There are two kinds of horror fans, those who like Eli Roth and his films and those who don’t.
Sadly, I feel that statement is going to be the most divisive thing about The Green Inferno instead of the film itself. The Green Inferno named after the film within a film in Cannibal Holocaust is Roth’s love letter to one of his favorite exploitation sub-genres, the Italian cannibal film.
The film is the story of a group of eco-minded millennials who travel to the jungles of Peru to try and save a village of natives from being slaughtered for their land. While on their way back to civilization their plane crashes, putting them face to face with the natives they were trying to save; and of course they just happen to have a taste for human flesh.
For The Green Inferno Roth has followed the template for a cannibal film omitting the mandatory rapeyness of the sub-genre and replacing it instead with his trademark brand of morose humor. This probably was a wise decision since the film as is, still has all the brutality you would expect from a cannibal film and is still (unbelievably) only rated R. Greg Nicotero and K.N.B. Effects bring their A-Game for The Green Inferno with some truly great practical effects that will definitely please gore hounds and raises the bar yet again for on-screen, R-rated gore.
My only real issue with the film was instead of trying to raise the bar with The Green Inferno, Roth’s story and the film’s acting stay safely within the sandbox of the sub-genre, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Instead of delivering a satisfying 1stand 2ndact the first 45 minutes the film seems to exist solely for the final payoff of the third act, which it does in a very satisfying manner.
I honestly feel a bit conflicted about the film. While I wish Roth had tried for something a bit more ambitious, I am honestly happy just to have a modern cannibal film in the style of one of my favorite films of all time (Cannibal Holocaust.)
While I will go on record saying I enjoyed The Green Inferno, I honestly feel it could have been better. Instead of really trying to re-invent the sub-genre Roth takes the safe way out and gives the fans the minimum to get by. For fans familiar of the sub-genre its definitely worth checking out, if you’re not familiar with Italian cannibal films or a fan of the sub-genre this film may not be for you.