"Cannibal Holocaust" (1980)

Before there was The Blair Witch Project, Italian director Ruggero Deodato paved the way for all future "documentary tape found in the middle of nowhere" flicks with Cannibal Holocaust.  Horror fans across the globe know of this infamous film for several reasons: the one I just described, its notoriety among animal-rights' activists (more on that later), and mostly for its excessive amount of blood, gore, and blatant, violent sexuality.  When an anthropologist travels deep into the South American jungle to rescue a team of missing documentary filmmakers, he finds the tapes alright-- but he also finds evidence of savage, brutal behavior not from the jungle natives, but instead by the "civilized" westerners.  Cannibal Holocaust is one of those films that, if you love horror movies, you simply have to watch.  Sure, it might be old and outdated by today's standards, but how could you pass up a flick that was banned in over 50 countries, caused public and legal scandal (the director was arrested on obscenity and attempted murder charges-- wowsers!), and made grown men/actors cry?  You just can't....

(Photo Credit)

Rent Cannibal Holocaust from Netflix, or simply buy a DVD copy from Amazon.  This definitely isn't the most pleasant movie to watch, but it is a definite historical look not only on the past of horror films, but of filmmaking in general.  In the meantime, check out the trailer:



P.S. Director Ruggero Deodato had a hard time after making this film.  Italy thought that Cannibal Holocaust was a snuff film, and arrested him for attempted murder and obscenity.  He had to prove in court that all of the violence was staged in his film.  He later remarked that he regretted everything about the film.

P.S.S. This is rumored to be the most-banned movie in the world.  This is at least partially due to the fact that animals were, unfortunately, ruthlessly slaughtered on camera, including monkeys, turtles, and pigs. Apparently, the actors nearly had nervous break-downs after having to perform the scenes.  Needless to say, when you see the disclaimer, "No animals were harmed in the making of this film," odds are you have this movie to thank for that.