Another Saturday, another Devlog for BORNEO: A Jungle Nightmare!
Today we continue by publishing a new, interesting, point of view sent to us by our friend Liam, from Australia. Check it out!
Last time, I spoke about the themes and messages of the film Cannibal Holocaust, but for this entry. I wanted to give a quick overlook as to why this film became so infamous and controversial.
The most infamous story involving the film was when Italian authorities seized the film a few days after its premiere believing that director Ruggero Deodato had actually killed the actors who played the four filmmakers during the production. The film was the first to use the style of handheld & found footage that would later be used in films like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield.
For 1980, this was a very confronting style as it was the first of its kind. So audiences found this presentation very convincing. Deodato had the actors sign agreements to not make any public appearances for at least a year to sell the idea they had gone missing. Once Deodato was arrested, the actors presented themselves in court to prove they were not harmed during production, the case was dropped but the film would still end up being banned or heavily censored in many countries for quite a long time. All four actors would go on to other projects soon after.
Throughout the film there are many scenes of animals actually being killed and eaten on camera, this aspect of the film is still heavily criticized and even fans of the film have voiced complaints with these parts of the film. Many other Cannibal themed horror movies did this, including Cannibal Ferox and Last Cannibal World. On the Grindhouse Releasing version of the film on DVD & Blu-Ray, there is an option to watch the film without these scenes included. If you are wanting to see the film for curiosity and are uneasy with this idea, then the animal cruelty-free version is the one you should watch first.
Another sequence in the film depicts a woman impaled on a spear, this scene was subject to an investigation by the Italian courts. Deodato was able to avoid charges after he demonstrated how the effect was achieved. The actress sat on a bicycle seat mounted on a wooden pole and then held the top half of the spear with her mouth whilst trying to remain as still as possible. This scene remains one of the most iconic shots in horror cinema history.
Today, Cannibal Holocaust has been unbanned in most parts of the world however countries such as Iceland and New Zealand still refuse to grant the film a rating. In 2018, the film was given a new special edition Blu-Ray which was distributed by Grindhouse Releasing.
Get ready for a cannibalistic summer 💀
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