Cannibal (2006)

This movie by Marian Dora comes with a reputation. It is the true story of a couple of men meeting on the internet. One wants to eat another person and one wants to be devoured. From the opening credits the viewer can tell it's well filmed on a moderate budget and the props used in the credits are successful in leaving an unnerving feel. The film feels right for an extreme horror – grim tone and totally devoid of any humour. The intimate scenes between the two men show a tender side to the two personalities that feel very real and the lack of dialogue really works throughout the film due to the good use of sound. The film has gore and sexual scenes but at nearly an hour and a half some of the scenes appear over-long or unnecessary. A good, if not very entertaining film that deserves a watch for extreme horror fans but most would decide not to revisit it.

Look, this is a brutal movie and at the same time could possibly be the best horror film ever made. ---contains heavy spoilers----"Cannibal" is not your typical horror film and I am glad of it. Over the years I have been watching all this garbage come out with cookie cutting teenie boppers and have gotten sick of it. So I pulled up and looked on the net to find movies that would appeal to me. I like gore and I like straight horror. And I have found it.This movie as stated in other reviews plays out in 3 distinct acts; searching for "the flesh", meeting and the relationship with "the flesh", and finally the killing and consumption of "the flesh".Acts 1 and 2 may seem boring to some, but it is a great build up to the actual gorefest part of the film. And as stated before, there is a lot of male nudity and gay love in this film. In fact, the whole killing and consumption the main actor is nude. For y'all that may not be able to stomach it, act 3 is the gore. And my friends, there ain;t a film out there more gory than this one. That is a promise. The consumption starts out with the severing of THE FLESH'S penis. This looks real and there ain't no cutaways. In fact, after he fries up the penis and he and his lover share it, that is the one part I had to pass through because of the noises of the eating. After that he takes the flesh into the bathtub to bleed out and die so he can butcher him into steaks. This scene is great and creepy. After that he takes the dying body down to cut up and there is a nice watery crap scene that should make you sick. There is some barfing, the body is then hung and gutted in great detail. ----end of spoilers----Anyway, this is a film that not everyone will like and I would not say that watching it with family members would be good either. This is something to watch by yourself so you can absorb what is happening. The score is great, the acting is great, and the gore is above and beyond anything I have ever see. So buy it, put it in the DVD and sit back and try to watch it straight through. And keep telling yourself it is only a movie.

Well, here you have it ... The most grueling, sickening, disturbing, controversial, unbelievable and shocking horror movie EVER made, and yet it's all real. "Cannibal" is the ideal motion picture to state that the hard facts of reality will always surpass fiction. If this film had simply sprung from the imaginative mind of any random horror scriptwriter, it probably would have been laughed at, because surely nothing as vile, grotesque and far-fetched like this is ever likely to happen in our sophisticated society, right? The factual case of Rohtenburg cannibal Armin Meiwes is unquestionably one of the most perplexing crime cases in the history of mankind and, even though you know it's all true, you're often still staring at the screen in total disbelief. Even though the case is only a couple of years old, it already inspired no less than FOUR long feature films. Marian Dora's version is the first one I watched, but I sincerely doubt that any of the other three will defeat "Cannibal" when it comes to truthfulness, shocking impact or the explicit depiction of mutilation & manslaughter. This film is indescribably hardcore, with a continuously gritty & devastating atmosphere as well as graphic imagery that will undoubtedly disgust even the toughest and most experienced horror fanatic. Strange and surreal as it may sound, "Cannibal" primarily is an unconventional love-story and a portrait of two men who're social outcasts due to their unacceptable sexual desires. They're not crazed psychopaths or heroine-addicted losers, but introvert gay men with sexual needs only the two of them comprehend. The film soberly opens with Meiwes persona (though nameless in the film, as well as his victim Bernd Brandes) carefully looking for male company but always returning home alone again. He then finally meets his 'soul mate' via the internet and they promptly begin a fairly passionate relationship. Then soon follows the actual reason why the two met each other, namely the killing and 'consumption' of The Flesh. The victim is castrated at his own request and they both eat the penis before he's killed and eviscerated in extended and horrifying details.If watching "Cannibal" initially feels awkward and uncomfortable, don't immediately think you purchased the wrong movie. It has to be said, the first 40 minutes of the film are ... um ... due to the lack of a more fitting term: extremely GAY! The two protagonists constantly walk around naked, fondle each other and Morian Dora eventually even includes rough footage of homosexual intercourse. Admittedly this is all quite uncomfortable to watch, but it does help a great deal to make the two characters more convincing and at least it provides them with a more likable background, rather then to simply portray them as maniacs. Also very impressive and unforgettable during these first 40 minutes are the uncannily grim photography and especially the chilling musical score. Dora compares the case of the Rohtenburg cannibal with the legendary fairy-tale of Hansel & Gretl, which results in a truly atmospheric into sequence and a handful of brilliant hidden gimmicks, like the sounds of opening doors resembling Hansel cage in the Brothers Grimm's story. Then, when the actual horror starts, "Cannibal" turns into the most stomach-churning movie I ever beheld, and that honestly isn't an exaggeration. The make-up effects are incredibly realistic and deeply disturbing. The already-notorious castration sequence is nearly unwatchable and the dissection of the victim's body near the end of the film goes on uninterrupted for eighteen whole minutes (make sure you purchase the uncut version!) and it's by far the most shocking thing ever captured on film. If you think movies like "Hostel", "Saw" or that ridiculous "Murder-Set-Pieces" were cruel, "Cannibal" will damage your stomach beyond repair. The acting performances of Carsten Frank and Victor Brandl are excellent, but the English dubbing is a total disaster. Luckily enough, there only are about 15 lines being spoken throughout the entire movie, and they're rather primitive and simply phrases like "I'm your Flesh" or "You're too weak to do it". All I can say is that this is a extraordinary and unforgettable experience to behold. Very few people will be able to sit the whole film through, but it's an absolute must-see for avid collectors of extreme cinema and warmly recommended to everyone who's sick and tired of goody-goody mainstream horror films.

"Cannibal" is reminiscent of Jorg (Nekromantik) Buttgereit's work, but far more emotional. As other reviewers have said, it is a stark film with VERY little dialog. It doesn't need it. Obviously if you are watching this film, you have sought it out and know exactly what you are in store for. You know the story, you know about the gore. What you don't know is how emotional and tragic the love story is. While certainly not a date movie, it is oddly touching and sad in it's depiction of two men who belong together. While I certainly don't think this is a healthy relationship, it is tragically beautiful and poetic. Is it hard to watch? Absolutely. If you're homophobic or can't handle unshaved European body hair, look elsewhere. The scene where they share the Flesh's body is disturbing, but essential to show their emotional connection and the sadness the men both have inside their souls. Once the "butchery" begins, I thought the movie, only from that point until the final shot, became exploitive. If you've ever scene slaughterhouse footage, you've seen the last 20 minutes of this movie. (Hey, I love meat as much as the next guy, but I don't want to know how it got to my plate. You'll think the same thing as well.) If it would have focused the last 20 minutes on their last meal together and the Man's coping of the consummation of their love, it would have been perfect. Unfortunately, we're left with a brilliant, but flawed, tale of tragic love. Don't watch it expecting "Cannibal Holocaust" and go in with an open mind and you will be well rewarded.