I realize that most of the people who read this website have probably contemplated the philosophical problems of being a cannibal, but I have yet to see a movie that is quite as prominent in the history of independent film about cannibals as Cannibal Campout.
There are of course the obvious thoughts of Hannibal and the movie Ravenous but, by and large, the majority of other movies I’ve seen concerning cannibalism are usually set in the tropics and the cannibals practice Voodoo or some other (and I’m sure completely accurate) misunderstood religion and a bizarre take on unknown lands across many seas. In reality, two or three small, localized tribes in Papua-New Guinea had ritualized cannibalism up until the 1960’s; there is an ongoing debate among historians and anthropologists as to whether or not the Donnor Party actually consumed flesh while being stranded in the Rockies. Our imagination, as a culture, has often looked with terror and interest at the idea of one human being eaten by another–so why haven’t there been more movies like Cannibal Campout? I’ll try to answer that shortly, but first, let’s see what the movie offers in terms of an independent horror film that has been recently released on DVD.
How can one not love a movie about teenagers in the 80’s going on a romp in the wilderness? Let’s be honest…the script feels like it was written on the spot (or was never written at all!), the whole concept of cinematography is a little lost, and there is some unnecessary switching from color to black and white. The acting, as we all love, is beautifully bad with cheesy overacting. The cannibals themselves are probably the most developed characters in the movie with some bizarre family histories–a promise to their mother not to eat junk food anymore–and hilarious interactions as if they don’t eat other people and they were the most normal group of orphans to ever grace the hillsides.
The movie, all being said, is incredibly shocking at the climax. I had even prepared myself by reading some background on the movie and new what would happen–but there’s nothing that you can do to prepare yourself for it, and i won’t even spoil it because its not going to help you stomach it any better. You can assume that it deals with eating people and lots of blood and gore!
The movie, overall, did make me think of these bigger issues of cannibalism. If I had to put my finger on it–that about the movie and about cannibalism in general that makes me interested, makes me think about my own cravings of sushi and ground beef, and frankly scares the shit out of me. And this does give away a little bit about the final minutes of the movie, but once a person starts eating other people, I find it hard to think that they can stop (think: bloodlust–its said that when animals get a taste of human blood they can’t eat anything else, the basis for Ravenous). Think about the mind set of somoene who has eaten another person! What happens when you get caught, or you eat all of the supply of fresh human beings available in a given area (say, the woods, after all the teenagers have been stripped to the bone…)?
Another reason to watch the movie, believe it or not, is for the song, written by Christopher Granger (who stars as Chris in the movie and sings it)–a song filled with love and dismemberment. I wish I could do it justice here, but you’ll have to watch the movie, all the way through, and get to the credits so you can hear it in its entirety.
I suggest picking up Cannibal Campout and having a night in, a dinner and a movie party–some chilli or salisbury steak, some chicken livers, some hotdogs and a bunch of friends–in case, of course, all the other food gets eaten.
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