So, a second group is sent out to retrieve the first.

He then introduces us to the four young documentary makers who didn’t return from the rainforest. The film lulls you into a sense of serenity with its introduction, backed by a piece of easy listening music, showing the rainforest from the sky in all of its tranquillity, untouched by man, before cutting to a western reporter talking about the way mankind has conquered the stars, but still doesn’t understand his own planet. Sadly, their obsession with fame will lead the young group to force themselves upon the very lifestyles of the natives with deadly, shocking and horrific results. Initially attempting to observe and catalogue the activities of the cannibals as part of a documentary, the filmmakers are rapidly drawn into the savagery of a world unlike any other, and experience animal dismemberment, torture, violence against women, cannibalism and an array of other unpleasantness. In Cannibal Holocaust, a group of young documentarians go along to the Amazon and encounter groups of cannibals who, having never seen westerners or their technology before, are suitably wary of the sophisticated visitors. This, dear reader, is where we find Cannibal Holocaust. They resulted in the full weight of the law being brought down on the purveyors of perversion and an even greater response from the media, only to be swallowed up by the next available moral panic that came along.

Some of the ‘worst’ video nasties caused more than just outcries of outrage. Spider-Man‘s 12 certificate was overturned by a number of authorities following complaints from parents intent on letting their children see a film featuring an obviously popular character. Though far from being a video nasty or a horror film, Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen (certificate 18) was reduced to a 15 by Inverclyde Council. However, if a local council felt strongly enough, they could choose to overturn a BBFC decision and show a film that had been banned, or provide a different certificate altogether.

Suffice to say that the BBFC were seen, at the time, as the overseers of morality with their legally enforced ability to correct corruption with the swift slice of the scissors. You’ve probably read about this elsewhere, or you can check out my rambling article about The Exorcist for more details. The BBFC were tasked with deciding what was acceptable or not following the Video Recordings Act of 1984. In the most extreme cases, it’s much easier to just ensure that such a film will just never be viewed in the UK, ever (unless you import it). Some films so vile that it’s necessary for whole sections to be excised before they can be viewed by the public. There are some sick films out there, we’re told.

Film cannibal holocaust uncut full