Movies
[Fantastic Fest ’13 Review] ‘The Green Inferno’ Reflects Grimy Cannibal Movies
Admittedly, I’m not much of a cannibal person. I mean this both figuratively and literally, in the sense that cannibal movies have never really done much for me and I’ve never actually eaten a human being. I can appreciate how sleazy and filthy Deodato made me feel after watching Cannibal Holocaust, but I don’t think I’d actually call the film “good”. I’m much more into something like Ravenous that plays into the mythology of what consuming a person can do to you than thinking it’s gross to see one person eat another. Going into the film, I had pretty low standards, and those standards were definitely met, but that’s still not saying all that much.
After hearing a lecture about female genital mutilation, college freshman Justine (Lorenza Izzo) wants to take action to help. The leader of a student activist organization, Alejandro (Ariel Levy), approaches Justine and lets her know that there’s more ways to help the world that just protesting. Alejandro is organizing a trip to South America to prevent rainforests from being destroyed and local tribes being executed, and eager Justine is more than happy to help. Alejandro and Justine, along with a few other students, make their way to the Amazon and quickly learn the danger they are in. Sure, local demolition companies might have thugs with guns, but if that’s not enough, these young college kids realize that primitive tribes are just as capable of horrific violence as supposedly “civilized” populations.
Right off the bat, the characters in this film feel like characters that Roth never got to use in any of his Hostel films. They are shallow, naive, self-centered and ignorant, so knowing that you were going to have to spend at least 90 minutes with these awful human beings didn’t really get me too excited. Even though I warmed up to them by the end, I couldn’t help but think that this film could have been titled something like “Hostel Gone Wild!” or something equally as lame. There were a few interesting dynamics, like the unrequited love that Jonah (Aaron Burns) had for Justine and seeing all of his romantic attempts quickly dissolved, but the abrasiveness of all the characters left me not really caring how terribly they were mutilated. I did appreciate the attempt by Roth to reflect most modern “activists” being more interested in making it public that they wanted to help while not actually taking an active part in helping, but I think this message will be lost on most audiences.
There’s a lot of humor in the film, but again, similar to Hostel, the humor doesn’t necessarily come from a smart script but rather from the ignorance of the characters. It only took about ten minutes before the first character insulted something by calling it “gay”, and while I know that Roth’s personal beliefs aren’t that it’s funny to insult things by calling them gay, I already saw him use that joke in Cabin Fever. Although a character using “gay” as an insult effectively shows you how ignorant these characters are, I think it’s more indicative of Roth’s lack of subtlety in the film’s humor. Sure, these characters react ridiculously to the absurdity of the situation they’re in, but do we need to go so far as to include a scene where a character has explosive diarrhea? SERIOUSLY? Has explosive diarrhea been funny since Dumb & Dumber? I know I never think it’s funny…not that it’s ever happened to me or anything…heh heh…moving on.
There are quite a few “Oh shit!” moments when it comes to the violence portrayed in the film, so kudos to the special effects team. There are limbs being chopped and ripped off, eyeballs plucked out, and airplane sequence that caused the audience to start applauding. Interestingly, it’s not that these effects look at all believable, but rather the effects look like a throwback to all of those old Italian cannibal films where you see people rooting around in open stomach cavities like they are trying to retrieve their cell phone charger from the bottom of a stuffed backpack. Okay, maybe that’s a little specific, but I’ve found myself doing that quite a few times this week. Either way, the gore is a lot of fun and definitely reminds you of how grimy the classic cannibal movies are.
While I was watching the movie, I have to admit that I wasn’t really enjoying it all that much. The whole movie looked overly digital, especially scenes where we saw digital tarantulas, panthers, and ants, and seeing these obnoxious characters get picked off one at a time made me wish things would speed up into a Thanksgiving feast. There weren’t any effects or gags I hadn’t seen before in countless other cannibal films, but then I had an interesting revelation: your average American film-goer has NOT seen shit like this, or anything like it, at their local multiplex. For most of us genre fans, we can see the appreciation Eli Roth obviously has for the grimy cannibal film, but if you ask people going to the theater on opening night who are on their way to see some stupid bullshit like 2 Guns or The Family, they’ll have no idea what Cannibal Holocaust is and probably look at you like a weirdo. This is Eli Roth’s ode to the cannibal film and he makes no effort to class the genre up a bit, so even if I didn’t particularly enjoy the film, I do respect what he was trying to do and can give the film some admiration. Not to mention that the end credits has a long bibliography of films that Roth recommends from the cannibal genre as well as a closing “PER RUGGERO”. Cannibal fans will probably enjoy seeing the amount of blood and guts on-screen at a relatively wide theatrical release, but the film doesn’t really do anything new.
You can also read Mike Pereira’s positive review out of TIFF here.
For more reactions out of Fantastic Fest and plenty more caps lock nonsense, make sure to follow @TheWolfman on Twitter!
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
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