Cannibal Holocaust
Added How We Rate
- Directed by
- Ruggero Deodato
- Written by
- Gianfranco Clerici
- Produced by
- Franco Di Nunzio, Franco Palaggi
Why it’s HorroRated
Its found footage structure was years ahead of the curve, and by turning its camera on the people holding it, Deodato lands a nasty satirical bite about media sensationalism. None of that outweighs what happened outside the script: several real animals were killed on camera, and knowing that makes the film impossible to recommend as entertainment. Riz Ortolani's score is strangely gorgeous, and the movie's influence on found footage is undeniable. Film historians may want to understand it; animal lovers should skip it entirely.
Synopsis
Recovered film reels drive Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Ruggero Deodato's Italian horror film and an early landmark of found footage, in which an NYU anthropologist watches what a missing documentary team shot while searching for cannibal tribes in the Amazon. Robert Kerman plays the professor, and Francesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen and Luca Barbareschi play the crew whose tapes tell the story.
Filed under
Where to watch Cannibal Holocaust
- Subscription
- Shudder · AMC+ · Fandor · Night Flight Plus · Cultpix · Midnight Pulp · Bloodstream · Philo
- Rent or buy
- YouTube · Google Play · Fandango at Home · Bloodstream
Streaming in the US changes often. Listings from JustWatch via TMDB, checked November 10, 2026.See every option
Quick facts
- Release date
- February 7, 1980
- Runtime
- 1 hour 36 mins
- Country
- Colombia, Italy
- Language
- English, Spanish, Italian
- Content rating
- NC-17
- Entry type
- Movie
Content notes
- Real animal killings
- Sexual violence
- Graphic gore
Tags
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