Review – ‘The Green Inferno’ (2013)

I’d heard about this film for a while ever since first watching Cannibal Holocaust for a Horror module on my film course at university. The backstory of the film and what it unleashed upon the horror genre is perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the film and it’s background. Cannibal Holocaust is probably one of the most extreme movies I have ever seen, while still being artful and quite impressive at times. After watching the film, I learned of Eli Roth’s tribute to Holocaust, The Green Inferno, aptly named after the jungle in its predecessor. The film, while standing on its own, it nothing more than a Eli Roth Shlock-fest, but through the lens of a homage and nod to Cannibal Holocaust reminds us why it was so good, even today.

The film follows Justine, a freshman at university who becomes swept up in an activism group devoted to saving the native tribes in Peru, after stopping a bulldozer advance, things start to get rough when their plane crashes amongst the very tribe they sought to protect.

The film doesn’t just re-hash old elements from Cannibal Holocaust and at least tries to form its own structure to arrive at the same meaning, that even when this tribe cannibalises and tortures it’s prey, wearing nothing but clothes made from bamboo sticks, that WE are the real monsters. While the latter used the form of a documentary team, this one comes in the form of an activist group, which could be seen as just a modernisation.

First off, the acting is pretty bad. Don’t go into this expecting believable acting. Some are better than others, but there’s this one girl at the start who is absolutely dreadful. She’s only in it for 20 minutes and when she’s not on screen it’s a relief. But, this is something we come to expect from a Roth film. Even then, Hostel is probably one of my favourite horror films.

One thing I did notice is that the locations are fantastic, most likely filmed on location, the vibrant markets and bustling about, the murky water and lush, green jungles gives not only a sense of menace, but also an air of beauty.

The first act is relatively standard, and you can tell they saved the big bucks for the second act, and for Greg Nicotero’s special effects. The effects are great and make you wince when watching. Eli Roth does a great job at making you want to look away, I’ll never forget that eyeball scene from Hostel. *shudder*

The 3rd act falls apart a tiny bit, and there’s some strange character choices which don’t seem too realistic, and by the end, I found myself disappointed that there wasn’t more of the usual Eli Roth gore and grossness, the film really isn’t that bad save for a couple of scenes, I’ve definitely seen a lot worse.

#review #2013 #eli #green #horror #inferno #cannibal #Holocaust #Doctorhorror #Roth #the