A group of student activists travel to the Amazon, where they
are captured and eaten alive by a native tribe of cannibals. HORROR
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The Green Inferno (2015)Directed by Eli Roth
Written by Eli Roth and Guillermo Amoedo Starring Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Aaron Burns, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Magda Apanowicz, Ignacia Allamand, Daryl Sabara, Nicolás Martínez, Matías López, Ramón Llao, Sky Ferreira, Richard Burgi |
Wow. Never before has a film seriously disturbed me as much as The Green Inferno. The visuals in this film are absolutely sickening, so much so that I found myself cringing nearly the entire time. What was conceived as an homage to Cannibal Holocaust has become a visually appalling horror extravaganza that once again gives audiences a glimpse at the twisted imagination of Eli Roth, who clearly does not enjoy traveling.
The first half-hour is dedicated to establishing the characters, who are actually likable and have good intentions. This makes it even worse to see them mutilated and butchered. Once they arrive in the Amazon, they are captured by a tribe of cannibals (who were actual tribal natives of the Amazon that Eli Roth convinced to star in his movie) and the horror begins. As I said before, the death scenes in this movie are quite possibly the sickest and most horrific I have ever suffered through, particularly the death of Jonah who suffers worse than any other character. Thankfully, the hinted-at genital mutilation never actually comes to fruition. Frankly, if that had happened, I would have walked out. Despite its disgusting visuals and nightmare-inducing murder scenes, The Green Inferno is not a bad movie. Once you accept that what you are watching did not actually happen and all of these actors are still alive, it's quite a landmark horror film as it touches on the brutality that human beings do to themselves and brutally succeeds in scarring its audience. Not to mention the special effect wonders that Eli Roth had to pull off to make the deaths look real. Don't get me wrong, it's not for the faint of heart. But if torture and brutality is your wheelhouse, you will probably love it. |
After years of producing horror films and grooming young directors for future success, Eli Roth has returned to the director's chair for 2015's The Green Inferno, released eight years after Hostel Part II. This film is a triumphant return for the director as he delivers his most graphic, violent, and intense film. Considering it's Eli Roth and supposed to be an homage to controversial, cult classic Cannibal Holocaust, I expected nothing less. Before I go further in this review, be warned, this movie is not for the casual moviegoer.
Now, let's start with the appetizer for this particular review. By this, I mean how the film spends the first half-hour or so establishing the characters and getting the story going. I actually really liked this approach as it made me care about the characters and, dare I say, like some of them. It really added a level of suspense to the story as we know the horrors that await this group of people. Being a fan of Roth's previous films, I am glad he toned down the frat boy humor that plagued much of his earlier work, instead focusing on a group of kids legitimately trying to do the right thing and ending up in a bad situation. Now, it's time of the meat of this review. The torture and mutilations performed on these young kids by the cannibal tribe that captures them is some of the most horrific and disturbing things I've seen in a wide release horror film. I have to agree with my fellow reviewer in that Jonah gets it the worst, especially considering his death sets the bar for the rest of the proceedings. Also, the term "munchies." used when one is stone, takes on a whole new sick, twisted meaning in this film. I also agree that I'm eternally grateful that the constantly hinted-at genital mutilation never happened. As I said earlier, this movie is not for the faint of heart, mainly due to the brutal scenes of the cannibals mutilating and eating the protagonists. The Green Inferno marks Eli Roth's bloody, triumphant return to the director's chair of horror films. With a great social commentary on people blindly joining organizations to help others and outstanding special effects work from the guys at KNB, Roth has created another intense, no holds barred horror fest. With talks of a sequel, depending on the success of this one, there's no telling how they'll possibly up this movie. While the brutal death scenes may turn a lot of people off, Eli Roth fans should be more than satisfied. For fans, just as myself, this is by far his best movie and the possible sequel can't come soon enough. |