Green Inferno, The (2013)

[Frankie Teardrop]

THE GREEN INFERNO – Here is my opinion of Eli Roth's 'The Green Inferno'. It's not very good, it doesn't hold a candle to (many of) the original cannibal cycle, and it strikes me as the kind of film which, had it been directed by a comparative unknown, would've ended up ultimately as a £1 random purchase used to bulk out a lonely post-work CEX binge. For me, that is. To go back to the whole cannibal homage thing, 'per Deodato'. Well, I'm no expert of course, but 'The Green Inferno' seems like quite a measly tribute if you ask me. This is coming from someone who doesn't have a particular investment in glorifying the likes of 'Cannibal Holocaust' or '...Ferox' etc, films which I believe are still effective within a certain bandwidth, but which are overrated, not to mention over-revered. Eli Roth might be a partaker in that kind of rabid fan worship for all I know, but, beyond the basic set up and a bunch of references which probably escape me, 'The Green Inferno' doesn't feel like an exercise in either nostalgia, renewal or revisionism. It feels like a low budget, direct to dvd mid-range horror film which only distinguishes itself through a couple of excessive moments, a shot on digital plodder which uses cannibal territory to do away with another consignment of irritating young Americans. I didn't pick up on any kind of directorial signature from Roth, beyond, perhaps, the insistence on there being an annoying amount of chat before the horror kicks in: other filmmakers might frame this kind of build up in terms of character development or atmospheric scene setting, but all we get is an unnecessarily lengthy run down on the motivations of the focal players. It does feel similar to his other films in that a bunch of post-collegiate whiners find themselves out on a limb in hostile territory, but that's like saying it resembles lots and lots of other flicks. It irritated me that Roth chose political activists for his herd of ready meals – I don't know what he was trying to say, beyond attempting to garner cheap mass audience affirmation as to who can be made to look annoying, therefore fit for radical consumption. I suppose, on the other side of the fence, there are reasons for watching 'The Green Inferno'. It's not a bad film (but it is mediocre), it throws in a bit of splatter, there's no actual animal violence and the latter half is reasonably compelling in a by the numbers way. I don't really like any of Roth's films apart from the sadistic 'Hostel 2', and 'The Green Inferno' didn't alter my opinion of his journeyman talent.

[JamesN]

I tend to like Eli Roth's work more than I don't, but in terms of being worth a one-time watch instead of anything memorable that I will want to buy and watch again. I thought CABIN FEVER was okay, and I dug the HOSTEL movies quite a bit even if they weren't perfect. KNOCK KNOCK was pretty bad, but I still dug it in a "trashy fun" kinda way.

That said, I liked THE GREEN INFERNO. I didn't love it, but I definitely enjoyed it for the very flawed film that it was. Some of the cannibalism sequences I found very disturbing, but one thing that really bothered me about 'INFERNO was the way Roth was all-over-the-place tonally. A lot of the humor I didn't think worked at all, because it came from out of nowhere during an otherwise very disturbing scene. I found myself pulled out of the movie because I kept thinking, "Why would he choose to do that?"

Overall, though, like I said, I did enjoy it. I bought it, and don't regret the blind buy. I just don't know if it's something I'll be watching again any time soon, just like everything else he's done . . . .

[Delirium]

Originally Posted by Rik

People who hate Eli Roth because everyone else does, ie jumping on the bandwagon

Or, people with the smarts to realise he's shit.

I saw Cabin Fever opening day in the US. I hated its obnoxious characters and didn't think it delivered on its premise. I also saw Hostel opening day: felt the same way. Hostel 2, ditto (not quite as obnoxious as the first, but close). And Knock Knock was my first cinema walk-out in ages.

Now I love Cannibal films and know the genre well, but feel it'll be more fool me if I buy into Roth's hackery once more. To add insult to injury, a friend of mine (who generally agrees with me on Roth) really enjoyed it.

No bandwagon involved.

