Directed by : Eli Roth
Written by : Guillermo Amoedo, Eli Roth
Starring : Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Aaron Burns, Daryl Sabara,
Release Date : September 4, 2014
"The Green Inferno" is pretty much Eli Roth's love letter to the cannibal exploitation horror film genre of the 1970s and 1980s. It also seems like 1980's "Cannibal Holocaust" by Ruggero Deodato, and 1981's "Cannibal Ferox" by Umberto Lenzi, are major influences to this film. If you haven't been exposed to this genre of movie, then the content will likely shock you. For those of you already familiar with them, you will likely ask the question "Why did Eli Roth pull his punches?"
Short of one very graphic, gory, bloody, and cruel death scene; which was impressively amazing to see play out, there isn't really a lot here that isn't already regularly seen in some major cable TV shows. I was surprised at how relatively tame this was for the genre it's paying homage to. It didn't help that there was actually a mix of humor and adventure that only diffuses the horrific premise a bit. I was expecting something dark, disturbing, and depressing, but what I got was closer in tune with the hand-holding nature of many horror movies today. It was like Eli Roth was self-censoring himself.
Despite my disappointment with the actual lackluster scenes that plays on the cannibal exploitation movies, the story itself was fine. It's not a perfectly told story by any means, but it's not horrible either. The movie also throws in some political and social commentaries that'll give you something to think about. The modern production value, editing, and directing work are also very appreciated to see here, as those older movies were very low-budget in look and sound.
I admit that my criticism for "The Green Inferno" shows a little bit of my bias, but I admit that I was still entertained. I just wanted to see more, and I have a feeling Eli Roth himself knows he probably should have let himself go crazy on this movie.
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