Eli Roth really put himself on the map with his first few films, and then hit a wall when “The Green Inferno” came out. I don’t know why, but I feel like he didn’t do as much afterwards, but maybe that’s because his movies were all profitable and he wanted to do other things. I’m not a journalist, so I’m not going to dive too much into that, but instead focus on the task at hand, reviewing “The Green Inferno”. I heard about it previously, but didn’t really want to watch it as I was battling depression and didn’t really want to watch any horror movies for a while. That explains the gap on this blog, by the way.
“The Green Inferno” has a simple plot, a group of college students aim to save the rainforest and run into more than they could handle. Well, not initially. They initially win, and there’s something kind of endearing about it, as they lock themselves up to a tree, get the bad guys on film, and celebrate on a private plane out of the jungle.
Until the plane’s engine blows and they get trapped in the jungles of Peru.
The gore in “Green Inferno” is turned up, and it's not just from the cannibal element. The villagers are cannibals, and you immediately see the throwback to “Cannibal Holocaust” and other movies that were meant to scare you and gross you out all the same. Despite the gore, the pacing of this movie is really done well, and you never feel like you’re dulled into the next plot point overall.
A straightforward plot meets you, the group gets lost in the jungle only to be found by a cannibalistic tribe, and they have to try to escape, if they can. That’s the break down to the twists and turns, and though you don’t know the individuals or their back story, you start to root for them as the tension builds with the turns that come along. There’s a clear cut villain here, and it isn’t just the cannibals, there’s a good bit of character modeling and acting, making this more fruitful than your average gorefest.
“The Green Inferno” plays on a lot of fears, and it does so with gusto. There are moments where you swear the movie can’t get any more graphic, and there are times where the movie gives you a sense of hope, only to pull the rug. It’s a rollercoaster at times, and yet it eases you into the ending. It is a cannibal movie, but it has some wit, sense, and overall pacing that makes it far better than what you may think. It’s too easy to say that this is just another cannibal movie, especially the way it is shot, and the transitional pieces that lead you to start to cheer for the final girl. I’m not going to be watching this movie a lot, but I would definitely show it to someone new, a horror fan, and those that are tired of run of the mill slashers. This is a pretty good showcase of horror for the modern age.
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