Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
A quarter of a century on from its original release, Cannibal Holocaust has lost none of its power to stir up fierce controversy and in many ways embodies the extremes to which Italian fringe cinema was prepared to go in the late 1970s and early 80s. It is only available in cut form in the UK, and a recent (uncut) reissue in the US ran into trouble when two firms of printers refused to print the DVD sleeve. It achieved notoriety in the UK during the 1980s when it topped the list of films banned by the DPP during their ‘video nasty’ witch-hunt, its title frequently used as a by-word for the (allegedly) corrupting depravity that the movie and its kind were engendering in the British public. In many ways, it’s a shame director Ruggero Deodato plumped for this title, as it does little to differentiate his film from other, less sophisticated splatter works such as Cannibal Apocalypse, Cannibal Ferox and Zombie Holocaust. Although it’s a film many will find unsettling and probably upsetting, Cannibal Holocaust is a good deal more subtle than its peers in its attempt to offer something a little more worthwhile than simply wall-to-wall dismemberment. Read more
Land of the Dead (2005)
Matt says…
With expectations almost unreasonably high for George Romero’s return to the genre he helped forge, it was perhaps inevitable that Land of the Dead would divide opinion. But although the film doesn’t really look or feel much like the previous installments of the Dead saga, it’s largely an elegant and worthwhile return to the director’s trademark themes, advancing the ongoing story in a consistent yet intriguing way. Read more
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