I honestly can't remember the first time I heard about this movie, but I sure remember the first time I watched it! I was hanging out with my friend Dan and one of his friends came over with his copy. I had heard a lot about this movie and wasn't sure that I was mentally prepared to view it, but after some debate, we chose to watch it. I must say, that with most films I've seen that have been banned in many countries, this film was not as bad as it was made out to be.
The film is about a professor that discovers the footage of a group of documentary film makers thought lost in the Amazon. I guess this could be considered one of the first "Lost Footage" horror films? Anyway, through watching the footage we learn that the group found a rumored tribe of native cannibals.
At first, the tribe welcomes the film makers, although they do seem wary of the group. The documentarians follow the tribe as they gather food from various sources like giant turtles and pigs. Which are actually being butchered and eaten by the tribe. Apparently, they were able to show this on film because the tribe was a real tribe and they were simply showing how they fed themselves. While this was not easy to watch, it did lend to the legitimacy of the film.
The one scene that really got to me, and I'm sure it was not actual footage like the animals, was a ritual in which a man finds that his "wife" had an affair. The scene starts with the couple in a boat that docks on a muddy shore. The woman is bound by her hands and drug from the boat where a pike is awaiting. The man then impales the woman on the pike. The man then starts to gather mud in a ball form, about the size of a softball. You then see him start to add sharp sticks to the ball of hardening mud. He then begins to insert this ball into the woman, as a symbol of her infidelity. Again, I'm sure this wasn't real, but after seeing the turtle being butchered, this really made my stomach turn. I wish I would have been warned of this scene, and that is why I'm adding it into this review.
Finally, after days of filming and following the tribe, the expected happens. After all, a wolf is still a wolf, even if it's disguised as a sheep. The cannibals turn on the film crew and deliver one of the best, realistic dismemberment scenes I've ever witnessed! I do love me some gore!!!
As mentioned before, this film was banned in many countries, which is why, in my opinion, most people have heard of it. The banning of the film lent to it's lore and made people seek it out. I understand why, in 1980, this may have been too much for most people to stomach, but to all out ban it may have went too far.
This is definitely a cult classic horror film that fans of the genre should see. However, that being said, it is definitely NOT for everyone and should not be viewed by anyone under 16 or anyone with a sensitive stomach. But for everyone else, have fun!
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