Guinness World Records' Most Banned Movie Ever Is Hard To Stomach

Umberto Lenzi's 1981 Italian horror film Let Them Die Slowly, aka Cannibal Ferox, has the distinction of being recognized by Guinness World Records as the most banned movie ever, officially banned in 31 countries (A Serbian Film claims to be banned in over 40, but is not officially recognized by Guinness for the record). Cannibal Ferox is certainly worthy of the ban, with even those who manage to stomach watching it regretting their decision to do so. How bad could it actually be? Well, you asked...

What Is 'Cannibal Ferox' About?

The cannibal horror movie Cannibal Ferox begins in Colombia, where Gloria (Lorraine De Selle) is preparing to journey into the rainforest accompanied by her brother, Rudy (Danilo Mattei), and her friend, Pat (Zora Kerova). No, not for any sightseeing or altruistic monkey rescue, but to prove her theory that cannibalism is nothing more than a myth (when will people in horror movies learn to equate "just a myth" with "it's a definite thing"?) As they make their way through the jungle, they come across a drug dealer by the name of Mike (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) and his partner, Joe (Walter Lucchini), who has been seriously injured after a cannibal attack. Gloria goes missing later in the evening, and while searching for her, Rudy comes across a largely deserted native village. With Joe unable to go much further, the group sets up camp. Having settled down for the time being, Mike partakes in his product, sending him into a cocaine-fueled madness. When a native girl is seen nearby, Mike pushes Pat to kill her, but when Pat refuses, he murders her himself... and we soon learn that it's not his first kill.

Joe begins telling his and Mike's story to the rest of the group. When they first arrived, they exploited the natives' trust and used them to collect emeralds and cocaine. Later, while on cocaine — say no to drugs, kids — Mike brutally tortured and killed their native guide... in front of the entire tribe. The cannibals, surprisingly, didn't take kindly to the act, so Mike and Joe kidnapped a native girl (the one he had just killed) to lead them out of the jungle, only for the cannibals to catch up and attack them. With the story over, Joe passes away, succumbing to his wounds. Meanwhile, those same cannibals have come across the body of the girl, and are on the hunt for those who killed her. As the cannibals approach the village, Mike and Pat run away, while Rudy and Gloria find a hiding place and watch in horror as the natives have a cup of Joe. It isn't long, however, before all four are captured and placed in a cage.

'Cannibal Ferox' Is a Violent Gore-Fest With Complex Themes

As movies about cannibalism often do, Cannibal Ferox gets worse. The cannibals choose to exact revenge on Mike first, taking him out of the cage to mete out torture and beatings for his actions before lopping off his penis with a large machete, which one lucky villager calls dibs on for a snack. Done with Mike (for now), the natives escort the prisoners to another village, but Rudy is able to escape during transport. But what Rudy can't escape are the booby traps the natives have set up in the jungle. He gets caught in one and begins to bleed profusely, which in itself might not have been a problem if it weren't for the piranhas. Rudy pleads for help, but none is coming. Instead, the natives shoot him with a poisoned dart, allowing the piranha to feast freely on some medium-rare Rudy in front of everyone.

At the new digs, Pat and Gloria are put in a hole in the ground while Mike, still alive but singing a good octave or two higher, is placed in a separate cage. One of the natives takes pity on them, and when the opportunity arises, he covertly lowers a rope into the hole in order for the women to escape. Only Mike has dug his way out of the cage, and because he hasn't been enough of a jerk yet, he chases the man away and cuts the rope, leaving Pat and Gloria helpless. Mike runs, and when he catches sight of a search and rescue plane above, he frantically tries to get their attention. His efforts are successful, but as the plane starts to descend, Mike is recaptured, and as punishment, the natives sever one of his hands and drag him back to the village. The search plane lands, but the natives lie to the rescuers, telling them that the crocodiles ate the outsiders after their canoe capsized.

'Cannibal Ferox' Is Banned for Graphic Violence and Animal Cruelty

After the plane leaves, Pat is tied up and stripped to the waist, which is helpful in allowing the natives to run hooks through her exposed breasts and hang her by them. In the meantime, Cannibal Ferox continues to up the ante, and Mike's head is placed in a primitive clamp-like contraption which, again, allows the natives to lop off the top of his skull and eat his exposed brain. Mmm... brain... Later that night, the native man who tried to help Pat and Gloria earlier returns, and this time, without Cap'n No-Penis around, he is successful in freeing Gloria. He escorts her through the jungle to safety, but booby traps don't differentiate between friend and foe, and he falls victim to one. Eventually, Gloria comes across a pair of trappers, and as they take her to safety she recounts the story of what has happened, but not the true story. She tells the same lie the natives told, that the others were eaten by crocodiles, leaving her as the sole survivor. Back in civilization, Gloria publishes a book titled Cannibalism: End of a Myth. The book supports her initial theory about cannibals being a myth, backed by evidence. Well, evidence in the very, very broad definition of the term. More a series of fabrications and falsities, with Gloria far too disturbed to talk about what she had truly encountered.

On its page for the Blu-ray release of the film in the US, Grindhouse Releasing claims at least "two dozen scenes of barbaric torture and sadistic cruelty graphically shown." Needless to say, the graphic violence and scenes of real animal cruelty (disturbingly confirmed as such by the filmmakers) were enough to land Cannibal Ferox on the banned list in several countries. But is Cannibal Ferox deeper than the sum of its (body) parts? Yes, the natives are cannibals, but they trusted Mike and Joe, even though the pair had been exploiting them. It wasn't until Mike had killed, in front of the whole tribe, one of their own that the natives attacked, and not until the native girl they kidnapped was slain by Mike that the natives got their dinner on.

If we look past the extreme violence, Cannibal Ferox is a tale of people rising up against oppressors, seeking justice for the unwarranted and brutal murders of those in their community. When the search plane landed, the natives communicated with the rescuers. Sure, they communicated a lie, but they didn't hack them up as hors d'oeuvres, and certainly could have. The rescuers are innocents, but the group, having been associated with Mike, largely through no fault of their own, are not. The death of the native that freed Gloria and guided her to freedom before falling victim to a booby trap is also significant, a karmic warning to the tribe that their violence has now taken one of their own. An excessively gory cannibal horror is not for everyone, but if you can stomach it, you'll find that Cannibal Ferox isn't just a mindless gore-fest. That is if you can find it at all in your country.