years before finally sitting down and watching the uncut version the delay was through my own fear of not having a strong enough stomach to be able to sit through the endless scenes of barbarity and sadism. Ruggero Deodato's repulsive masterpiece in horror is probably the most controversial horror film in existence.
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February 2023
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