Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts is clearly a horror fan.
When I wrote my review of Kong: Skull Island here on Bloody Disgusting over the weekend, I noted that the film pushes its PG-13 rating pretty far in terms of on-screen violence. I wrote that there’s “one standout scene in particular [that] plays out like a gruesome homage to Cannibal Holocaust,” adding that “I sure didn’t see it coming, and it shocked the hell out of me.”
The scene I was referring to takes place when the soldiers encounter a massive spider. The spider, who uses it giant legs like razor sharp daggers, slams one of those impossibly long legs literally down the throat of one of the soldiers, impaling and instantly killing him. After leaving him impaled for a few seconds, the spider pulls out its leg and the man drops dead on the ground.
I never expected a PG-13 King Kong movie to have a graphic & brutal homage to Cannibal Holocaust but, well, here we are. #kongskullisland
— John Squires (@FreddyInSpace) March 11, 2017
The cruel death sure seemed to have been directly inspired by the most memorably horrifying moment from Cannibal Holocaust, and indeed this was quite intentional.
Writer Mark Kermode just confirmed the tribute, via the film’s director:
Oh, and @VogtRoberts has been good enough to confirm that the Cannibal Holocaust ref was indeed intentional. Ha!
— Mark Kermode (@KermodeMovie) March 12, 2017
Hope this one didn’t give the kiddies too many nightmares!
