The Green Inferno (2013) is a graphic cannibal horror film directed by Eli Roth, designed as a modern homage to Italian cannibal exploitation films of the 1970s and '80s, most notably Cannibal Holocaust Plot Summary
A group of idealistic college students, led by charismatic filmmaker Justine, travel to the Amazon to document rainforest deforestation and support indigenous resistance. Their plane is hijacked by a militant group and, after a crash, they are captured by an isolated indigenous tribe. What begins as an eco-activist mission turns into a desperate struggle for survival as the visitors realize the tribe’s customs are brutal, ritualistic, and implacable. Roth intentionally frames the story like a cautionary fable about naivety, impulsive activism, and the thin line between observing suffering and exploiting it.
: The survivors are captured by the very tribe they were trying to protect. Mistaking the activists for the developers destroying their home, the tribe takes them hostage to be ritually tortured and eaten. amazonwatch.org Thematic Elements The Green Inferno -2013-
The film also drew criticism from environmental groups who argued that portraying indigenous tribes as bloodthirsty savages could harm real-world conservation and human rights efforts. Roth defended the film by stating that the tribe portrayed was completely fictionalized and that the true villains were the corporate entities exploiting the jungle.
The prisoners are taken to the tribe's village and locked in a bamboo cage. Here, the film's title gains its full meaning: the captives are systematically dismembered and consumed. Jonah (Aaron Burns) is first—a tribal elder plucks out his eyeballs and cuts off his tongue before his remains are fed to the tribe. Alejandro reveals the devastating truth: the protest was never about genuine activism but was a publicity stunt staged to benefit a rival petrochemical company run by his father. The Green Inferno (2013) is a graphic cannibal
Upon release, “The Green Inferno” polarized critics and audiences. Supporters argue it is a deft, challenging work of shock cinema that revives and updates the cannibal-film tradition with contemporary concerns. Detractors condemn it for sensationalizing indigenous violence and perpetuating exploitative imagery under the guise of critique. Debates around the film often pivot on whether Roth successfully satirizes exploitation or simply replicates it.
“The Green Inferno” is not subtle, and it was never meant to be. It confronts viewers with the uglier layers of activism, representation, and the cinematic appetite for spectacle. Whether it succeeds as moral critique or fails as re-inscription of harmful tropes depends largely on the viewer’s tolerance for shock and willingness to engage with uncomfortable questions. As a piece of modern exploitation cinema, it’s a blunt instrument—crude, confrontational, and impossible to ignore. Roth intentionally frames the story like a cautionary
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One of the most impressive, albeit harrowing, aspects of The Green Inferno was Roth’s decision to film on location in the Amazon rainforest in Peru.
Currently available on platforms like Shudder, Amazon Prime (rental), and Peacock. Viewer discretion is absolutely advised.