If you are looking for a subgenre of horror that emphasized graphic violence and shock value above all else, look no further than the Italian cannibal movies of the 1970s and 1980s. Evolving from Mondo cinema, Italian filmmakers like Umberto Lenzi and Ruggero Deodato would exploit xenophobic fears of exotic customs; their movies often depicting ‘civilized’ westerners running afoul of cannibalistic natives.
Whilst most cannibal movies focused on nothing more than provoking extreme disgust – often through rape, torture, and real animal cruelty – a few titles stand out due to their social commentary; it is often the westerners that are the first to perpetrate violence upon the natives due to their ‘uncivilized’, misunderstood culture.
Censors around the world felt a deep repugnance for the subgenre – four out of the five cannibal movies on this list were deemed ‘video nasties’ in the United Kingdom and effectively banned for almost two decades – which only made them more desirable.
https://www.attackfromplanetb.com/2021/06/5-essential-italian-cannibal-movies/
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