In Cannibal Holocaust from 1980, a four-headed film crew heads into the Amazon jungle to shoot a documentary about cannibalism. They never return. When their cans of film are found later on, the gruesome truth about their faiths is uncovered. The film has been extremely controversial since its release and is still banned in several countries. Cannibal Holocaust remains a very unpleasant viewing today due its nauseatingly realistic scenes of violence and mutilation. Still, the shocking subject matter seems to have a certain appeal on many people. What is it with cannibalism that fascinates people so much and how is this fascination translated into cinema?

In Western civilization, cannibalism is considered as something perverted, disgusting, extremely primitive, sick and demented. In most countries there is not even a law against cannibalism. Whenever an occasional case of cannibalism does come to light, the perpetrator is mostly convicted of another act such as murder or necrophilia. The eating of individuals from the same species does still occur, but it happens very marginally. The fact that it still happens means that it is definitely human. We can only admit to this repressed fascination by engaging in fantasy. Through books, music and – off course – movies we can come to terms with the cannibal inside of us.

Cannibals in cinema go back a long time. As far as I can tell, the first movie that features cannibalism is the short Queenie and the Cannibal from 1912. It is the beginning of a very long list. Last century alone, 90 movies premiered with the notion ‘cannibalism’ in the title. Movies that feature the theme cannibalism encompass several genres and subgenres. Very often they are horrors, adventures or crossovers. Mostly, they are also exploitation and sexploitation flicks (or straight out porn). Many can also be classified as racist – as natives are portrayed as savage flesh eaters. Some examples of these types of cannibal movies include; Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977), The Mountain of the Cannibal God (1978), Cannibal Ferox (1981), The Flesh (1991) and Diary of a Cannibal (2007). Human’s fascination with the subject is also translated into the zombie film. After all, despite the fact that they are dead, zombies are still humans that eat other human’s flesh.

Exploitation films that deal with cannibalism are often horrors, but there are quite a lot of comedies as well. Ivan Reitman’s second feature film is the Canadian comedy-horror Cannibal Girls about three beautiful young women who lure men with their seductive charm to their home in order to kill and eat them. By drinking their blood and eating their flesh the women maintain their youthfulness and immortality. Eating Raoul is a 1982 black comedy in which cannibalism is used for the central gag. Another black comedy and horror is Motel Hell (1980) about a farmer / hotel owner who makes meat products with special ingredients. Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies (1992) already tells you all you need to know with its title and Trey Parker from South Park made Cannibal! The Musical (1993) in his college days. This blend of comedy, biography and musical is loosely based on the history of Alfred ‘Alferd’ Packer who was convicted for cannibalism in 1874.

While Italians can often be credited for nasty exploitation cannibal films, the French are largely responsible for putting cannibals in the Art House. A Taste For Woman (1964) is a black comedy by French director Jean Leon from an adapted screenplay by Roman Polanski. This is about a vegetarian restaurant that acts as cover for a sect that eats women as part of a full moon ceremony. Jean-Luc Godards Week End (1967) shows the savage journey of a bourgeois couple through France. They eventually fall prey to hippy cannibals. In Delicatessen (1991) by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet a butcher / landlord sells human flesh to his odd tenants in a post-apocalyptic world. Finally Les amants criminels (1999, François Ozon) is a thriller that retells the Hansel and Gretel legend, only with the wicked witch replaced by a woodsman with cannibalistic tendencies.

While the Art House and Grindhouse cinemas have had their taste of cannibalism, mainstream Hollywood has also exploited the theme for big time box-office return. The Silence of the Lambs was a sleeper hit in 1991, and its main star Hannibal ‘The Cannibal’ Lecter, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, returned in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002). Especially the first sequel has scenes of explicit cannibalism in it, just look at the scene in which Lecter feeds on Ray Liotta’s brains. In Sin City (2005), the mute serial killer Kevin (Elijah Wood) kills prostitutes, mounts their heads on a wall like hunting trophies and cannibalizes their remains, feeding the leftovers to his pet wolf.

Not a Hollywood film, but immensely popular was The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974. In it, a group of friends stumble upon a family of cannibals in rural Texas. The film was made independently by director Tobe Hooper for just around 140.000 dollars. Due to its graphic content, the film was banned in several countries, but did make 30.8 million dollars at the U.S. box office alone. It got five sequels and a remake in 2003. A quite similar film is The Hills Have Eyes, which is a cult classic directed by Wes Craven in 1977. The story revolves around a family of mutant cannibals that prey on a family who have been stranded in the Nevada desert. In 1991, Craven also made The People Under the Stairs about a psychotic and cannibalistic couple played by Everett McGill and Wendy Robie who also played a couple in Twin Peaks. They ‘keep’ people between the walls of their house and eat the occasional liver.

While Cannibal Holocaust and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre only pretend to be based on reality, there are also real real-life stories about cannibalism that have been turned into movies. Think about Grimm Love aka Rohtenburg. This movie is based on the true story of self-confessed cannibal Armin Meiwes and the ‘internet cannibal movement’. In March 2001 Meiwes killed and partially ate a man he had met on the internet. The eating was based on a mutual agreement. The movie was banned in Germany after Meiwes filed a complaint against it. True cannibalism is also found in Alive (1993). This film tells the story of the Uruguayan national rugby teams’ plane that crashed in the middle of the Andes Mountains in 1972. The survivors have to take desperate measures to stay alive, including eating their deceived friends and family members.

Except for voluntary cannibalism there are also quite a few examples of people who force or trick people into eating other humans. Look no further than The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) and Titus (1999) based on a play by William Shakespeare. There is also Jennifer’s Body (2009), starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried and written by Oscar winning screenplay writer Diablo Cody. In it, Megan Fox plays a high school beauty queen who eats her boyfriends.

Judging from this overview, movies that feature cannibalism come in many forms and vary strongly in quality. Compared to food, they range from the cheapest junk to the highest culinary achievement. Either way, the theme has successfully manifested itself into cinema and still fascinates people to this day and will undoubtedly continue to do so in the future.