Episode 13

Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Published on: 15th April, 2022

A story about exploitation, cannibals, not being very nice to animals, and the least sympathetic film crew ever.

***LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED***

Listen in as me and returning guest Jan carve into the controversial godfather of found footage cinema.

Directed by Ruggero Deodato (Body Count, Cut and Run, Concorde Affaire '79) and written by Gianfranco Clerici (Zorro the Rebel, Jungle Holocaust, Nazi Love Camp 27), Time Out called the film "uniquely unpleasant," while the A.V. Club said "there's no denying its effectiveness." Love it or hate it, you cannot deny that this film has had long lasting impact on cinema and some of its most influential voices.

It tells the story of noted anthropologist Professor Harold Monroe, played by porn star Robert Kerman (Inside Seka, Anyone But My Husband, Spider-Man), who is sent into the Amazon rainforest in search of a missing documentary film crew. What he finds are human remains, film reels of the crew's journey, and a gaggle of cannibals. Toss in some animal cruelty sequences to sell the veracity of the images on display and you have one of the most controversial films in cinema history.

The film is currently available on AMC+, Prime Video, Blu-ray and DVD.

Pro tip: Most versions are not for the faint of heart. If you want to find the animal cruelty-free cut look for a runtime of 90 minutes.

As mentioned in the show, check out the trailer for "Queen of the Angels" here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbvENONpVp1/

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About the Podcast

Subversive Cinema
The show about the weird, whacky, and downright wrong entries in cinema history.
There are a lot of films out there, so it's only natural that a decent amount of strange content exists. These are the films we examine.

Each week, I sit down with a guest and we take a look a one of these weird, whacky, or downright wrong cinematic entries. Each of them has something about it that makes it special — I call it the "Subversive Sauce" — and that is recipe we try to break down.

Is it scientific? Absolutely not. Will you learn things you didn't know? Maybe. Might you hear about films worth checking out? Most definitely.

Tune in and see what the subversion is all about!
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About your host

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Art Hall

Art started in the podcasting ecosphere back in 2007 with the outrageous, yet short lived, scripted variety show "WBKR: Buckwilde Radio," which claimed listeners from over 20 different countries. After hanging up his headphones and heading west to move to Los Angeles, he kept podcasting in his heart but only made appearances rather than producing or hosting. It only took a global pandemic, boredom, and the pleading from his buddy, Joe, to get back into the mic booth.