[gag]

Never seen Green inferno and not interested,
I like what i like irrelevant to if people like or dont like,
I think eli roth is extremely over rated,
Whats so good about cannibal ferox, holocaust etc and similar films is the grubiness of it, but today's remake they think if they have eg lots of violence, gore etc it works
But the way the originals are made compared to remakes have a whole different feel to the film, to make you feel like you shouldn't be watching it, and the grimness and low budget gives the films better apeal to watch compared to a film that got budget and Hollywood treatment, thats why the originals of a lot of films feel better, not because there better acted or better made, that alone loses the apeal. Within itself.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

The film's worst crime is that it's boring, something an adventure film in the jungle, featuring outrageous violence and cannibalism, should never be.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by gag

Never seen Green inferno and not interested,
I like what i like irrelevant to if people like or dont like,
I think eli roth is extremely over rated,
Whats so good about cannibal ferox, holocaust etc and similar films is the grubiness of it, but today's remake they think if they have eg lots of violence, gore etc it works
But the way the originals are made compared to remakes have a whole different feel to the film, to make you feel like you shouldn't be watching it, and the grimness and low budget gives the films better apeal to watch compared to a film that got budget and Hollywood treatment, thats why the originals of a lot of films feel better, not because there better acted or better made, that alone loses the apeal. Within itself.

There actually isn't that much gore at all. Which you'd know if you actually watched the film and didn't make sweeping generalizations.

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

The film's worst crime is that it's boring, something an adventure film in the jungle, featuring outrageous violence and cannibalism, should never be.

Surely all cannibal films are on the whole boring. Full of interminable jungle wanderings. They need the outrageous violence and animal slaughter to wake the viewer out of his stupor.

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Delirium

Or, people with the smarts to realise he's shit.

I saw Cabin Fever opening day in the US. I hated its obnoxious characters and didn't think it delivered on its premise. I also saw Hostel opening day: felt the same way. Hostel 2, ditto (not quite as obnoxious as the first, but close). And Knock Knock was my first cinema walk-out in ages.

Now I love Cannibal films and know the genre well, but feel it'll be more fool me if I buy into Roth's hackery once more. To add insult to injury, a friend of mine (who generally agrees with me on Roth) really enjoyed it.

No bandwagon involved.

Must be honest I've enjoyed nearly all Roths films including The Green Inferno. Knock Knock however was awful. Keanu miscast as hell in his worst ever performance.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Surely all cannibal films are on the whole boring. Full of interminable jungle wanderings. They need the outrageous violence and animal slaughter to wake the viewer out of his stupor.

Not really because the best ones have interesting and involving character dynamics, or plot devices which, like him Cannibal Holocaust, change locations and/or the timescale. There's nothing in this font which is equal to the found footage or 'film within a film' from Deodato's most famous, the relationship between characters to rival Man from Deep River (even if that is a loose remake of A Man Called Horse).

As the main characters are annoying, there's little reason to root for them to survive apart from not wanting to watch ritual barbarism but, if you are watching cannibal film, isn't that what you expect? The most famous and respected in the genre involve people you want to survive not lasting until the end credits, not (in the same way as a Halloween or Friday the 13th) have you cheering on the killer/killers.

[Frankenhooker]

I was a bit underwhelmed by The Green Inferno, I think my expectations may of been a tad high and the extremely long wait didn't help. Tonally I thought it was all over the shop and I found it really dull.

I quite like Roth though and barring The Green Inferno I've found all of his films entertaining to a degree. Knock Knock was a bit of a mess but I never found it dull.

[sillyarsehole]

I can remember when this one came out. I was beyond psyched as contrary to recent opinion I actually like Cabin Fever and Hostel. I really thought Eli Roth would have done something truly unique with the genre. When I got round to watching it I was shocked at how lifeless it was. This and 'Knock Knock' were shot back to back I believe. What a shame that 'The Green Inferno' was utterly boring and lifeless.

One of the major problems is the script isn't focused. It introduces interesting ideas and debates around FGM but does absolutely nothing with it. The tone is all over the shop and worst off there is no real reason to care. Most of the characters are one note, thinly crafted to the size of an oreo. As much as Eli loves Cannibal Holocaust, as do I, you get the sense that if this was made by anyone else it would of been left on the shelf.

It's quite sad to say the best thing Eli has ever done is 'Thanksgiving', which was all of three minutes.