Horror films have documented all types of terrors and atrocities, from ghosts and ghouls to serial killers and monsters. Despite the wide variety of taboo topics explored in the genre, it wasn’t until the ’70s and ’80s that cannibal films became popular, seemingly because cannibalism was a little too extreme with the concept of humans consuming one another’s flesh for no reason other than sick pleasure.
The earlier films in the subgenre leaned into the idea of the “other,” focusing on various tribes in the remote wilderness who would eat foreigners. As the years passed, cannibal films regularly began incorporating humor, as there’s something inherently ludicrous about anyone who’s so hungry they might eat their fellow man.
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The early ’90s saw the representation of cannibals reach its peak, with the actual serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, known to eat his victims, being apprehended, the film Alive was released, which was based on the true incident of passengers of a plane eating one another to survive following their crash in the Andes, and Silence of the Lambs, which featured a captured cannibal helping a detective track down a serial killer, winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Although you don’t see as many cannibal films being released every year as compared to zombies, vampires, or killers, the subgenre still regularly puts out entertaining and engaging films.
Opening tomorrow is The Bad Batch, a film featuring cannibals that stars Jason Momoa, Suki Waterhouse, and Keanu Reeves.
To prepare yourself to check out The Bad Batch, look back at some of the best films the cannibal subgenre has created!
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
In addition to being one of the definitive movies of an entire horror subgenre, Cannibal Holocaust might be the toughest movie to actually watch.
One of the earliest “found footage” films, Cannibal Holocaust showed the recovered footage of a group of filmmakers who went into the Amazon to document a reclusive tribe. As you can imagine, they aren’t welcomed with open arms, and the audience is forced to sit through their gruesome and grisly murders.
As if the special effects in the film weren’t vile enough, considering the rules and regulations around animal involvement when this movie was made, the film features actors actually killing animals, making it one of the most controversial horror films of all time, as well as setting the precedent that cannibal films were gritty, sleazy, and not for the faint of heart.
Motel Hell (1980)
Juxtaposed to the release of Cannibal Holocaust, Motel Hell was a far more silly film that aimed to be more of a parody of horror films like Psycho and Texas Chain Saw Massacre than one that would actually frighten anyone.
A farmer who runs a motel named “Motel Hello” (whose “o” flickers on and off) is known all over town for his delicious smoked meats. Little do his regular customers know that this farmer captures abandoned travelers, buries them in dirt up to their necks, and removes their vocal cords, where they await their eventual “harvest.”
Much like Blood Feast and Blood Diner, Motel Hell manages to make you laugh as much as it makes you heave, making it both a parody and competent installment of the subgenre it intended to mock.
Ravenous (1999)
Another film that blended humor with horror is 1999’s Ravenous, which not only focused on cannibalism but also incorporated hints of the Algonquian myth of the Wendigo.
To survive the Mexican-American war, a soldier pretended to be dead, resulting in being carried behind enemy lines with the rest of the bodies, eventually summoning the strength to surprise his adversaries. As punishment for his cowardice, the soldier is assigned to a remote fort in northern California, when a weary traveler arrives seeking refuge. When the traveler reveals the rest of his party died, he leads soldiers to their resting spot, only to turn on them when they reveal the traveler killed and ate the members of his party, as he felt consuming his flesh empowered him.
Starring Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle, the film explores just how far people are willing to go to survive, even if survival means embracing your most primal instincts.
Hannibal (2001)
The Silence of the Lambs might be the most highly regarded film in the series that focuses on Hannibal Lecter, but when it comes to actual man-eating action, it pales in comparison to its sequel, Hannibal.
With Hannibal having escaped from prison, Mason Verger, Lecter’s only victim to have survived, will spare no expense when it comes to the capture of his tormentor, using his political powers to get Clarice Starling to track him down. Unsurprisingly, Lecter leaves many bodies in his wake, with the film culminating in a scene where Lecter eats the brain out of the head of his still-living victim.
Although the quality of the film might not make it the best version of Hannibal Lecter, finally seeing him eat someone after two films (including Manhunter) was a cathartic moment for the audience and gave them a chance to see Lecter at his finest, which is also his most deadly.
We Are What We Are (2013)
A remake of the Spanish film of the same name, this version of We Are What We Are is the rare instance in which a remake takes the core concepts of an original film and expands upon them in ways more compelling than the source material did.
The film follows a family in the remote southern United States who adhere to a religion that requires them to consume human flesh, regardless of their guilt over murdering people. As the two young girls in the family begin to question their father’s devout belief in these rituals, the police get closer and closer to discovering their horrifying crimes, forcing the family to question what they believe in.
Compared to many other cannibal films, We Are What We Are focuses on a larger mythology, making the themes of the film far more overarching than just “people eating people.” With compelling performances and gorgeous cinematography, this film is a solid entry in both the cannibal and religious cult subgenres.
Raw (2016)
With the variety of cannibal films throughout the years, Raw exemplifies the evolution of the subgenre, resulting in one of the most artistic cannibal films out there.
The French film shows a young girl beginning veterinary school where her older sister is also a student. During a hazing ritual, the new student is forced to eat an animal’s organ, which would be the first time she’s eaten meat in her life, as her family is full of devout vegetarians. With the taste of flesh fresh on her lips, a desire to consume whatever flesh she can come across takes over her, awakening a dark secret she had long tried to bury.
As much a coming-of-age film as a cannibal film, Raw manages to overwhelm the senses with its sound design and direction, while also churning your stomach from the gruesome sequences it provides to audiences. The film’s duality of beauty and horror will mark it as one of the best cannibal films of the decade.
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