I’ve always had a soft spot for cannibal movies. Maybe it’s because of a late night viewing of a Cannibal Holocaust bootleg back in middle school, but there was always something strangely poetic and raw about the genre…as long as you could look past the excessive gore. Director Calum Waddell’s documentary dives into the birth and death of this sub-genre, interviewing many of the principal creative minds behind this depraved little slice of 1970’s cinema. While it is certainly a low-budget production, Waddell is an able storyteller and his work with this shallow subject matter is more than impressive (his other release in 2015, 42nd Street Memories, is even better). If you’re a fan of horror or even just of off-beat stories, Eaten Alive is a fun, easy trip down an often forgotten avenue of cinema.
Eaten Alive!: The Rise and Fall of the Italian Cannibal Film
Eaten Alive!: The Rise and Fall of the Italian Cannibal Film
62%
Bottom Line With a shoe-string budget, director Calum Waddell is able to weave a captivating, though shallow, narrative about a long-forgotten sub-genre.