(No poster for Eaten Alive as they’re all too graphic + nudity)
Both Lenzi and Deodato are synonymous with the birth and rise of the cannibal subgenre of horror, which led to the Cannibal Boom of the 70s and early 80s, from which I chose four films to marathon here.
MFDR feels more like a cannibal romance film than the more grisly films it inspired, whilst EA amps up the shock factor and violence, distinguishing itself though incorporating a Jonestown-like Cult to the story. Both it and CF apparently borrow footage from prior cannibal films and in CF’s case it goes further to feel like a retread of CH with certain plot elements and being the overall weakest film here.
CH is arguably the most well known cannibal-themed movie of them all, incorporating a found-footage narrative as footage from a missing documentary film crew is examined in an attempt to figure out what went down in the Amazon rainforest when they journeyed there but never returned. It was a brutal and unpleasant watch, but I couldn’t look away as the chaos unfolded (and needed a breather after it was over.)
Overall, the cannibal subgenre is a hard one to recommend to horror fans unless you know what you’re getting yourself in for. These were rather well-made entries but their especially violent content makes for some difficult watches. However, part of these marathons for me is being able to explore new sub-genres of horror, so it was at least a change of pace to explore some notable entries.
3/5,
3/5,
3.5/5,
2.5/5
